The Cove (2009)

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Director:

Louie Psihoyos

Writer:

Mark Monroe (writer)

Release Date:

20 August 2009 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Shallow Water. Deep Secret.

Plot:

Using state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renown dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health. |

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Expose | Dolphin | Activist | Night Vision

Awards:

10 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Joe Chisholm	...	Himself
Mandy-Rae Cruikshank	...	Herself
Charles Hambleton	...	Himself
Simon Hutchins	...	Himself
Kirk Krack	...	Himself
Isabel Lucas	...	Herself
Richard O'Barry	...	Himself
Hayden Panettiere	...	Herself
Roger Payne	...	Himself
John Potter	...	Himself
Louie Psihoyos	...	Himself
Dave Rastovich	...	Himself
Paul Watson	...	Himself

Also Known As:

The Rising (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for disturbing content.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45375) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Singapore:PG | Ireland:PG | UK:12A | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Taiji, Higashimuro, Wakayama, Japan

Company:

Diamond Docs

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Paul O'Grady Show: (2009-10-15)" (2009)

For those who are still horrified

The man who gave us Flipper (who was actually played by 5 female dolphins) spends 10 years of his life launching a multi-million dollar dolphin industry, then spends 35 years trying to bring it down, which then leads us to the even more sinister plot about killing dolphins for meat. Welcome to the horrible world of whaling and dolphin-killing! Dolphins are trapped off the coast of Japan, picked over for sale on the market, then the less-desirable ones are taken to The Cove and killed for some heavily mercury-laden meat, which is packaged with other fish meat and in some cases even given to schoolchildren in Japan. This film is the story of how some brave activists have attempted to stop this, employing some covert techniques, such as making cameras that look like rocks and using free divers to set up underwater cameras. It ultimately plays out and results in a heroic achievement--not so much the movie itself, which is just fine-- but in what is actually caught on camera and exposed for all the world to see.

Anyone who has seen any of the string of documentaries that have come out in the last several years and been shocked and offended will probably be equally shocked and offended at how accustomed to this sort of thing we have become: people putting profit above all else and the consequences to the planet, the animals, even other people be damned. But The Cove works as a call to action for anyone who is still horrified.