Advertise here.
 |
Title: The Cove
|
/ 
/ 
| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents...there are some very disturbing images in this. Most kids will likely be frightened at the sight of dolphins being killed. Recommended for ages 13 and up. |
Ric O'Barry leads an interesting life. In the Academy Award-winning documentary “The Cove” we learn that Ric was one of the first real famous dolphin trainers. His job was to train dolphins for the hit TV show “Flipper” so that they would do what the script required them to do. After one of the dolphins died in his arms in what he considered a suicide (because the dolphin “chose” not to take the next breath of air), he decided he would spend his life trying to liberate dolphins. Someone like this would probably be considered a crazy man or extremist, but Ric actually comes off as a smart man. He truly believes that dolphins are creators who shouldn’t be held in captivity and he backs his beliefs up with strong facts and conviction.
 |
He is also not a stupid man. He knows that he will not free all the dolphins in his lifetime. Instead he wants to focus on bringing dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan to an end. For as he puts it, “if we can’t [stop the killing] there, then we have no hope for the future. It’s sort of refreshing to see an activist with reasonable expectations in life. I want to say up-front that I’m not sure how much I agree with the film. I don’t think dolphins are just as smart as humans, and I confess that an episode of Penn & Teller sort of made me less sympathetic to people who think there are special “connections” people can share with dolphins in the water. Regardless of what I feel though there are people in this movie who do love dolphins.
 |
They love them enough to fight for them. Even Hayden Panettiere (of recently cancelled “Heroes” fame) gets her future visitation rights to Japan revoked for protesting the killing of the dolphins. I admit to siding with the Japanese sometimes in this film. The American’s are in a foreign land and causing trouble for a company, which is considered very disrespectful to their culture. That said, stories where Japanese men kill baby dolphins in front of Ric in hopes they catch him on tape doing something he shouldn’t is vile and cruel. The title of the movie refers to a spot in the fishing area that is off-limits to anyone and everyone. First the Japanese collect dolphins. In public they sell the one’s with most show potential to SeaWorld and other places.
 |
Once the selling is done they move the dolphins to this hidden spot and...who knows? All we know for the longest time is that we never see the dolphins again. What’s going on back there? What do they do with the dolphins they kill? The movie then becomes a thriller as these activists have to try to sneak hidden cameras to get horrifying footage on camera to make their case. Footage I will not discuss here. Needless to say it’s quite unsettling. At the end of the film chances are you will be moved by the plight of the dolphins and feel frustrated at Japan’s wishy-washy stance on the subject. I’m not sure if you will become activists yourselves, but this makes for a great movie all the same. It’s about an interesting topic told in the style of a thriller. Yeah it's one-sided but I'll let it slide this time. It’s easily the best animal activist film I’ve ever seen.
Note: During the 82nd Academy Awards the producers cut away to the audience when Ric O’Barry held up a sign to the audience. Many including myself thought this was wrong of them to do, so to help Ric out I’ll let you know what the sign said here: Text DOLPHIN to 44144.
 |
 |
|
|
Spaceriffic Review
Want to see us review this? Send a donation with your title request, and it will be done (might take awhile, but it will get done).
Click here for a list of films that have already been requested before you request something.
