Directed by Louie Psihoyos
I am by no means an animal lover -- haven't had a pet since I was six or seven (and that was a fish) and I don't miss it. Call me callous, but it's just not something I care about in the slightest. Because of this, I was not expecting to really care a bit about The Cove, which, although I didn't know much about it, I knew focused on the killing of dolphins. Well, director Louie Psihoyos manages to craft a shockingly exciting and tense film that, while certainly being a "message" documentary, doesn't hit the viewer over the head with its mission.
Ric O'Barry was the dolphin trainer for the 1960s television show Flipper. He captured the four dolphins used for the show, trained them, grew to care for them, and, after the show concluded, kept one, Karen, at his ocean-front home. Karen eventually dies in Ric's arms and immediately after that, he realized that what he was doing -- keeping dolphins in captivity -- was wrong and changed his life's mission statement to save dolphins.
This mission led Ric to discover the horrific Japanese slaughter that occurs every September in the town of Taiji. Japanese fishermen herd over 2000 dolphins a year into a small cove hidden from their people and any visitors. No one really knew what went on in the cove, but it was Ric's mission to reveal this to the world. Like a fictional movie, Ric brings together twelve crew members who all excel in different areas -- photography, mechanics, deep sea diving, etc. Together, they attempt to set up a variety of cameras in order to expose the horrific slayings. Suffice it to say, the crew does succeed and their footage is simply stunning (and not in a good way).
The irony of the whole thing, as the film depicts, is that the Japanese government states that they are doing this in order to provide food/sustenance for its people, but dolphin meat contains incredibly high amounts of mercury which leads to blindness, deafness, and loss of memory. So, as the Japanese attempt to keep their economy going via this slaughter, they're killing their people in the process.
I was quite riveted throughout the entirety of The Cove. It manages to get its point across while presenting Japan's point of view as well. While not even-handed, per se, I was impressed that it didn't simply laugh off Japan's opinions of the issue. And while it certainly has that air of "propaganda" especially at the end when it throws out the blatant "help the dolphins" plea, I certainly feel that it gets its point across without being the least bit preachy.
Ric O'Barry was the dolphin trainer for the 1960s television show Flipper. He captured the four dolphins used for the show, trained them, grew to care for them, and, after the show concluded, kept one, Karen, at his ocean-front home. Karen eventually dies in Ric's arms and immediately after that, he realized that what he was doing -- keeping dolphins in captivity -- was wrong and changed his life's mission statement to save dolphins.
This mission led Ric to discover the horrific Japanese slaughter that occurs every September in the town of Taiji. Japanese fishermen herd over 2000 dolphins a year into a small cove hidden from their people and any visitors. No one really knew what went on in the cove, but it was Ric's mission to reveal this to the world. Like a fictional movie, Ric brings together twelve crew members who all excel in different areas -- photography, mechanics, deep sea diving, etc. Together, they attempt to set up a variety of cameras in order to expose the horrific slayings. Suffice it to say, the crew does succeed and their footage is simply stunning (and not in a good way).
The irony of the whole thing, as the film depicts, is that the Japanese government states that they are doing this in order to provide food/sustenance for its people, but dolphin meat contains incredibly high amounts of mercury which leads to blindness, deafness, and loss of memory. So, as the Japanese attempt to keep their economy going via this slaughter, they're killing their people in the process.
I was quite riveted throughout the entirety of The Cove. It manages to get its point across while presenting Japan's point of view as well. While not even-handed, per se, I was impressed that it didn't simply laugh off Japan's opinions of the issue. And while it certainly has that air of "propaganda" especially at the end when it throws out the blatant "help the dolphins" plea, I certainly feel that it gets its point across without being the least bit preachy.
The RyMickey Rating: B+
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