THE COVE Review

I understand that you can never have a fair documentary. When dealing with this genre, you know that you’re going to deal with filmmakers with one biased agenda so they can convert you into thinking their way by presenting… the supposed facts at hand. THE COVE is quite possibly one of the few documentaries out there that could also pass as a thriller, because it has suspenseful, covert op-like moments. If you’re one of those environmentalists, you’ll definitely go gung-ho over THE COVE.

In the 1960′s, Richard O’Barry was the world’s leading authority on dolphin training, working on the set of the popular television program “Flipper.” Day in and day out, O’Barry kept the dolphins working and television audiences smiling. But one day, that all came to a tragic end. “The Cove,” directed by Louie Psihoyos, tells the amazing true story of how Psihoyos, O’Barry and an elite team of activists, filmmakers and freedivers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate a hidden cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and deadly secret. The mysteries they uncovered were only the tip of the iceberg.

Ric O’Barry, the most famous dolphin trainer who someday just realized he made a terrible mistake by contributing to today’s industry of putting dolphins in captivity for show business. This is a man haunted by guilt and all these years he’s been trying to redeem himself, paying off his debts, washing away his sins by releasing dolphins into the wild. Some may view him as nothing but an animal rights wacko but THE COVE does glorify the cause he’s fighting for day in and day out, wherever he goes all over the world. People love a story about one man trying to bring down the now corrupt industry which he helped built years ago.

The movie does well in making you part of the team going deep into the secrets that Taiji has been keeping all these years. I can’t help but be impressed by the state of the art equipment that these people carry just to capture the killings. As described in the film, the team is like a mix of Ocean’s Eleven and Mission Impossible. But I think some of the members are just in it only because O’Barry needs their skills, not because they care much about what would happen to the Dolphins.
Like any documentary, it would try to have a mission that it intends on accomplishing and there’ll be talking heads and research studies through all kinds of creative illustrations to prove a point as intervals. The only dissatisfaction is that they can’t get to interview what they perceive is the main villain, Japan’s representative at the United Nation’s Anti-Whaling commission. Even so, I think exposing the killings in one area is strong enough to send the message out to the world.

However, at the same time, I can’t help but to wonder if Japanese fisherman would only do what any hunter would do in similar situation. If the population of deers start to become overwhelming for one area, wouldn’t the local authorities allow hunting to cut the number down?! What if that’s the case with Dolphins over there in Taiji? And if the activists are so into saving Dolphins, then why not save Tuna and protest against killing Salmons too?! But for a movie that focuses on raising awareness about one specific thing,THE COVE is worth watching, informative and thought-provoking. I care about the Dolphins, I don’t believe in whaling or killing dolphins for any reason but THE COVE could be a more solid, well-researched documentary instead of.. well, if anything it’s The Chronicles of Ric O’Barry.
I’m not sure how impactful this will be…because truth is, after watching it, people will still go back to their normal living, because they got so much more.. human problems.. that they essentially need to take care of first over anything else.. including dolphins

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