The cove - La baie de la honte

Something tells me that this heartbreaking documentary is going to stay with me for a long, long time. This movie depicts in painful detail the horrors of dolphin fishing (yes, you heard me right) which has been occurring for a long time in a secretive place called Taiji in Japan. How secretive? Even the common Japanese do not know that it is taking place in their country. The film takes its time in unfolding the horrors and conspiracy layer by layer and ends with a bang. It plays out like a suspense thriller but is far more effective than any suspense thrillers because this takes place in real life. I certainly will do my best to promote it to the others and support the cause. The direction is fantastic and several underwater shots seem to be taken right off Earth or National Geographic, which looks great on the big screen. This documentary has been made by activists that have been crying out loud to deaf ears for the past three decades. I am certain that this is not the last we will hear of it. This film should certainly make an impact and change a few things in the world.

There are few movies that I can say resulted in lasting change in my life or personal behaviour, but a couple of days after watching this movie the visceral response remains with me. I will never set foot on a marine mammal park again. If that was part of the goal of this movie then mission accomplished Louis Psihoyos and Ric O'Barry.

This movie is about the exploitation and brutality man has shown towards a gentle, intelligent and harmless creature. It can be added to a long list of films with a simple message - man is raping his environment, exploiting life, and quite frankly caring for little else than the profit nature holds.

The movie will hold you to the last 10 minutes, at which point it becomes apparent to all why Ric O'Barry's life has changed. It must be seen as the story tellers wanted it to be seen.

If I have any criticism of the film it's the amount of time dedicated to dramatizing the message with the Special Ops segments. I appreciate the risk taken to get this footage however I think the danger element was overstated by the film. You gain the belief all through the film the OPS is being followed closely by authorities, that they're every move is being noted, their purpose known, they're faces ingrained in the minds of the people, yet on two occasions they load up a van full of crew and high tech equipment and head unchallenged into the "great secret". This aspect of the film, along with the early segments showing paranoid Ric O'Barry moments in which he says things like "they would kill me if they could" leads me to believe the filmmakers we hedging between taking the viewer on a adrenaline fuelled trip of espionage and a journey of education and awareness.

It has it's moments of contradiction as well. It goes to some great length to show that Japanese don't eat dolphin meat but this is not adequately reconciled with the fact that the Taiji school program served dolphin meat to it's children as part of it's mandatory lunch program.

An obvious cherry picking of interviewees in the cities of Japan with questions about their food supply chain elicited responses that I would expect to find in most urban centres. I live in Toronto, where I suspect many people would be surprised to find restaurants here serve alligator and other exotic protein. I know that slaughter houses provide my area beef but I would be hard pressed to tell you where they are or the methods employed. The effort to show the Japanese as oblivious to the scandals going on right under their nose failed to be convincing in my opinion.

Still, a very informative and inspiring film. I would recommend it to anyone who cares about these creatures. I have had the benefit of encountering these wonderful animal at open sea and know them to be curious, intelligent, playful, with strong ties to the family unit. They are better than we are and this film helped me realize this.

Gorgeous , thrilling and pulse-pounding documentary with strong ecological denounce against Dolphin slaughter , fish food full of mercury due to its high concentration that results to be a serious threat to human health , the Japanese government's methodical buying off of poorer third world nations for their support of Japan's whaling industry and others thorny issues . A great documentary that Won 1 Oscar and another 38 wins & 17 nominations . In Taiji, a location with 3,500 residents. Japan, local fishermen hide a gruesome secret : the capture and slaughter of dolphins . And at a hidden , glistening cove, surrounded by barbed wire and "Keep Out" signs, lies a terrifying and dark reality . Man is their bigger threat when being underhanded market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat and at the same time Man is their only hope .

