A Look Into: The Cove

After viewing the documentary, "The Cove", I believe it's safe to say that many will never be able to eat seafood again. Whether or not that will be enough; only time will tell.

To open with Richard O'Barry, the man who formed and defined the industry of dolphin captivity, regretting his work was very effective in drawing the viewers in. Referring to the well-known and inspiring television series, "Flipper", O'Barry assigns himself the blame for ten years of hard work and follows it with thirty-five years of activist work. He claimed that, the death of Cathy, one of the two dolphins who played the role of 'Flipper', caused him to see the light in his ways. In sadness and pain, Cathy swam into O'Barry's arms and committed suicide by choosing not to breathe anymore. Her conscious decision ate O'Barry up and, the next day, he was arrested for setting dolphins in captivity free.

From there, he continued to do what he felt was the right thing. The authorities arrested him each time, but when set free again, he would go right back to doing it. That was when he heard about the massacres dolphins in Taiji, Japan. Appalled and with a heavy heart, O'Barry works to stop the slaughtering of innocent dolphins to this day.

The documentary presents facts and live footage that had been recorded without the permission of the Japanese government, but that begs the question of whether or not such horrendous acts of murder can be just ignored by a country the world considered to be modern and up-standing. With the way the facts are presented, one can only wonder as to what the government is thinking of and why it would allow its people to continue the slaughter?

From a writer's stand point, this documentary was exceptional and very open to interpretation, however; being that the documentarists were foreigners and stood out in every crowd, things were made very difficult and improvising was a large part of the process. In the end, when all is edited and done, the end product turned out amazing.

Visually, the documentary starts in the point of view of a tourist. The colors are lively and as Japan is, vibrant and resonating with life. The culture across the sea is filled with 'traditions' and weathered generations of descendants with histories. When each character is introduced, there is a comedic mannerism about them that lets the viewers understand that this person will play a bigger role in the future.

Isolated shots of dolphins and the fishermen who guard the cove puts a spin on the viewer's thoughts and the hand-held feel to the camera puts the viewer right there, in the midst of the action. Being yelled at and being told to leave by the fishermen, this riles up the emotional connection between O'Barry and his cohorts. When the plot is planned, the cameras planted, the microphones hot, and all of the key players gathered, the results are phenomenal.

Watching the fishermen gather the dolphins in the bay was something that gave off the vibes of uneasiness. Then, to watch as they are brought closer to each other and speared time and time again as the cove is filled with blood is a completely different experience. An overwhelming sense of dread and horror is apparent, as all music is cut out, revealing only the sounds and sights of dolphins dying, bleeding, and trying to swim away from the massacre. Time after time, the fishermen spear the helpless, dying, dolphins. And as they sink to the bottom of the cove, the first note of a very sad lament seeps into the scene.

As divers pull up dead dolphin bodies and the fishermen pull the carcasses onto boats, one can only watch in horror, so far from the action, yet so close with the feelings of all who watched. Boat after boat of the dead leave the cove of bloody red waters, and the room is silenced.

There are no words that can be used to describe just how horrifying it is.

But, when victorious music is played, we watch as O'Barry enters the meeting place of The International Whaling Commission, wearing a screen with footage of the slaughter strapped to his body. He walks around the room, showing all whom he could the truth of what goes on in Taiji, Japan. Though he is escorted out, there is a sense of victory and hope for the future.

The end of the documentary is that of bitter sweetness. Of course, some of the officials were put out of jobs and not everything happened according to the Japanese governments, especially in Taiji, but the fact that the cove is still in use and the slaughters still occur worries a great many people. Thus, the appeal and cry for help and support from every and anyone who is touched by the documentary.

This documentary is very well made and received numerous awards. If you found this review interesting or impossible to be true; I urge you to watch the documentary and decide for yourself. Or visit the movie's site or the organization's site. I urge you to do something. Anything.