Director: Louie Psihoyos
Like last year’s great documentary “Man on Wire”, “The Cove” tells it’s story under the guise of a thriller. It’s a caper movie, complete with adrenaline-pumping music and the threat of danger around every corner. The stakes are high, but none are higher than those of Ric O’Barry. You probably don’t know the name, but he’s the guy responsible for training five dolphins to star as Flipper in the popular television series. Now, seeing the effects that captivity has had on dolphins, he regrets doing so to such an extent that he is quite literally haunted by his contributions to their mainstream success.
But what’s the big deal? Well, dolphins, as obvious to anyone, get around with sonar. In stadiums filled with cheering fans and blaring music, dolphins tend to get overly-anxious and stressed – some, in the early stages of captivity, even died from it. Next time you see a dolphin show, you could consider their performance to be as reluctant as a man being forced to dance as bullets approach his feet.
Dolphin captivity is a minor problem in comparison to what “The Cove” really unveils, however. In the small Japanese town of Taiji, dolphins are tricked via sonar into a cul-de-sac and slaughtered ruthlessly by fisherman. “The Cove” doesn’t exploit this bloodshed, leaving it solely to the revealing climax. By then, the filmmakers have earned our attention, and the horrors of the water-stained-red will stick with you for a long time.
What’s the big deal about dolphin fishing? Well, it’s meat is intoxicated with extremely high levels of mercury. Worse yet, it’s sold under the label of whale meat, and even mislabeled and placed into the lunches of school children. These mercury levels have already been accused of severe birth defects, and the trend presented in “The Cove” suggests that things will get worse.
“The Cove” is admittedly one sided, and you might proceed with caution as you hear dolphin enthusiasts describe their spiritual connections to the creatures. It’s hard to debate against it’s thesis, however, and the shocking footage of the slaughter in Taiji is so appalling that it could turn the most cold-hearted individual to tears of anger.
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