Genre: Documentary
Director: Louie Psihoyos
Running Time: 90 minutes (plus trailers)
“I spent 10 years of my life building up the dolphins-in-captivity industry, and I spent the last 35 years trying to tear it down”
Directed by Louise Psihoyos, an internationally acclaimed nature photographer and co-founder of the Oceanic Preservation Society, The Cove is a documentary about the yearly slaughter of thousands of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. The film follows a group of nature activists as they attempt to get video footage of the killing, as well as exploring the exploitative nature of the dolphin performance industry and revealing the devious internal politics of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Lastly, it the story of one man’s guilt, and his all consuming quest to right his wrong. A powerful and at times thrilling film, The Cove is virtually guaranteed to score a nomination for Best Documentary at this Academy Awards, and is one of the most memorable movies I have seen all year.When we first introduced to Ric O’Barry it’s hard to know what to make of him. A man well into the later half of his life, he hunches behind the wheel of his van wearing a face mask, convinced the Taiji police are following him everywhere he goes. At first he seems paranoid, but as we soon learn, there is some validity to his concerns. Universally hated in the small Japanese fishing community, O’Barry has made it his life’s mission to bring an end to the dolphin capture and slaughter industry in Japan, and we soon find out why. O’Barry was responsible, in the 1960’s, for capturing and training the five female dolphins who played the eponymous character on the television series Flipper, a program that he blames for the human desire to swim and interact with the smiling creatures, which in turn lead to the explosion of the dolphin-in-captivity industry, now worth more than two billion dollars a year.
Knowing that the only way to bring international attention to the issue is to capture the annual slaughter on video, Psihoyos and O’Barry put together a crack team of film-makers, divers and activists whose mission it is to procure the footage by any means necessary. Using hidden cameras and military grade surveillance equipment, the team embarks on an illegal and highly dangerous covert operation to expose one of the most brutal acts of animal cruelty that occurs in the world today. Shot with thermal cameras and night vision lenses and backed by a terrific score from J. Ralph (best known for his commercial work, and who previously composed the excellent Lucky Number Slevin score), these scenes are as tense and thrilling as anything in a Hollywood feature, and are enhanced by the knowledge that these are real people and that should they be caught the punishment could be real jail time or worse.The film-makers obviously have a very specific agenda; that much is clear from the moment the words “the Oceanic Preservation Society presents” flash across the screen in the opening credits. The movies does everything it can to convince you of its point of view, exploring via interviews and other footage issues ranging from government corruption, the dangers of consuming dolphin meat, the supposed intellect of the creatures and the apparent myth that dolphin hunting is a cultural practice in Japan. I cannot speak to how fair or accurate the film is; I don’t believe any documentary that explores a topic like this is capable of being entirely objective (and The Cove doesn't really try to be). What I can speak to is the effectiveness of the film and the film-making. The way editing is used, the way each issue is addressed in turn (interspersed with the “mission” footage) is phenominal, and the director does a great job of making the audience care about the subject at hand.
Of course, the movies crowning achievement, the things that will stick with you long after the end credits, is the slaughter footage itself. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to tell you that we do eventually see what goes in the titular cove, and to warn you in advance, it is as vile and horrific as you can possibly imagine. There one shot from an underwater camera that shows the sea turning red with blood, and the effect of this sight, and the sound that comes with it, is nauseating. You want the director to cut away, but of course he doesn’t, and by the end of the scene, I was more shook up than I have been by any choreographed violence from a feature film in years. Likewise, the way the video of the slaughter is then used by the film-makers as a weapon against their enemies is incredibly satisfying, as is O’Barry final redemptive moment at the IWC. Although the whole thing felt very arranged, it was undeniably moving.The Cove is definitely a one sided film. For example, we never hear about the economic effect that ending this industry is likely to have on Taiji. It is clear that Psihoyos and O'Barry have an agenda, and I think it's important to keep that it mind when you watch the film. But their message is also very important, and politics aside, the movie is fantastically crafted - exciting, emotional and brutally effective in its purpose. Seek it out and see it at all costs. And take some friends so you can talk about it afterwards
The Cove is currently in limited release in Australia and overseas
