Killer Quest

This National Geographic documentary is as much reality TV as nature film. When wildlife filmmaker Andrew Manske and outdoorsman Brian Bildson embark on a quest in Northern Canada to shoot a scene of wolves taking down a wood bison, the mission proves to be easier said than done. The expensive production (featuring a team of 15 people, a rented helicopter, and tons of gear) runs headlong into all kinds of problems: forest fires, cracking ice, swarms of mosquitoes, exhaustion, and, worst of all, no scenario in which Manske actually observes wolves kill a bison. True, there are a couple of close calls—in one charged scene three wolves cleverly lure a bison cow away from the protection of her herd—but the money shot proves to be elusive. Ultimately, Killer Quest is more about a group of people who are trying to hold onto their sanity under adverse conditions, particularly Mankse, who begins to resemble an obsessed Captain Ahab chasing his destiny. Recommended. Aud: P. (T. Keogh)