Posted on: March 17th, 2010 REVIEW: The Cove
The Cove completely took me by surprise. What starts out as a fairly straight-forward documentary on the dolphins of Taiji, Japan, quickly turns into a spy thriller that would rank up there with the Oceans Eleven’s and Bond films.
The subject of this Oscar winner for Best Documentary at this years Academy Awards is important, necessary and horrifying. A small village in Taiji, Japan seems like a wonderful tribute to the local dolphin and whale population that frequent their shores. The entire town is peppered with dolphin-friendly stores and paraphernalia. But underneath it all, the locals harbour a dark secret. They use boats and netting to round up hundreds of dolphins, where people from all over the world come to barter the best prices for these creatures, to be transported all over the world to aquariums and parks. The dolphins that don’t get chosen are then herded to a top-secret cove, where they are systematically slaughtered for their meat.
The protagonist of the story is Ric O’Barry, who was the dolphin trainer on the 60’s show “Flipper”. O’Barry actually rounded up and trained the 5 dolphins used on the show. It was during his tenure that he came to realise that dolphins are such a sophisticated and intelligent creature, and their captivity in our world is devastating to them both mentally and physically.
We are taken on a tour of various theme parks and aquatic-themed wonders, and told how our interaction with dolphins is cause for incredible stress to the animals. We are told of ulcers, skin irritations, cancers, depression and suicide that the dolphins go through. It’s hard not to feel O’Barrys own pain as he describes the incident where he was holding a dolphin as it looked into his eyes and committed suicide. We quickly become very attached to these marine kings.
Effectively filmed in locations all around the world, it’s easily noted that the films director, Louie Psihoyos, has taken great care to give this topic the gravity and breadth it deserves. Shot in a guerrilla style, necessary as the locals and police are constantly harassing and following the team, there are hold-your-breath moments of panic. Determined to expose the Taiji government for it’s atrocities, O’Barry gathers a team of scientists and specialist from around the world to aide in his cause. Enter IL&M. The special effects team at Industrial Light and Magic help O’Barry, by constructing prop rocks that can hide special cameras that the team plans on sneaking into the cove, no easy task considering it’s guarded by weapon wielding locals, walls and razor wire.
As the team plans it’s entry under cover of the night, we are right along with them through the streets of Taiji as they are tailed by the local police chief, we see them with through the lenses of night vision cameras as they plant underwater microphones, and our hearts pound as heavy as theirs as they try to escape the cove when guards are alerted to their presence.
When the team recovers the footage, viewed on monitors in their hotel room, the horror is inescapable. I can’t recall anything in recent memory that jarred me as much as watching, and listening to hundreds of dolphins, being slaughtered for their meat, which is heavily tainted with mercury. The image of a sea of red is one that will not leave my mind for many weeks to come.
The film deserved the Oscar for many reasons. The bravery of the team, the dedication of the film-makers, and to bring light to the cause. It is unflinching in it’s brutality, and hauntingly honest. While incredibly difficult to witness, I feel that it’s a story that everyone should experience. Documentaries, to me, are hit & miss, when done poorly, they are drawn out and fairly self righteous. When done right, you are drawn into the film-makers world. You care about the people and the subject matter.
The Cove made me care…deeply.
