AllMovie

There have been plenty of movies about the bond between people and animals, but David Balding's story is different than most. Balding owns and operates a small circus, and he adopted a baby elephant for his show that he named Flora. Balding loved Flora and made her one of the star attractions of his show, but she was also the only elephant in his menagerie, and he discovered too late this posed some serious problems for the animal's socialization. After Flora had spent 17 years with the circus, Balding decided it was time to take her off the road, especially as he was considering leaving the business himself. But what does one do with a giant animal who happens to regard a man like Balding as her best friend? How do you teach an elephant to live around others of its kind when it's 18 years old? And how does Balding say goodbye to his loyal friend, companion, and colleague? Filmmaker Lisa Leeman examines the remarkable story of David Balding and Flora and his effort to find her the right home in the documentary One Lucky Elephant, which was an official selection at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival.