The documentary, Virunga, goes in depth to the history of Congo and how its history has affected the government and economy we see today in Congo. The documentary is based around a sanctuary in Virunga, Congo, where four young gorillas are being raised by a group of park rangers/Congolese soldiers. While the gorillas are being protected in the sanctuary, mayhem occurs in Virunga and around Congo. A corporation called SOCO is an UK based international corporation focused on the exploration of oil and gas. Oil was discovered in Virunga National Park, and SOCO was eager to make a lot of money off of that oil. If SOCO was to mine for oil, the habitat of Virunga would be completely disrupted, resulting in the possible death of many animals due to migration out of the national park and into the territory of poachers. The documentary follows the story of the men protecting the gorillas and the Rangers protecting the park against poachers and rebel groups, who are possibly in communication with SOCO to bring down government control of Virunga National Park.

          The various types of how they filmed this documentary is something that I feel has opened up a new way of putting together a documentary. They used the basic B-roll and interview foundation of course, but they also used real life on the scene footage that was captured to help establish and give context to what people were talking about. For part of the documentary, the crew uses hidden cameras and places them on people that act like they are part of SOCO’s “inner table” but really are apart of the Congolese government. One girl they follow who uses this technique is actually a journalist from France. To develop her story, she uses hidden microphones and cameras and goes out on dates with people hired by SOCO to find the oil. The footage captured is pretty messy, but I believe that is what makes the parts in the movie that have secret filming so good. The mix of poor footage and excellent shots of gorillas and landscapes offer a variety and freedom to use whatever kind of shots the director wants.

          I would recommend this to anyone that wants to watch a documentary. This is by far the best documentary I have watched. Ever. I do not cry at films all too often, but some of the things I saw in this documentary made me cry my eyes out. After watching this film, it gave me a motivation to try and help these Congolese rangers and the government against the corrupt corporations infiltrating the park. A documentary (or any piece of film for that matter) that inspires me to question what is going on in the world is something I find rarely happening nowadays with the amount of movies based solely on special effects. I’m not saying CGI doesn’t make me think outside of a CGI movie, but it is definitely harder to get a message across when a movie sets unrealistic standards. A movie such as Virunga should get a lot more recognition for what it has achieved, and what it can achieve to spread a message as strong as the one it portrayed.