DVD Review: ‘The Cove’ Captures Truths That Deserve Global Awareness

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CHICAGO – Ric O’Barry made the world fall in love with dolphins. He captured and trained the five dolphins used in the classic TV series, “Flipper.” But as he learned more about these extraordinarily intelligent, self-aware creatures, he became increasingly disturbed about the detrimental effects of their captivity.

And when one of the show’s star dolphins committed suicide in his arms, by refusing to inhale one more breath, O’Barry decided to dedicate the rest of his life to being an animal activist. His battles with the captivity industry lie at the heart of Louie Psihoyos’s “The Cove,” which was recently named the year’s best documentary by the National Board of Review.

HollywoodChicago.com DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0
DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0

Like “Man on Wire,” “The Cove” has the rhythm and urgency of a thriller, as its human subjects repeatedly put themselves in danger while trying to capture footage that couldn’t be retrieved legally. O’Barry and Psihoyos, along with a specially selected crew, devise a plan to secretly film the annual dolphin drive hunting that occurs in the Japanese village of Taiji. While the most physically superior dolphins are captured and sold to aquariums, about 2,000 of them are slaughtered for their meat each year. This all takes place in a national park that has been fenced off by the government. Consumers purchase the dolphin meat, which is falsely labeled as seafood, and laced with dangerous amounts of mercury.

The Cove was released on DVD on December 8th, 2009.
The Cove was released on DVD on December 8th, 2009.
Photo credit: Lionsgate Home Video

This film would make an ideal double feature with one of the year’s other great documentaries, Robert Kenner’s “Food, Inc.” Both films aim to expose the less-than-appetizing content of what we eat, while making the audience empathize with the abused animals onscreen. One of most intriguing arguments in “The Cove” is that dolphin trainers don’t bother to learn anything from the animals they work with, since they utilize a form of communication (sign-language) that can’t be reciprocated. It’s alarming to learn that captive dolphins must be given medicine for ulcers produced by their stressful environment. An animal equipped with ultra-sensitive hearing, and the ability to travel over forty miles in a day, was clearly never meant to be confined at SeaWorld and surrounded by hordes of screaming crowds.

The Cove was released on DVD on December 8th, 2009.
The Cove was released on DVD on December 8th, 2009.
Photo credit: Lionsgate Home Video

The grisliest footage is saved for the film’s final moments, as the hunters, armed with spears, turn the churning ocean waters into a silent sea of blood. These are the kind of images with the power to turn enormous tides, and they will undoubtedly be etched in the mind of any animal lover who witnesses them. Though the film is deeply wrenching, it’s also hugely entertaining and inspiring. “The Cove” is billed as the first film by the OPS (Oceanic Preservation Society), a non-for-profit organization, headed by Psihoyos, determined to give a cinematic voice to our planet’s endangered underwater life forms.

The hopeful humanist message of both “Food, Inc.” and “The Cove” can be succinctly summarized by a line from Margaret Mead (paraphrased in Psihoyos’s film), “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. In fact, it’s the only thing that ever has.” At a time when our governments repeatedly fail and deceive their own people, such a message is more relevant and powerful than ever.

“The Cove” is presented in its 1.78:1 aspect ratio, and includes several riveting extras. The commentary from Psihoyos and producer Fisher Stevens actually intensifies the suspense by describing the multiple risks taken by the filmmakers to acquire their footage. A series of mini-featurettes showcase the various hidden cameras used by the OPS on the cove. There’s also an excellent 18-minute documentary that expands on the film’s study of mercury poisoning, and illustrates how 900 coal burning plants are causing the toxification of our oceans. It also makes deservedly repeated mention of the two heroic city council members who helped ensure that dolphin meat would stay out of the stomachs of schoolchildren.

‘The Cove’ is released by Lions Gate and features Richard O’Barry, Louie Psihoyos, Simon Hutchins, Mary-Rae Cruickshank, Kirk Krack, Charles Hambleton, Joseph Chisholm and David Rastovich. It was written by Mark Monroe and directed by Louie Psihoyos. It was released on December 8th, 2009. It is rated PG-13.

HollywoodChicago.com staff writer Matt Fagerholm

By MATT FAGERHOLM
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
matt@hollywoodchicago.com

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