AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

saundersjan There's a profound and stark beauty to this movie, despite the horror of its subject matter. I saw this at the Melbourne premier in 2014 and was truly mesmerized. The most important movie of it's kind because it can reach across the divide of activists to the general film goer who simply appreciates a well-made documentary and indeed a thriller of a story line. Jo-Anne makes a most sympathetic yet clearly reluctant heroine, my heart ached for her and what she is compelled to do to make the world a better, more just place. A war correspondent indeed.I cannot rate this documentary highly enough. In short, I think it's stunning and should reach a much broader audience than it does.

Troy Coyle I watched this movie as part of the Documentary Edge Festival in Auckland today. I absolutely loved it and can't rate it highly enough. It will definitely appeal to those who are already converted to the idea that animals are treated as another nation, which we appear to be at war with. However, I think it will also appeal to others who try to understand the world around them and why there are so many people so very passionate about exposing the horrors of animal exploitation. We constantly complain about how the media keep us ill informed of the real issues, yet so many people are not interested in viewing any images that reflect the horrors of reality. This documentary shows the difficulty of engaging the mainstream media in such issues and through the eyes of someone who has chosen to dedicate her life to exposing reality in an attempt to get people to change how they perceive and interact with animals. We also get introduced to a range of very unique animal personalities, such as a rescue cow and her calf, and a rescue pig and her gorgeous rambunctious piglets- they all live in an animal sanctuary now. We also get to lock eyes with those who are not so fortunate- and we know that their fate lies with changes in market attitudes, such as not buying fur, not eating meat, not visiting dolphinariums or zoos. It seems like a massive challenge; to change consumer behaviours that are so ingrained in people's psyche but at least Jo-Anne McArthur is trying.

Edward Rutledge Ghosts is one of the most, if not the most, beautifully filmed and constructed documentaries I've ever seen. And it is surely the most moving and powerful film I've ever seen regarding our complex, and frankly shameful and abhorrent, relationships with the sentient beings among us, hidden from us, that we call animals. To be able to look through director Liz Marshal's and protagonist Jo-Anne MacArthur's lenses into the eyes of beings whom we know to be fully present and to possess the senses and faculties to know and experience deeply the unfathomable suffering we impose on them for the most fleeting, trifling and unjustifiable purposes imaginable is an experience not soon to be forgotten and one which should be widely shared and experienced. The astonishingly beautiful sanctuary scenes are a source of great joy and hope for a future of compassion, empathy and liberation for the ghosts and for all beings.

SCLB Grandt "Ghosts" is a film that tries to do too much and yet accomplishes very little. It is an overly simplistic take on a deeply complex issue. If Director Liz Marshall and Jo Anne McArthur want the average viewer to feel empathy for animals, they perhaps succeeded. But if their goal is to inspire the viewer and convince them to stop consuming, using and/or wearing these animals I am not sure this film was sufficiently persuasive.The intended audience of this film is clear: It is meant for a viewer who has spent minimal time contemplating animal suffering. Not surprisingly, the animal rights and ethical vegan community are rejoicing over the film's release. It is so rare for theaters to give mainstream attention to a film that delves into the human-animal relationship and shows something the viewer may be incredibly uncomfortable seeing or acknowledging. A film like "Ghosts" is different than movies such as "The Cove" or "Blackfish," as it is relatively easy for a viewer to detach themselves from the any sense of personal complicity. In the latter two films, if an audience member feels that atrocities are committee at the expense of marine mammals they do not have to point a finger at themselves since they are not hunting the animals. But when a film demonstrates to the viewers that they themselves are part of the problem and forces them to critique their own consumption and rethink cultural norms, the film will not as readily gain mainstream support or popularity.Unfortunately, the intended audience may be different than the actual audience, as much of the movie's support and viewership will come from the animal rights movements... the ones who need little convincing.That said, the viewer is kept waiting for the plot in this film. The brilliant cinematography enhanced the film and the emotional response to its content, but the plot climax never seemed to come. It is easy to emphasize and root for Ms. McArthur. In an early scene in the film in which Ms. McArthur documented conditions on a fur farm, I was left waiting for amazing footage of atrocities in an unseen world. The film however left me disappointed by proceeding to spend much of the next 45 advertising for Farm Sanctuary.The film addressed the exploitation of purpose bred beagles in laboratory research. I was inspired by the adoption these wonderful beagles, but at the same time it was an incredibly wasted learning opportunity - what exactly were these dogs rescued from? The viewer saw them in cages but the film did not explain what was being inflicted upon them and why. We saw shots of notebooks and an explanation that the dogs were scared and could take months, if not years, to re-socialize. But what type of harm did they endure? what is a "teaching animal?" The credits at the end of the film contained a sentence about beagle testing for medical and dentistry purposes. There was not a single mention of the cosmetics, chemical and pharmaceutical industries that inflict horrific and needless tests on animals. The 2 second shot of a bottle of perfume and a make up counter were very likely lost on most viewers. Moreover, it was not explained to the viewer why medical testing is cruel, unnecessary and provides flawed results.Virtually no point in the film was fully explained. Proponents of the film may respond to my criticism to pointing out that the film doesn't aim to educate with facts or discussion, but instead to show suffering, to show the faces of these creatures that human chooses to capture, torture and turn into commodities. This may be a valid artistic choice, but it left the movie feeling empty and pointless. Veganism, a lifestyle involving a conscious abstention from the products of animal suffering, was given minimal attention in a very short part of the film. The problems of the dairy industry were barely mentioned and eggs were not mentioned at all. The potential for confusion between the idyllic scenes of rescued at Farm Sanctuary and advertising for various humane products seems especially high. Or perhaps even if a viewer concludes that any method of killing an animal is ethically questionable, they may persist in their consumption of eggs and dairy by rationalizing "I will buy my eggs from chickens who have lots of space and are well care for in small traditional farms." It was not lost on me that Ms. McArthur continuously used the term "factory farm" over and over again, but never explicitly condemned the myth of "humane" farming except for in one line towards the very end of the movie.Overall, advocates for animals should be pleased a film that might inspire viewers to go vegan is receiving mainstream attention. However, the film had way too many missed opportunities and no definitive plot. I could have saved my $15 and simply gone onto Farm Sanctuary's website (or visited the place myself) to see it be shameless promoted. That said, I would definitely share this film with my non vegan friends and family, but I would insist on viewing it with them so that I could fill in many of the unfortunate gaps in its presentation of the issues and address any of the likely confusions that may arise for those unfamiliar with its themes.