“Divine Beasts in Bondage” is a 24 minute silent documentary set in the shadow of Jaipur’s Amer Fort, focusing on the daily reality faced by elephants used for tourist rides and ceremonial processions. Structured around a real time 24 hour cycle, the documentary follows one continuous day in the lives of these animals, from 5 AM marches to the fort, to carrying visitors up steep slopes under intense heat, brief pauses at Hathi Gaon, and late night transfers to wedding events located 50 to 100 kilometers away. The documentary was filmed covertly, with the crew posing as tourists and using handheld devices in an environment where visible filming equipment would not have been possible.
“Divine Beasts in Bondage” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
Haiden Khan directs a work with the evident purpose of highlighting the exploitation of elephants in this setting, with both the footage presented and the messages frequently appearing on screen moving clearly in this direction. The goal is definitely achieved, as the presentation of a full day in the lives of the animals, who are occasionally sick and elderly yet never given rest, even when their handlers rotate throughout the day, comes across quite eloquently.
At the same time, there is notable visual flair here, with the use of slow motion, split screen, occasionally with multiple windows, and desaturated coloring resulting in striking images within this context. In that regard, Khan’s own camera work emerges as one of the strongest aspects of the documentary, with the same applying to his editing, which manages to underline his comments without rushing, within the 24 minutes the work lasts.
On the other hand, the presentation of the messages on screen appears somewhat amateurish, considering the framing in which they are highlighted and their constant presence. Furthermore, the music adopts an intensely melancholic approach that occasionally feels manipulative, to the point that the documentary sometimes resembles an infomercial. Lastly, the lack of any depiction of the other side, namely the owners and handlers of the elephants, detracts somewhat from the sense of credibility, although, considering the circumstances under which it was shot, this is understandable.
Despite these issues, and considering its clear objective, “Divine Beasts in Bondage” ultimately succeeds, with the message Haiden Khan intends to communicate echoing loudly and clearly.