This thought-provoking film is itself a act of heroism , well produced by actor Fisher Stevens , it stars Richard O'Barry who gives a peculiar view point of cetaceans in captivity and while a very profesional team playing a cloak-and-dagger game with those who would have them imprisoned . And exposing the ruthless practice, risking life and health in the process . Since that time, he has become one of the leading advocates against cetaceans incarcerated in small tanks , pools , ponds and reservoir and for the preservation of cetaceans in the wild. Richard O'Barry was the man who captured and trained the dolphins for the television show ¨Flipper¨ (1964) , though he also trained sea animals as sharks in films as ¨Beyond the Bermuda Triangle¨ , ¨Island Claws¨, and ¨The jaws of death¨ also titled ¨Mako sharks¨ . His sight point about sea animals changed from that experience when as the last straw he saw that one of the dolphins playing Flipper - her name being Kathy - basically committed suicide itself in his arms because of the stress of being in captivity . Richard joins forces with filmmaker Louie Psihoyos and the Ocean Preservation Society to carry out this surprising and interesting documentary . As filmmaker 'Louie Psihoyos ' go about attempting to expose one of what they see as the most brutal acts against wild dolphins in the world in Taiji, Japan, where dolphins are routinely corralled, either to be sold alive to aquariums and marine parks, or slaughtered for meat. O'Barry and Psihoyos are well known as enemies by the authorities in Taiji, the watcher cops who spy and chase and they will use whatever tactic to expel the two from Japan forever . O'Barry, Psihoyos and their team covertly attempt to photograph as a document of engaging proof this cruel behavior. The primary secluded cove where this activity is taking place is heavily guarded . It is here, under cover , masked , discreetely at night, hidden from the fishermen of Taiji, , engage in an unseen hunt to film conclusive evidendeces . The nature of what they do is so chilling -- and the consequences are so dangerous to human health -- they will go to great lengths to halt anyone from seeing it. With a state-of-the-art equipment they go undercover to film the hair-raising , horrifying images about Mular dolphin massacre . They employ among others Hollywood cameramen from George Lucas' ¨Industrial , Light and Magic¨ and deep sea free divers . As ILM technicians created special camouflaged, rock-like, cameras that helped capture some of the footage in the cove . Along the way they are pursued by the Japanese Police and mistreated by fishermen . As an expert team of marine explorers , water-sound and cameramen , special effects artists, , adrenaline junkies and world-class free divers who will carry out an undercover operation to shoot the off-limits cove .They also highlight what is deemed the perilous consumption of dolphin meat which is often sold not as dolphin meat and driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and considering the important support most specifically at the International Whaling Commission.

The film won several prizes such as Academy Awards, USA 2010 Winner Oscar Best Documentary, Features ,Louie Psihoyos ,Fisher Stevens . Alliance of Women Film Journalists 2009 Winner EDA Award Best Documentary Feature Film Louie Psihoyos . American Cinema Editors, USA 2010 WinnerBest Edited Documentary Geoffrey Richman . Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival 2009 Winner Audience Award Louie Psihoyos . Awards Circuit Community Awards 2009 Winner ACCA Best Documentary Feature . Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 2009 Winner BSFC Award Best Documentary . Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2010 Winner Critics Choice Award Best Documentary Feature .

One-sided? Yes. Superbly crafted? Most certainly. A practical joke or fantastically manufactured lie? Despite what many of the conspiracy theorists here would tell you, no, it is not.

The campaigning elements of the film may not sit well with some people, but the facts are the facts, and there's simply no denying the emotional impact this film has. It is a prime example of constructed film-making with an overt agenda, filled with elements that at time make it feel like a heist movie or spy thriller.

Having said that, there's no doubting just how real the horrors are. The annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins in an isolated cove near Taiji is sickening, heart-wrenching and unnecessary. After select dolphins are taken for the world's aquariums, the rest are left for brutal and barbaric butchering. I for one appreciate the risks taken by the film makers in attempting to get this story out, and I would place good money on this documentary being a front-runner for next year's Oscars.

One of the marks of a powerful documentary is the response it generates from the hordes of nay Sayers. Some of the absurdly laughable comments listed here on IMDb are begging to be called out and exposed for the pathetic lies that they are.

Conspiracy theory/lie no.1: The premise of dolphins being slaughtered en masse in Taiji is a complete fabrication.

This belongs in the same volume of crackpot collections as those who deny the dangers of global warming. It is indeed real, and there is a plethora of information available to anyone with 3rd grade research skills. An article by Minoru Matsutani appeared in the Japan Times on Sept 23rd this year covering the issues raised in The Cove. The practice of mass dolphin slaying is indeed confirmed.

Falsehood no.2: That the scenes from Taiji's infamous cove were in fact filmed in Ottawa.

People will fabricate lies without any thought of at least giving the lie some credibility. There is no evidence to support this ridiculous claim. And having personally travelled along the east coast of Honshu in 2001, I can tell you that this is indeed filmed in Taiji.

Falsehood no.3: Dolphins are not native to Japan.

Wrong. Dead wrong. Bottlenose dolphins, for one, inhabit all warm temperate seas worldwide – including Japan. In fact, Mikura Island has a permanent colony of bottlenose dolphins.

I'm utterly delighted that this film is stirring up so much emotion, as this is exactly what is needed to spark change. Most people in Japan aren't even aware of this atrocity, and had it not been for this film, I seriously doubt many of them would have ever known.

This is an important movie, not only because of the content matter, but also because it demonstrates the capacity for people to care with such passion and conviction. The movie is cleverly presented, taking you on an emotional and eye-opening journey, and building to a powerful climax.

I personally found the movie to be moving and beautiful, and by far one of the most exciting and powerful documentaries I have ever seen. I am hugely impressed by the film makers ability to translate their experiences and passion into a very well made movie, and hope they inspire others to do the same.