In a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan, behind a wall of barbed wire and “Keep Out” signs, lies a shocking secret. It is here, under cover of night, that the fishermen of Taiji engage in an unseen hunt for thousands of dolphins. The nature of the work is so horrifying, a few desperate men will stop at nothing to keep it hidden from the world. But when an elite team of activists, filmmakers and freedivers embark on a covert mission to penetrate the cove, they discover that the shocking atrocities they find there are just the tip of the iceberg.
Maybe you’ve seen it all, and maybe you’re already steeped in outraged, activist documentaries. But you haven’t seen anything quite like The Cove, unless you can visualize a disturbing combination of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Free Willy, and the killing of Bambi’s mother. The Cove is directed by the experienced National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos, who sets about to uncover a shocking (but regular) ritual on the Japanese coast: the herding and slaughter of thousands of bottlenose dolphins in the town of Taiji. A few dolphins are saved during this process, and sold off to aquariums so they can perform in water shows. The rest are crowded together and–away from prying eyes–stabbed to death, their meat sold as food. (Interviewing Japanese people on the street, they apparently have no idea that the “whale meat” on sale in stores is actually mercury-saturated bottlenose dolphin.) It’s not that this mass killing is secret, exactly, but the fishermen of Taiji have done a proactive job of keeping cameras and other observers from getting a good look. Psihoyos wants to change all that, and he assembles a swashbuckling squad of scientists, filmmakers, and nerds (including movie F/X people who design fake rocks for hidden video cameras) to extra-legally smuggle recording equipment into the cove. The team’s spiritual and emotional captain is Richard O’Barry, the man who helped popularize dolphins as cuddly animals as the trainer of TV’s Flipper back in the 1960s–and who, horrified by the way dolphins have been used in public displays, has been an anti-captivity activist for decades. The footage that results is so shocking it should cause seismic reactions in viewers, and when O’Barry attends a meeting of the International Whaling Commission (portrayed by the film as ineffectual and/or bought off by Japanese interests) armed with video of the slaughter, he’s like Rocky Balboa climbing into the ring for one more big fight. After what we’ve seen in the film at that point, it’s unlikely many viewers won’t be rooting him on. -Robert Horton
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Buy “The Cove” For Only $13.82
March 4, 2010
#1
Ok, I love dolphins, I loved Flipper, have watched hundreds of documentary films and am very independent in my social and political views. That being said, this film is pure one-sided Hollywood crap. Rather than rant endlessly about it, I’ll just make the major points here:
1. The film is propaganda. A viewer has no idea if the viewpoint is an honest depiction of the subject because it endlessly hits you over the head with a single perspective of the controversy.
2. When the dolphin trainer of Flipper starts talking about when Flipper committed suicide in his arms with the painting of a dolphin in the background was there some reason why the director didn’t question his motives and mental state?
3. There is beautiful dolphin swimming footage.
4. The Industrial, Light and Magic team of Star Wars fame constructs elaborate fake blimps and rocks with super high tech HD cameras for a film on dolphins? Where is this money coming from? Didn’t they stop to think that this money could be better spent on saving human lives in one of the many wars in the world or maybe stopping starvation/human traffiking/etc.?
5. This film is a great example of why there should be the same journalistic standards for documentaries as there are for any newspaper/online reporter. This story wouldn’t get past a high school journalism teacher.
6. It got into Sundance with its “Flipper Trainer Wants To Save the Dolphins” headline. It made them money just like every other gimmicky film. Sundance is dead.
March 4, 2010
#2
I was left unimpressed by this documentary and the claims made.
Again and again the narration keeps repeating that 23,000 dolphins a year are killed for human consumption but fail to back up this figure with a source. In addition to this, the documentary fails to acknowledge the fact that even despite if the figure is correct, the dolphin population in the world’s oceans continue to increase every year. This despite the fact that the producers do their best to try and convince that dolphins are dangerous toxic lagoons(mercury).
The producers narrate again and again that dolphins are depressed in captivity and sad like they are dolphin psychic mind readers. We see obviously ridicules personal testamonial of such like claims someone was being charged by a shark but saved by a dolphin ! A dolphin commits suicide in the arms of its trainer on the set of Flipper !
No objective facts are given- the dialogue jumps all over the place from sentimental personal testimony to such ambiguous claims that dolphins are whales, dolphins are toxic, dolphins suffer in captivity.
