a SIFF 2009 review
Heartbreaking Cove a Shocking Documentary
Taiji, Japan bills itself as the premier place to find dolphins. Trainers from all over the world descend upon the sleepy town spending millions of dollars annually to purchase the animals for their various aquatic spectaculars and oceanic celebrations. It is a financial boon to both the township and to the fishermen, all willing to do anything and everything to protect the way of life all have become accustomed.
An innocent body of water hides a hideous tragedy in Roadside Attractions' The Cove
But what people do not know about Taiji is what may eventually be its downfall. In a little lagoon cutoff from prying eyes and surrounded by security fencing is a home for a seaside horror. Hundreds of thousands of dolphins are slaughtered for apparently no reason, the practice bringing together an unlikely group of scientists, soldiers, divers and special effects technicians in the hopes of bringing the tragedy to light.
The Cove might be the most enthralling “heist” thriller since George Clooney remade Ocean’s Eleven. Although the goal is not money or jewels, this is a heist film nonetheless as the team assembled to get concrete evidence of what is going on in Taiji is as eclectic and unique as Danny Ocean’s ever was. From assembling the team, to planning the event, to ultimately sneaking into the cove itself, the film is fueled by much of the same criminal energy that made Man on Wire so spectacular, the suspense generated gloriously bordering on the unbearable.
But The Cove is not just film about espionage, it is in fact a documentary and everything that we see is absolutely true. Filmmaker Louis Psihoyos hooks up with dolphin activist Ric O'Barry – the man who brought the world “Flipper” and now lives to regret it – to stage the unthinkable. Under constant surveillance, dodging angry fishermen, the pair and their disparate companions literally put their lives on the line to obtain footage the Japanese government desperately doesn’t want the world to see.
And once you do see it the reasons are readily apparent. The final act of this doc both broke my heart and sickened me to my core. This is not footage for the squeamish but it is footage I nonetheless hope one heck of a lot of people see. What is going on in this lagoon is disgusting and despicable. Worse than that, the reasons for its continuance don’t make a lick of sense.
By and large Psihoyos covers all the basis doing his best to leave no questions unanswered. He explodes the arguments regarding the health benefits of dolphin meat (thanks to the high mercury count it will both kill you and produce birth defects in children), catches members of the Japanese government in their doubletalk and shows how oceanic policy can be influenced by hefty payoffs to Third World nations in need of cash.
Granted, as clear as all of this is it I do admit this is still a pretty one-sided argument. Psihoyos’ opinion and point of view aren’t exactly a secret, and like fellow filmmaker Michael Moore there are times the film pushes the boundaries of the documentary label perilously close to their breaking point.
I don’t feel this is an issue. The calamity of what Psihoyos and his heroic team uncover is so startling, so shocking, so absolutely despicable I find it hard to imagine how anyone could come to a differing conclusion. There is no sane reason for what is going on in Taiji, the fact it took more or less a commando unit to obtain the evidence to expose it makes what Japan is doing all the more vile.
By the time The Cove was over I found myself borderline enraged. Without preaching, without hitting me over the head with facts and figures and by using the mechanisms of a thriller, Psihoyos elevated the discussion to a point it became even more vital and poignant. It is a documentary I just had to talk about afterwards, the discussion generated sure to remain on the forefront of my mind for the remainder of this year and on into the indefinite future.
Film Rating: êêê1/2 (out of 4)
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