Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story (2018) User Reviews

A must see!

[elinakristoffersen · 10/10 · 28 July 2018]

Wow, I'm in totalt shock over the reviews! How can people be so blind? This is an honest documentary revealing the torture of baby elephants and what they go through in order to be service animals. "Sadly" they don't show the worst examples because this documentary is also ment for younger kids to watch. But just imagine how some baby elephants will try to stand on their trunk to kill themself under the "phajaan", because they can't bare the suffer anymore. They are incredible emotional animals, who belong together with their herd. And also, the founder is putting herself in a very vulnerable position since the authorities in Thailand will do what it takes to keep this their secret - because the tourism industry is their main income. It's corrupt. Lek had dedicated her life to save these animals and she has taken videos of tortured animals to educate people to receive better help. She can't just run into a bad situation where a baby elephant gets tortured, she needs to get her people on her side as well. Animals have no rights in Thailand, and the authorities will do nothing about it. Her organization is in the hands of us and she needs to get the word out there in order to help the elephants. It IS an insane expensive process. I've been to Thailand myself and worked with rescued elephants, and they suffer. Not only physical, but also they have sever mental issues.. -an elephant never forgets. I hope people will start educating each other about what is happening behind the curtains, and put an end to animal cruelty.

And no - Lek rescues old service elephants to give them a last chance of a worthy life. I've been there myself and witnessed happy elephants having experienced mahouts without any form of tools. DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES!

The Blackfish for elephants

[arumack-35918 · 10/10 · 31 July 2018]

This is a sincere film that zooms in on a true ecological and environmental crisis of our time. It'll make you see elephants, and the Thai/Cambodian tourism industry, in a whole new way. I hope it brings new awareness to this issue to discourage tourists from supporting the elephant riding/entertainment centers conducting elephant abuse!

Thoughtful film, worthy of your time

[kirchoff-256-302575 · 10/10 · 29 July 2018]

All of the 1-star reviews are from Circus managers and other people who exploit animals for a living. Don't believe the lies.

Fantastic!

[pbcinhh · 10/10 · 31 July 2018]

Just watched on Starz and enjoyed every minute. It doesn't feel like a documentary, it feels like I watched a movie. Absolutely captivating! I would imagine the negative reviews are from the trekking camps in Thailand, they don't want you to know what they do to these poor creatures in order to ride them. A must see

Excellent - Really Emotional, Touching and Inspiring Documentary

[maddison-59657 · 10/10 · 17 February 2019]

I recently watched Love and Bananas - An Elephant Story and was totally captivated by this documentary. It is about a 70 year old Blind Elephant called Noi Na, and it is her story of being taken out of the Tourist/ Zoo environment and transported to a Freedom Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand. I fell in love with Noi Na and her story brought me to tears. I was so happy that after all the turmoil that she has gone through, she is now Free. What a wonderful documentary. I totally recommend this documentary to any animal lover. There is just 1 problem that I had and that was that the dvd quality is not very good. It would have been nice to have this in HD or Bluray. The documentary still gets a 10 out of 10 from me though.

Beware of documentaries based on emotion and not facts.

[phaydenwells · 1/10 · 5 July 2018]

I would have preferred to give this a zero but I can't.I don't know if Ms.Bell was emotionally indoctrinated by Lek or just misinformed but her quote of "Every elephant baby goes through the phajaan or crush" is a blatant lie. The 'phajaan' actually means to separate or divorce and with domesticated elephants there is a cultural ceremony with Monks and chanting and is quite tender and emotional,Youngsters learn from their mothers and siblings The same as humans and other animals, The "crush footage was filmed, I think, in 2002 and was proven after a Police investigation to have been a set up by certain individuals and AR groups. 'In the early 2000s, Lek filmed undercover footage of what it takes to break an elephant's spirit and turn a wild Asian elephant into one docile enough to give rides and perform at shows. The process is known as pajan, aka the "crush box" and it was one of Southeast Asia's best-kept secrets.' This quote was written by Ashley Bell herself, which means that Ashley received this information directly from Lek. Since Lek filmed the footage herself, as stated in the above quote, why didn't She do anything to help the elephant calf that was being tortured? She proceeded to film the 'undercover footage'. Did she even consider calling the police to inform them that this evil torturing was going on.If someone loves elephants that is the first thing one should do Elephants are sacred in Thailand and the Police would have been there in a flash. An outright falsehood like this is in the film helps no one least of all the elephants. I particularly liked the part where she wipes her dry eyed 'crocodile tears' from her eyes with her shirt. Sorry Ms.Bell but I believe you were conned. There are plenty of scientifically based sites on the internet that people should read and then have fact based reasoning rather than an emotional one.

Don't watch it! Lies, scams, money hungry

[stacey_snow · 1/10 · 5 July 2018]

This movie is 100% fiction. The women in it are delusional and are doing nothing to save elephants. In fact they are contributing nothing but negativity to Thailand, to Thai elephants and the wonderful mahouts who give their lives to care for their elephants. Lek is a money hungry woman who won't let anyone get in her way. She has made videos of fake phajaan made with PeTA to get monetary donations from gullible westerners whom she has sucked in with her web of lies and deceit. There has been more human and elephant deaths at her camp than at any other domestic elephant facility in the whole of Asia. She claims riding elephants is wrong yet there is a lot of footage of her riding. She claims takaws are used as weapons yet makes her mahouts carry bamboo switches with nail spikes sticking through them. She only hires people who have no experience with elephants so they don't question her. Supporting this movie only puts more money into Leks pocket and less to people who are working to save Thailand's elephants.

IF YOU HAVE ANY HEART AT ALL DON'T WATCH THIS MOVIE

[krnmrcl · 1/10 · 16 September 2018]

I can't tell you how distraught I was after watching a scene in this movie of totally INSANE abuse and torture of a baby elephant. And the woman standing in the background stating over and over how long this sentient being has to endure this torture and abuse. It made me so emotionally, physically, and spirituality sick I had to stop watching it. I could not get that scene out of my mind and cried all night. If ever there was a scene that I could unsee, this would be it. And a big thanks to the woman who made this documentary for making me feel so HELPLESS AND HOPELESS like never before. People who film animals suffer like this are just as guilty as the ones doing the torture and abuse.

Cute

[johnnyaskinner · 4/10 · 23 January 2021]

Cute, it would be better if Ashley Bell would stop trying to be the FOCUS of this documentary and allow the elephants to take center stage.