The emphasis on this being some kind of a high risk endeavor for the producers is lauphable- it amounts to being followed around by the chief of police. Getting caught means you will get kicked out of the country. Some lady gets chest bumped by a Japanese fisherman (LOL). Really pathetic keystone cops type scenarios.
Because of all the claims being made, especially the fear tactic of toxic poisoining, I was left not trusting anything of this documentary and left unconvinced that going on a messiah complex to save the dolphins is a worthy endeavor. When the emphasis is on emotion instead of objectivity a documentary of this nature is not worth watching.
I thought it hilarious that the documentary stated that if we continued to fish then there would be a world crisis due to stock depletion because 40% of the population relys on fish for protein. So, if we don’t fish then what ? This was not a clever documentary.
I would have liked to seen a logical argument that goes something like this, “Although the dolphin population continues to increase every year despite human consumption one reason for saving the dolphin would be… ?”
DOCUMENTARY FAIL.
March 4, 2010
#3
Moby-Dick is my favorite novel. I read it cover to cover once a month, at least, and I never travel without it tucked carefully away in my suitcase or backpack or knapsack or rucksack or haversack or attaché or briefcase or carryon or carryall or saddlebag or totebag or manpurse or portmanteau or duffelbag or satchel or sack or holdall or bag: I love it like I love nothing else on this earth. I hope that illustrates the expectations I held before watching this movie. ‘Oh, it’s a marvelous adaptation,’ one publican told me. ‘Don’t miss it!’ With that he held up a thumb and a half. (Some years ago a local man high on PCP had attacked him just before closing time and took half his thumb in his teeth before six heroic police officers with batons beat the inebriated man into a coma, saving our publican’s life. Let us now praise anonymous men, especially when they are heroes. Praise!)
I want to be positive about this film, I really do, so the best I can say is Louie Psihoyos (try saying that name five times fast, or even once) tried his mightiest, put in a real admirable effort he did, but in the end was not able to succeed. This is not entirely his fault: I also blame the crew. Had any of them read Moby-Dick before planning or shooting or selling or advertising or seeing this film? The substitution of dolphins for whales is perhaps the most egregious error, for which no excuse can be made. The decision to transmogrify Ahab into a band of innocent Taiji fishermen is ambitious, to say the least. But this too fails. What of Starbuck, Stubb, Flask? Can we not find room for them in the 21st century? Japan has its share of rough Nantucketers, I’m sure of this. They wait patiently in their paper cities and judo dojos, having anticipated the call of the hunt but without a captain to command them, under whom they may take to ship and sea with a vengeful blood lust not seen since the Golden Age of American whaling.
March 4, 2010
#4
A nice watch, but with weak arguments. This rich person with many Porsche cars decides to go against all who hold dolphins in captivity. Like it is unethical. But these people in Japan do it for the money. It is their livelihood. It is kind of sick the way they kill the dolphins and sell it for food, what with all the mercury and such. But that is another argument. As a character, the protagonist has staged quite an operation to let the world see what is going on. Remarkable really. But then so must be his wealth, to pull it all off. So that he will be remembered as a “good” person perhaps. Should they not also find an alternative for the people in Japan? Then again maybe it is a 5 star movie because what they do down there is very ugly. But then why not go after Sea World? They can probably defend themselves better with all the money they have. So shut down the Cove ok. Anyway, this is a strong movie that should get people talking.
March 4, 2010
#5
A lot my acquaintances who had seen this movie had really given much praise to this movie. I really thought I was in for a treat when I put this movie on only to find myself extremely disappointed. This movie is complete propaganda that does seem to be working on the masses since recently people have been reacting after watching this movie. (Which is what the makes probably wanted happening) I don’t mind a movie trying to make it’s point across but as another reviewer had pointed out, when you put in things like, “I believe that this dolphin committed suicide in my arms” or “These dolphins saved me from sharks” you’re really pushing it.
While I have my own opinions on whaling and dolphin hunting, I thought it was a bit unfair that the entire movie kept screaming things along the lines of “We must release all the dolphins from captivity. If you can you must free any dolphin you see. These animals are not meant to be taken out of their environment.” Why don’t they say that ALL ANIMALS should be taken out of captivity? Why should only dolphins get this special privilege? Rather than preaching to free only dolphins, they should also preach to free all animals from zoos and aquariums. After all, these animals are all out of their own familiar environment.