Interesting, but hardly a wonderland

“Laos Wonderland” is a problematic documentary about Laos, Vietnam's smaller neighbor in Indochina. Laos is painted as some kind of Eden inhabited by peaceful and happy native tribes surrounded by primordial forests. Apparently, nobody wants plumbing or electricity, rifles are prohibited and the entire land is filled with Buddhist temples. Only at the very end are we told about the civil wars, the Vietnam War and the “Communist experiments”. That the documentary *does* mention that many of the local species of wildlife are threatened, simply ads to the confusion.

But yes, “Laos Wonderland” is interesting, as it follows a team of scientists (headed by an American!) to document the wildlife of a remote region. They weren't disappointed, as “camera traps” caught photos of the clouded leopard, the Asian golden cat and tigers. We also learn that new species of mammals have been discovered in Laos, usually by scientists inspecting the local meat markets where the unfortunate animals end up dead, somewhere in between the fruit and the vegetables!

If you are interested in nature documentaries or rare wildlife, “Laos Wonderland” might be interesting, but please disregard the romantic stuff…