We saw The Cove, a documentary about a seasonal dolphin round up / slaughter in Taiji, Japan. The sexy dolphins are sold to dolphin trainers for dolphin experience exhibits or aquariums. The average looking dolphins are then taken to a secluded cove around the bend and killed by the thousands. The level of protection that the fisherman exert over the privacy of these events is staggering. They scream, intimidate, threaten, and are physically violent.
The documentary revolves around the efforts of the filmmaker and his parter in crime Ric O'Berry, the man who catapulted dolphins into public consciousness through the TV show Flipper. He was the trainer of each of the dolphins used in that show. They assemble a team of experts to infiltrate the cove and set up secret recording devices to capture the cruelty so they can expose this practice to the world (via this film ostensibly).
The footage is captivating. Dolphins are very personable, and it is horrifying to watch their
treatment in this bizarre corner of Japan. The Cove tugs at heart strings, then yanks at heart strings. I ended up with sore heart strings, but also a sense of skepticism about my own reaction. Would I have been so moved about a film about chickens or cows? Perhaps, but its it precisely the charisma that makes them popular entertainment that seems to have doomed these animals.
All in all, I give this film 11 biscuits. It is entertaining, and provides hours of food for thought as you mull over what you have just seen. just dont eat the dolphin meat because its poison.
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