Winning almost every award it was nominated for, including the Sundance Audience Award, this film tells the tale of dolphin abuse throughout the world, but especially in Japan.
If you love dolphins, as I do, this film will bring tears to your eyes. You will find all those dolphins you love are not happy. You will find out what happens to the thousands that are not selected by dolphinariums. You will find out the extreme measures Japan takes to make sure you never see this film.
But, due to the incredible work of some dedicated individuals, you are seeing what happens in The Cove.
It is not an easy film to watch. I had to pause it and leave the house several times during the film. But anyone who cares about these creatures must watch it.
The Cove
2009
Action / Biography / Crime / Documentary / History / News
The Cove
2009
Action / Biography / Crime / Documentary / History / News
Plot summary
Richard O'Barry was the man who captured and trained the dolphins for the television show Flipper (1964). O'Barry's view of cetaceans in captivity changed from that experience when as the last straw he saw that one of the dolphins playing Flipper - her name being Kathy - basically committed suicide in his arms because of the stress of being in captivity. Since that time, he has become one of the leading advocates against cetaceans in captivity and for the preservation of cetaceans in the wild. O'Barry and filmmaker 'Louie Psihoyos (I)' go about trying to expose one of what they see as the most cruel acts against wild dolphins in the world in Taiji, Japan, where dolphins are routinely corralled, either to be sold alive to aquariums and marine parks, or slaughtered for meat. The primary secluded cove where this activity is taking place is heavily guarded. O'Barry and Psihoyos are well known as enemies by the authorities in Taiji, the authorities who will use whatever tactic to expel the two from Japan forever. O'Barry, Psihoyos and their team covertly try to film as a document of conclusive evidence this cruel behavior. They employ among others Hollywood cameramen and deep sea free divers. They also highlight what is considered the dangerous consumption of dolphin meat (due to its high concentration of mercury) which is often sold not as dolphin meat, and the Japanese government's methodical buying off of poorer third world nations for their support of Japan's whaling industry, that support most specifically at the International Whaling Commission.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Hayden Panettiere as Herself: Whateman Foundation / Save the Whales
Isabel Lucas as Herself: Whateman Foundation / Save the Whales
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 774.53 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
PG-13
Movie Reviews
Reviewed by
They are self-aware like humans are self-aware.
Reviewed by
Guerrilla film-making at its finest
THE COVE is a documentary that goes hand in hand with the excellent BLACKFISH in exploring mankind's inhumanity to the creatures of the sea. The focus of this Oscar-winning feature-length effort is on a single cove in Taiji, Japan, where thousands of dolphins are slaughtered every year in order to supply dolphin meat to the markets.
You can easily see why this film won all the plaudits: it's so very well constructed. There's a fine mix of interview footage, of background material, of archive material, and of some actual guerrilla-style filmmaking footage of those involved sneaking into the forbidden cove to set up covert filming apparatus. When we finally do see what's been taking place in the cove, right at the climax, it's as shocking and deeply disturbing as you'd expect.
Did I enjoy watching THE COVE? No, you can't enjoy something like this, not really. Am I glad I watched it? Yes. Is it thoroughly depressing? Yes. Does it reveal more about how the world works? Yes. And that's the point. Ethical concerns aside, this is an almost perfectly-constructed documentary, one that shocks, saddens, and makes you appreciate those who continue to fight the fight to this day.
Reviewed by
eye opening
Ric O'Barry shows Louie Psihoyos and the Oceanic Preservation Society the dolphin slaughter happening in Taiji, Japan. At first, he seems like a paranoid nut but just because he's paranoid doesn't make it untrue. He's followed and harassed by the fishermen and local police. Ric was the original trainer of dolphins starting with five dolphins on the TV show Flipper. It led to a world-wide trade of live dolphins in shows like in Sea World. After one of his beloved dolphins committed suicide, he goes on the long road to end the industry that he invented. The movie shows the international gamesmanship by the Japanese at the International Whaling Commission, the toxic levels of mercury in dolphin meat, and the difficulty of spreading the word especially in Japan. The OPS with help tries to surreptitiously film the slaughter in the hidden cove. This is an eye opening documentary. It's quite effective as a movie. As for its results, this is more of a step more than a revolution. Another film Blackfish is able to make bigger and more effective change. Trying to change Japan continues to run into a brick wall.