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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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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Guerrilla Filmmaking at its Best,
This review is from: The Cove (DVD)
What do you do when politicians, unions, the news media, environmentalists and others know about a big social problem, but refuse to do anything about it? Why, you gather together some high-tech equipment, assemble a crack team of techies, activists and divers, infiltrate the hidden secret and then present the documented evidence to the world. That is exactly what director Louie Psihoyos has done with this film, "The Cove", taking guerrilla filmmaking to a higher level and earning all the accolades that this film has been getting.In this case, the "hidden secret" is the capturing and slaughtering of thousands of dolphins each year in the small fishing town of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The lead protagonist in the film is dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry of "Flipper" fame, who is public enemy No. 1 in Taiji for his open opposition to the dolphin killing. He's also not real popular among the aquarium-type theme parks (called the "captivity industry") worldwide that do big business buying dolphins directly from Taiji. So to document the slaughter, the use of hidden cameras in the nearby woods, a sound recorder in the cove of Taiji and a remote-controlled helicopter are creatively employed. To pull it off, of course, you need experts in their craft to carry out the missions and avoid getting busted by the Japanese police. In fact, looking at the documentary as a whole, it's amazing how the filmmaking team even managed to get it all done and get the movie into theaters and onto DVD in the first place. To help balance things out in "The Cove" there is also coverage of the International Whaling Commission gatherings (useless though they are) as well as an interview with a Japanese government official in Tokyo. Two local politicians in Taiji, at great risk to themselves, also offer a few comments on camera about toxic dolphin meat in Japanese school lunches. Two issues come up in this film: the brutal treatment of dolphins (in Taiji and elsewhere), and the high rate of mercury found in dolphin meat in Japan that people are eating. In other words, animal rights and human welfare. The film does a good job of presenting those two issues as equally important and worthy of our attention and action. For me, "The Cove" represents guerrilla filmmaking at its best and shows us the future possibilities for broadening even more this Renaissance of documentary filmmaking that we see happening around the world these days. The excellent editing of various dolphin footage and a top-notch musical soundtrack also help to make this a movie that should not be missed. Prepare to be informed and shocked by what you see here.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best dolphin documentary,
By
This review is from: NEW Cove (DVD) (DVD)
This is a MUST see film for anyone interested in dolphins and who has visited marine attractions with captive dolphins--here is the bloody truth behind the holiday fun!The Cove is up for the Oscar as 2009's best documentary for very good reason--a galvanizing and inspiring film! ~Leah Lemieux, author of REKINDLING THE WATERS: The Truth About Swimming With Dolphins
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
the killing cove,
By
This review is from: The Cove (DVD)
this documentary is essentially about the the killing of dolphins(whichare part of the whale family) in a cove in a secretive area of Japan,which is actually guarded to keep people away.it's not just the fact that they are killed.it's how they are killed,and the reason they are killed.they slaughtered while they are still alive and the fisherman seem to revel in the killing.thousands of theses dolphins have been killed.they are actually an endangered species.the Japanese citizens on the street weren't even aware of this happening until told by the filmmakers.but thanks to these courageous filmmakers,people are beginning to realize what's going on,and hopefully Japan will wake up and join the 21st century.very eye opening documentary that may make you angry,and probably sad,but worth watching. 5/5
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