When it comes to sympathetic documentary subjects, elephant poachers rank somewhere between Steve Bannon and those responsible for the Indonesian genocide. To hear one of those poachers tell it in “When Lambs Become Lions,” however, it’s the rangers attempting to stymie their efforts who are “not human” because of the lethal action they take when catching would-be hunters on protected lands.
Director Jon Kasbe allows both sides to speak their piece in his non-fiction film (shot over the course of three years in Kenya), which takes its name from one of that country’s proverbs: “An empty stomach will turn many lambs into lions.”