“I do want to say that we try to do the story legally”, Ric O’ Barry mentions anxiously as he checks the rear-view mirror once again. He’s assured that the police are after him from the moment he had arrived in Taiji, a small town in coastal Japan. Wearing a white mask and a pair of sunglasses to completely conceal his face, he has big plans ahead of him to reveal a dark secret.
Just 360 miles from Tokyo, lies Taiji, a little harbor town with a tradition of dolphin hunting. Year after year, over 2000 dolphins are cruelly slaughtered in the “cove” and most Japanese are clueless about this. Aquarium trainers choose the most attractive ones and the rest are left inhumanely murdered by cruel savages.
There are usually two reasons why people don't watch documentaries. Firstly, they are boring. Secondly, documentaries usually force people to reassess their actions. Well, The Cove is sure to completely change your mindset on documentaries. With a strong passion to bring a change, Louie Psihoyos has created a shockingly persuasive documentary film like no other. When you take aspects of a documentary and blend them together with those of a thriller movie, the result is a film like The Cove, which is sure to leave you on the edge of your seat. As Psihoyos recruits his “dream team”, consisting of a mold maker to construct hidden cameras and champion free divers, he sets out on an undercover mission to unveil the truth behind Taiji.
The film is without a doubt extremely effective in persuading the audience and is possible one of the best documentaries, receiving an Oscar in 2010. Some of the HD underwater footage of the dolphins is jaw dropping and is definitely going to leave you completely immersed into the content. The fast paced actions during the pursuits are wonderfully complemented by the dramatic music. The gruesome scenes of the dolphin slaughtering and the red sea are dreadful and is painful to watch.
Although this film is excellent in terms of persuasiveness, it is full of flaws and factual errors. While the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji is very real, much about the “hero”, Ric’s past and the reasons behind the slaughter that the film portrays are far from fact. Bias is found throughout the film and there are many scenes that crudely show ignorance and hatred towards Japan and its culture. So does all this bias and flaws make the message of The Cove invalid? Definitely not. Bias is simply not enough to overwrite the fact that one of the worst animal slaughtering is taking place in Japan and that action must be taken to change this situation.
Despite its bias and lack of accuracy, The Cove is a must-see. The deeply disturbing film is crafted excellently and is like no other documentary you’ve ever seen. The spine-tingling film will make you forget that you are watching a documentary and instead, part of the undercover mission with Ric and his dream team.
Just 360 miles from Tokyo, lies Taiji, a little harbor town with a tradition of dolphin hunting. Year after year, over 2000 dolphins are cruelly slaughtered in the “cove” and most Japanese are clueless about this. Aquarium trainers choose the most attractive ones and the rest are left inhumanely murdered by cruel savages.
There are usually two reasons why people don't watch documentaries. Firstly, they are boring. Secondly, documentaries usually force people to reassess their actions. Well, The Cove is sure to completely change your mindset on documentaries. With a strong passion to bring a change, Louie Psihoyos has created a shockingly persuasive documentary film like no other. When you take aspects of a documentary and blend them together with those of a thriller movie, the result is a film like The Cove, which is sure to leave you on the edge of your seat. As Psihoyos recruits his “dream team”, consisting of a mold maker to construct hidden cameras and champion free divers, he sets out on an undercover mission to unveil the truth behind Taiji.
The film is without a doubt extremely effective in persuading the audience and is possible one of the best documentaries, receiving an Oscar in 2010. Some of the HD underwater footage of the dolphins is jaw dropping and is definitely going to leave you completely immersed into the content. The fast paced actions during the pursuits are wonderfully complemented by the dramatic music. The gruesome scenes of the dolphin slaughtering and the red sea are dreadful and is painful to watch.
Although this film is excellent in terms of persuasiveness, it is full of flaws and factual errors. While the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji is very real, much about the “hero”, Ric’s past and the reasons behind the slaughter that the film portrays are far from fact. Bias is found throughout the film and there are many scenes that crudely show ignorance and hatred towards Japan and its culture. So does all this bias and flaws make the message of The Cove invalid? Definitely not. Bias is simply not enough to overwrite the fact that one of the worst animal slaughtering is taking place in Japan and that action must be taken to change this situation.
Despite its bias and lack of accuracy, The Cove is a must-see. The deeply disturbing film is crafted excellently and is like no other documentary you’ve ever seen. The spine-tingling film will make you forget that you are watching a documentary and instead, part of the undercover mission with Ric and his dream team.
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