Discovery Channel promotional image.
This is my first time seeing an animal character study.
Rise of the Warrior Apes, much like its subjects, is quite the strange beast. I initially expected a straight forward documentary series but what I found was something I'd describe as even more of a cinematic experience than the Genius episode I reviewed two years ago – a series which was directed by an actual film director, Ron Howard. Mind you, this shouldn't be taken as a slight against the first season of Genius, which I highly recommend giving a watch, but as a sign of just how impressed I was by the effort and production value that has been put into this film, which is about the largest group of chimps ever found.
Rise is perhaps best described as a movie starring chimps narrated by humans. The chimps of Ngogo are presented less as the usual sterile subjects of an animal study than characters in a film whose lives are being documented by passive observers documenting the character of the chimps and their society.
The editing of the film is a cut above any other documentary I've had the opportunity to view so far and combined with the soundtrack, makes for some genuinely dramatic moments.
There's a scene where a troop of chimps are gathering for a potential raid, the narrator gives only the necessary information, the sound of both the surrounding forest as well as the music is muted, there are long, slowly panning shots showing the deadly seriousness of the troop as the intensity is shown on their faces. It's disconcertingly similar to the look soldiers have on their face prior to battle.The music rises and the editing increases, there is an explosion of activity as the chimps leap forward into battle.
Each of the apes focused upon are given names and their ranks within the group are shown, some will never rise above the middle class of chimp society, a couple will rise to the upper echelons, and a very select few will become the leader as each individual jockeys for position. Seeing the choices each ape makes while vying for power is fascinating, some use brute strength, some attempt to outsmart their opponents, and others form alliances to gain control. Sometimes transitions of leadership will take place without any violence as one ape recognizes the superior position of the other and submits via a pant-grunt coupled with a slight bow. Other times, brutal confrontations can erupt that may result in life-threatening injuries.
Over the course of the 23 years David Watts and John Mitani's team have studied the chimpanzees of Ngogo, the population continuously grew from the original 142 chimpanzees they found in 1996 to a staggering 204 in 2016 (most live in groups of 40 – 50). As the group continues to expand, we're able to witness the effects as it becomes impossible for individuals to recognize every other group member as well as the consequences of their hunting, territorial expansion, and resource acquisition that outstrips the surrounding environment at points.
Watts and Mitani throughout are able to witness emergent behaviors within the group’s social structure that share similarities to our own over time, such as the choice the chimps make to hunt monkeys despite the abundance of fruit and the subsequent use of meat as a luxury to build social bonds and strengthen positions of power. This leads to a spike in hunting activity, resulting in the local monkey population never recovering.
The insight this film provides into the team’s dedication and meticulousness to documenting the incredible story of the Ngogo ape population is truly wonderful to experience. While it can be a bit of a pain to find it on other sites, Rise of the Warrior Apes is available for only $1.99 on YouTube and is well worth the price if you’re interested in a film about the sometimes bloody politics of chimpanzees created with the average viewer not only in mind but as the target audience.