|
Cane Toads: The Conquest
| Released |
30 September 2011 |
| Director |
Mark Lewis |
| Starring |
Neil Young |
| Writer(s) |
Mark Lewis |
| Producer(s) |
Mark Lewis |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
84 minutes |
| Genre |
Documentary |
| Rating |
PG |
|
|
Hop to it.
Cane Toads: The Conquest is writer/director Mark Lewis’s follow up to his 1988 documentary Cane Toads: An Unnatural History. Yes, this guy really can’t get enough of toads! And it turns out that this is a story that was well worth revisiting.
Native to Hawaii, 102 toads were imported to the East coast of Australia in 1935 in the hope that they would combat a grub that was ruining sugar crops. As it turned out, the toads did nothing to help the struggling farmers but they did quickly adapt to their new environment. The film charts their unstoppable race across the country, multiplying at a staggering rate as they go. We see some of the efforts to stop their race to the West Coast (electric fences, nets, whacking them with golf clubs) and meet colourful characters with wildly varying opinions on whether the interloper should be reviled or pitied.
It all makes for a very interesting and entertaining watch. Despite the seriousness of the subject matter (the toads are having an adverse effect of the indigenous animal population), Lewis rarely lets his tongue depart from his cheek. The cast of talking heads include more than a few eccentrics and the re-enactments of their toad related anecdotes are pleasingly silly (the toad-licking pet dog being a particular highlight). Also, for a kind of production that more often than not would appear on television, there is definitely a cinematic ambition here; evident from the first sequence which introduces us to the toads in their natural rainforest habitat.
The film itself is nicely ambiguous about the toad menace, not falling down squarely on either side of the debate. On the one hand, Lewis occasionally films from the toad point of view and he clearly admires their ability to adapt to the various harsh terrains that make up Australia. Conversely, he is also careful not to dismiss the hardships that have befallen the agricultural community and the genuine concerns of animal conservationists. And it can’t be denied that he recreates some of the more imaginative methods of toad extermination with a little comedic relish.
Cane Toads: The Conquest is an eye-opening and informative documentary but is first and foremost great fun. Well worth a look.
-
Linda O’Brien |
