Review of “The Cove”
Part thriller, part undercover spy story and all activism, this is a brilliantly put together documentary aimed quite consciously at winning the hearts and minds of the world by exposing the dreadful slaughter of dolphins in a quite cove in South-eastern Japan. You may have never heard of Ric O’Barry – the man who trained the dolphins that were the stars of the Flipper television series in the 1960’s. O’Barry became rich and famous capturing and training dolphins for the show, until one of them died in his arms. From that day on he swore to unwind the industry that had developed to supply live dolphins – for up to $150,000 each - to amusement parks around the world. Years of living and swimming with these animals had convinced O’Barry that they were highly intelligent and self-aware creatures that suffered deep depression in captivity. He’s been freeing dolphins by whatever means possible for over thirty years.
Funded by hi-tech billionaire entrepreneur Jim Clark and directed by wildlife photographer Louie Psihoyos, O’Barry joins an Ocean’s Eleven-style team of divers, camera-men and logistics experts to uncover the shameful and bloody starting point for the dolphins-in-captivity trade: Taiji, a small port with a 400 year old history of whaling. It’s here that dolphins are captured for live export to the world’s aquariums, but it’s also here that thousands of dolphins are killed for no good reason. The biggest obstacle to stopping the slaughter has been that – because of tight security measures - no one has any proof of what actually goes on.
Cutting between footage of a covert operation the team carries out to get footage of the killings, interviews with Japanese officials who carry the official line, and the tragically ineffective antics of the International Whaling Commission, Psihoyos creates a compelling story of needless harm, cover ups, political manipulation and ultimately deep sorrow. It’s 90 minutes of carefully constructed filmmaking, blending facts, opinions, thrilling undercover footage shot on thermal cameras, personal stories and then, in near silence, its final emotional content to devastating effect. It is impossible not be moved to tears or rage by what is revealed – not just about the dolphins, but also about the impotence of government agencies we trust to prevent things like this from happening. It’s militantly emotional filmmaking at its best.
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