There are films that open your eyes and bring light to issues that are going on around the world. Food, Inc. was one of those films, now there is The Cove. Some things you do not know until it is brought to your attention and then you take notice.
Richard O’Barry was the trainer on the TV show Flipper. He trained dolphins and practically lived with them. After years of training them, his main dolphin, Kathy, died in his arms and O’Barry changed forever. The next day he was arrested for trying to free other dolphins. He has been doing it ever since.
He has spent decades freeing dolphins and getting arrested several times a year for it. O’Barry carries a lot of guilt about the business of dolphins and places like Sea World. He feels responsible because Flipper started the craze over dolphins and their intelligence and skills became in demand. O’Barry even captured the five female dolphins that played Flipper. He will spend the rest of his life making up for it.
This documentary brings O’Barry to his toughest challenge yet. It is a place called ‘The Cove” and it’s in Taiji, Japan. A small town with a dark secret. What these Japanese fisherman do in “The Cove” is brutal and violent, and no one knows about it. O’Barry is not a popular man in Japan. They know him very well and when he comes in to town he is immediately met by police and questioned.
But with help of Louie Psihoyos (the director) and a special team of activists and freedivers, they will blow the lid off of this secret and reveal it to the world. The truth will be revealed in all of it’s horror and brutality. And it is a true adventure that takes place in order for this to be achieved, including hidden cameras in fake rocks and underwater camera and audio.
It doesn’t get anymore suspenseful than this because it’s real life. This team is putting their lives on the line for these dolphins. These Japanese fisherman do not want anyone to see what is going on. And they are always on watch and if anyone from the O’Barry team is arrested then the mission is a failure because they have ruined their chances of being able to return. There is a mixture of night vision and hidden cameras and you feel like you are right in the mix.
There is footage of graphic violence that involves the slaughtering of dolphins. It is tough to watch because these mammals are suffering and being killed for no reason. There is a very important question asked in in the documentary: Why not set them free? I think the answer is money and corruption. It seems to always be the root of all evil.
The Cove is a great documentary that is thrilling and suspenseful, and brings so much awareness to the treatment of dolphins. It’s an issue that can be stopped and O’Barry will not stop until that happens. And there are others who are helping his cause and his rescue.
O’Barry is an intelligent man who cares very deeply for the dolphins, and he goes outside of the box and breaks rules to free them. He is a brave man with a courageous filmmaker and team that brings down the mystery of “The Cove”, and lets everyone see the blood in the ocean for themselves and how it happens.
This documentary will stay with you and make you think about the next time you see a dolphin at Sea World or any place like that. And remember just because dolphins appear to be smiling does not mean they are.
“Nature Boy” Brandon Vick is the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and star of Brandon’s Box Office In Your Mouth. Follow him on Twitter@SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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