The Cove
Winner Best Documentary - SIFF 2009 Golden Space Needle Audience Awards
Dolphins are damned smart. Our fellow mammals are capable of much more than somersaulting in unison and fetching fish, and The Cove intends to blow the lid off that tank once and for all. The man who trained Flipper, activist Richard O’Barry, propels this exposé of Japan’s dolphin trade. He has spent time on both sides of the dolphin street—the first ten years in the dolphin captivity industry and the past 38 years against it. Since Earth Day 1970, O'Barry has sought to free captive dolphins that were viable candidates. The Cove follows O'Barry to its Japanese namesake, where images of friendly dolphins color the urban landscape. Still, the public is mostly unaware of the extent of the animals' mistreatment. The crew on this Oceans Eleven-style mission includes filmmaker Louie Psihoyos (a longtime National Geographic photographer and diver) and a team of activists and producers, including one whose credit reads Clandestine Operations. O'Barry's band of outsiders proceeds with anarchic vigor. They thwart and enrage the local authorities in order to get their message on the radar. Part environmental documentary, part horror film, part spy thriller, The Cove is as suspenseful as it is enlightening as it shows exactly what film can do in the hands of those who aren’t afraid to risk it all for their cause.
Sponsor:
Seattle Weekly
Cast & Crew
Director: Louie Psihoyos
Producer: Fisher Steves, Paula DuPré Pesman, Olivia Ahnemann
Editor: Geoffrey Richman
Screenwriter: Mark Monroe
Cinematographer: Brook Aitken
Awards: Sundance Film Festival 2009 (Audience Award) Hot Docs 2009 (Audience Award)
Music: J. Ralph
Filmography: Debut Feature Film
World Sales: Submarine Entertainment
Average rating:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
(3 reviews)
User reviews
-
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Time to get your activism on!, May 17, 2009
By dmitrineilovich
“Once again, a man with a righteous mission (bordering a tiny bit on obsession) comes to us via film to tell the world about the terrible thing happening in that place far away from our comfy homes, and why we should give a good goddamn. And he does a damn good job of it. While I knew about the”
… full review
-
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Powerful documentary thriller!, May 24, 2009
By joeyoeyo
“A incredibly well done documentary that not only educates, but strongly motivates us to get involved to protect dolphins and the oceans -- for their sake and our own.”
-
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
See this film!, May 26, 2009
By zendog
“If you missed The Cove at SIFF, look for the theatrical release in Seattle this summer. Ric O'Barry's (trainer of Flipper) crusade to raise awareness of sentient cetaceans in captivity leads to the cove where Japanese slaughter 25,000 dolphins each September. ”
-
