The Cove (Saturday, August 1, 2009) (103)

This documentary focuses on the legal capture and poaching of dolphins in a remote Japanese village. Some of the animals are caught and selected by dolphin trainers for shows at places like Sea World and the less desirable ones are sold for food. Though the trade in dolphins and dolphin meat is generally frowned upon by environmentalists, there is no international regulation on it. The group that would be the most able to regulate it, the International Whaling Commission (dolphins genetically very similar to whales), is dominated by Japan who not only is trying to loosen whaling laws but also block dolphin regulations from being installed. This movie could otherwise be called 'Japan is full of a bunch of jerks who are trying to kill marine mammals.'

Ric O'Barry, one of the creators and dolphin trainers on the TV show Flipper is now one of the leading advocates (probably THE leading advocate) against dolphin capture for aquariums and food. He has been banned by the IWC meetings for life and is followed by police when he goes near the town of Taiji where the eponymous cove is. He explains clearly how cruel it is to have dolphins in zoos and aquariums as their sense of direction and sanity is based on their natural sonar, which is messed up when penned into a small space.

On top of the cruelty for the living animals, the meat is highly toxic in human consumption. As one scientist in the film says, dolphins are swimming toxic waste dumps with mercury levels thousands of times above World Health Organization recommended levels. Considering most Japanese people react to the thought of eating dolphin the same way westerners would (with horror), most dolphin meat is marketed as whale meat - which is a much more acceptable protein in Japan. Due to a massive stock of dolphin meat, the Japanese government has also tried to put it in the mandatory school lunches eaten by millions of children every day, effectively poisoning school children.

In the film, the director, Louie Psihoyos, gathers a motley crew of eco-insurgents to set up hidden cameras in the cove where the dolphins are forced and ultimately slaughtered to document the brutal hunt that happens there. They build fake boulders to hide cameras on the hills next to the water, set up underwater apparatus to see things from down below, and night-vision cameras to see what happens after dark. What we get is one of the most shocking and bloody scenes in recent cinema. The fisherman stab blindly into the water and kill the animals violently. They are then hauled into boats and later tied to lines and dragged to be butchered (because they're too bloody inside the boats).

As with other recent food or nature documentaries (Food, Inc., The End of the Line), the film makers are very powerful with their message and make you feel rather guilty for sitting by and letting this happen. I can't say I have ever or would ever eat dolphin, but I'm shocked that people do and saddened by the brutality of the hunt for them. This movie is not a 'must see', but it is effective and interesting. The violent images are quite powerful and it is very nicely done for environmental polemic. Still, it is so one-note and flat that it doesn't rise above that PBS 'Frontline' index - why this isn't on TV rather than in a theater is somewhat beyond me.

Stars: 2 of 4