The Cove is one of the most powerful documentaries I have ever seen. Its power comes because the issue in hand is going on right now, as I write this, dolphins are probably being killed in Taijii. The film exposes the horrible whaling industry in Japan, and through a team of high motivated individuals who go out to the cove of Taijii, Japan where the fisherman catch the dolphins using very sadist methods and afterwards take them to a secluded area of the peninsula and kill them. The film follows a group led by Ric O’Barry as they set up to capture in film the methods the fisherman use to kill the dolphins, and continuously demonstrate the serious threat eating dolphin can have on humans and how companies, and the Japanese government, cover it up using briberies and lies. By gluing you to the screen through the use of very appropriate high paced music and x-ray shots that are normally reserved for war movies, the film will make you want to go to your government representatives and force them to stop negotiations with Japan unless they change their legislative powers, and rightfully so. I mean, how is it possible that 23000 dolphins are murdered every year and no one knows anything about it? More importantly, how does the government get away with it? These questions are answered here, and although the film might seem biased to some against the Japanese, it really tries not to be.
What makes this film great though is that it tries to understand the reason behind the slaughter. Although the Japanese are shown as the bad guys from the start of the film, Psihoyos constantly asks the question: why are they doing this? We get the economics side of the argument, the political, but more importantly the sociological. Psihoyos argues that the slaughters have become bigger than supply balancing demand; it is anti-Americanism at its most violent. Everyone has a reason to act the way they do (which is normally money), but beneath it all lies a non-conformist blind ideology that we really cannot understand. When we see this film its torture, but what Psihoyos wants the Japanese to feel is shock to see that they have turned their heads to this problem for so many years. In one of the last scenes, O’Barry stands in the middle of a crowd with revealing images, and he lets the images speak for themselves. This film can be viewed by 2 billion Westerners, but what really makes a difference is what the Japanese decide to do with the film. Hopefully this becomes a hit in Japan, as the film is a real shocker and a great documentary in general.
In the end, apart from getting its point across shockingly well, the film is also captivating and tense. It has a narrative and it keeps you fascinated throughout. You really don’t believe you are watching this, and the director makes sure never to bore you with unnecessary details or long history explanations, the background can easily be inferred and he doesn’t dumb us down. The film is riveting to say the least. Recommended for everyone, but not for children.
9/10
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