If the goal of a documentary is to inform about things happening that we are unaware,
then The Cove is truly five-star stuff. But the film is so much more. It’s also the tale of a
man who has dedicated his life to help animals he put in harms way, a look at the
inhumanity of the human race and an eye-opening view at the atrocities still happening
on our supposedly civilized planet. Harrowing indeed, but wisely told in one cool, clever
and exciting doc that succeeds on every level.
Richard O’Barry captured and trained dolphins for ten years, having been the man
responsible for working with the animals for the Flipper TV show. But in doing so he
created a billion dollar industry that uses dolphins for mass human consumption and
upon learning what his flawed work set in motion, O’Barry dedicated his next thirty-eight
years to undoing his wrongs. One such endeavor has been trying to shut down a
disturbing dolphin area in Taiji, Japan, where local fisherman not only catch dolphins by
the hundreds for places like Sea World and aquariums, but herd the remaining into a
shallow cove to be disposed of. Shielded from the eyes of the world, the cove has been a
place no one has been able to see - until now. With the help of the OPS (The Oceanic
Preservation Society), O’Barry and company enlist diving and technology experts to devise
a plan to get a glimpse inside the unseen cove and finally expose what goes on there - for
real.
While definitely an important film, the arduous task of getting in (shown as a mission of
sorts) is what makes The Cove such a thrilling movie. Going so far as to get their cameras
in via rock camouflage designed by Industrial Light & Magic, Director Louie Psihoyos keeps
the film such a tense level that it puts the viewer right there in the action. Not that there
aren’t side elements that hold interest as well (the meetings with the International Whaling
Commission are pure farce!), but the cove and what lies inside is too powerful to ignore.
It’s a doc that does entertain, but it seems to have a purpose to make a difference and
boldly isn’t afraid to put it front and center - change is the message.
Though after viewing what goes down inside the cove, I was actually less disturbed by the
visuals captured and more so sickened by the reactions by local fisherman who seem to
genuinely enjoy what goes on. (The smile and laughter from a fisherman after he sees
diver Mandy-Rae Cruickshank crying for a wounded dying dolphin is just sick.) I’m sure
regular white-collar folk who deal with animal killing in food industries do see it as a job,
but to enjoy the suffering along the way is truly inhuman and may be one step away from
serial killing. (Isn’t that how a young Jeffery Dahmer started?) The Cove is finally powerful
video evidence at what naysayers have been touting as fiction for years - equally sad and
important.
To get involved either Text DOLPHIN to 44144 for the mobile campaign
OR
Go to
www.takepart.com/thecove to find out
how you can help!
Visit The Cove on the web.
Directed By: Louie Psihoyos
Written By: Mark Monroe
Cast: Richard O’Barry, Dave Rastovich, Roger Payne
Runtime: 92 minutes
Rated PG-13 for disturbing content
Release Company: Roadside Attractions
Genre: Documentary
