Keen to return to Africa, 'Born Free' actors Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna accept an invitation to mind a friend's rural property in Kenya but are surprised when a trio of elephants join them in this offbeat follow-up of sorts to the iconic 1966 hit. While the film is laden with hit-and-miss humour (including a temperamental, rundown truck), 'An Elephant Called Slowly' is a curious exercise in defying narrative expectations with Travers and McKenna playing exaggerated versions of themselves who keep talking about their experiences filming 'Born Free'. The pair also dual narrate the film at times, and the movie is at its most interesting when the pair argue over details and terminology while narrating. Promising as all this might sound, the central story is never that enticing. Not once do the pair ever seem in real danger (even when a large rhinoceros walks up to them) and the repeated attempts to derive humour from the elephants detract from the other wildlife on display. The most intense scene of the film has the pair playing spectators as a leopard eyes a tame impala and its baby, ready to pounce, and yet far more screen time is dedicated to such shenanigans as the elephants getting into the bath water while Travers is cleaning himself. The film does boast some nifty animated opening credits and the comedy streak gives 'An Elephant Called Slowly' slightly more edge than 'Born Free', however, it remains a difficult film to recommend without some caution. Africa has, however, rarely looked so inviting a place as it does here.
