More than any non-fiction book or documentary, the television show Flipper brought the benign intelligence of dolphins to public attention; ironically, the rising affection for the ocean mammals resulted in an industry that captures and confines dolphins in marine parks for the entertainment of crowds. The dolphins may look happy enough while performing their watery ballet, but according to many naturalists, their death rate in captivity is high. Like people, they suffer from stress and stress kills.
Flippers dolphin trainer, Ric OBarry, came to regard the creatures not just as smart animals, the faithful hounds of the sea, but as self-aware and deserving a high degree of human respect. OBarry is the protagonist of The Cove, a compelling documentary (out Dec. 8 on DVD) about activists filming the carnage in the waters of the Japanese fishing town of Taiji, one of the worlds biggest suppliers of captive dolphins and dolphin meat.
Documenting the local fishermen as they drive the creatures toward a remote cove near Taiji, hidden on three sides by sheer cliffs, was no simple matter. The area is sealed by razor wire and patrolled by guards. Although the village is festooned with friendly images of dolphins and whales, the local authorities and the fishermens union are determined to keep the embarrassing slaughter under wraps. The Cove includes scenes of thugs bullying activists trying to get near the shore and cops keeping watch on the film crew from unmarked cars.
Director Louie Psihoyos is often onscreen and for once, in a documentary, its not a symptom of narcissism. With OBarrys help, Psihoyos was more commando leader than documentary filmmaker, heading a paramilitary style operation complete with a drone reconnaissance balloon. The filming of the movie is itself part of the story. Underwater and shoreline cameras disguised as rocks and birds nests are put in place by a fence-cutting crew dressed in midnight black and prepared to endure violence and arrest.
The scenes they captured are graphic; the sea turns red with the blood of the slaughtered dolphins. But the killing waters of Taiji are only the focal point for a larger set of issues. Industrial fishing is depleting the ocean and the seabed degraded by pollution. Japan is one of the great offenders, and according to The Cove, has purchased the sanction-impeding votes of many small UN members through investment yen. Whaling and dolphin hunting forms only a thin slice of Japans economic pie, yet a stubborn and misguided nationalism steels the Japanese government against all calls to stop killing the ocean mammals.
By showing the killing of dolphins at Taiji, OBarry and Psihoyos are trying to putif you willFlippers face on the issue. If we cant fix that, OBarry says of the Taiji slaughter, forget about the bigger issues. Theres no hope.
