Your Guide To Becoming A Docuphile: Zoo

Each week, I'll cover the documentaries that had a significant impact on me. Consider it a primer to be becoming a docuphile. I encourage you to leave your favorite documentaries in the comments or tweet at me at @robinhardwick. This week, a beautifully crafted and compelling story about an incredibly taboo subject.

What: Zoo (2007)

Who: Kenneth Pinyan, the victim of what is knows as the "Enumcvlaw Horse Sex Death Case." In simplest terms, Pinyan, who went by the pseudonym "Mr. Hands," died from internal bleeding caused by a puncture of the colon, ultimately caused by having intercourse with a horse. The film never mentions him by his real name out of respect for his family, but the details of the case and his identity has been reported in the media.

What: So, by this point in reading this, you've either

1. clenched in horror
2. wondered if I'm joking
3. laughed out loud
4. wonder if this is a pornographic film
5. wondered why I would ever recommend this film
6. all of the above

Let it be clear: Zoo is not a movie about sex with horses. Zoo is a film trying to understand the life of a man whose life ended in unique circumstances and to try to understand how and why something like this would happen. It's a nonjudgmental exploration into the lives of people with different sexual preferences. The film's producer/director, journalist Charles Mudede became interested in the story after covering it for Seattle's alt weekly The Stranger. Quite frankly, it's one of the most compelling documentaries, if not films, I've seen in a long time. The film was given praise upon its debut at the Sundance film festival, but you can probably understand why the film was hard to distribute and release.

Why it's Intriguing: Let's get one thing out of the way: the film does not show any individual having sexual intercourse with horses. If that is what you are seeking from this film, the actual video of the incident is online, and the magic of the internet will allow you to see it with a simple Google search. (To be completely accurate, a very brief flash of the video is shown in the context of the story, but it is appropriately used.)