The Cove
Tags: inspiring, cruelty, storytelling

Plot synopsis:
In a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan lies a shocking secret that a few desperate men will stop at nothing to keep hidden from the world. In Taiji, Japan, former dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry has come to set things right after a long search for redemption. In the 1960s, it was O'Barry who captured and trained the 5 dolphins who played the title character in the international television sensation "Flipper." One fateful day, a heartbroken Barry came to realize that these deeply sensitive, highly intelligent and self-aware creatures must never be subjected to human captivity again. This mission has brought him to Taiji, a town that appears to be devoted to the wonders and mysteries of the sleek, playful dolphins and whales that swim off their coast. But in a remote, glistening cove, surrounded by barbed wire and "Keep Out" signs, lies a dark reality. It is here, under cover of night, that the fishermen of Taiji, driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and an underhanded market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, engage in an unseen hunt. The nature of what they do is so chilling and the consequences are so dangerous to human health that they will go to great lengths to halt anyone from seeing it. [D-Man2010]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan lies a shocking secret that a few desperate men will stop at nothing to keep hidden from the world. At last, the truth of THE COVE comes to the fore in an act of covert filmmaking that turns a documentary into a gripping action-adventure thriller . . . and a heart-pounding call for help from the worlds oceans.
THE COVE begins in Taiji, Japan, where former dolphin trainer Ric OBarry has come to set things right after a long search for redemption. In the 1960s, it was OBarry who captured and trained the 5 dolphins who played the title character in the international television sensation Flipper. But his close relationship with those dolphins the very dolphins who sparked a global fascination with trained sea mammals that continues to this day -- led OBarry to a radical change of heart. One fateful day, a heartbroken Barry came to realize that these deeply sensitive, highly intelligent and self-aware creatures so beautifully adapted to life in the open ocean must never be subjected to human captivity again.
This mission has brought him to Taiji, a town that appears to be devoted to the wonders and mysteries of the sleek, playful dolphins and whales that swim off their coast. But in a remote, glistening cove, surrounded by barbed wire and Keep Out signs, lies a dark reality. It is here, under cover of night, that the fishermen of Taiji, driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and an underhanded market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, engage in an unseen hunt. 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.
Undeterred, OBarry joins forces with filmmaker Louis Psihoyos and the Ocean Preservation Society to get to the truth of whats really going on in the cove and why it matters to everyone in the world. With the local Chief of Police hot on their trail and strong-arm fishermen keeping tabs on them, they will recruit an Oceans Eleven-style team of underwater sound and camera experts, special effects artists, marine explorers, adrenaline junkies and world-class free divers who will carry out an undercover operation to photograph the off-limits cove, while playing a cloak-and-dagger game with those who would have them jailed.
The result is a provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure and arresting imagery that adds up to an urgent plea for hope.
THE COVE is directed by Louie Psihoyos and produced by Paula DuPre Pesmen and Fisher Stevens. The film is written by Mark Monroe. The executive producer is Jim Clark and the co-producer is Olivia Ahnemann. -ericdarb

Review: 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 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.
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.
To claim superiority over another by explanation of the preservation of culture, is bullshit at best, and it just shows how consciously ignorant we can sometimes get due to either lack of understanding, or just simply refusing to change incorrect mindsets.I'm sure many of us will agree that dolphins are very beautiful water-based mammals, and the lucky few who have gotten to chance upon them in their natural habitat will attest to the fact that it's awe-inspiring to have seen them in action.
From time to time we read about the heroic nature of our mammal counterparts in saving human lives, so what would warrant such untold cruelties toward those blessed by Nature with a smile and an extremely gentle, docile nature, or cursed as the filmmakers would say, because they are unable to project outwardly their feelings of pain, sadness and betrayal by humankind?Director Louie Psihoyos had crafted an incredible documentary which isn't just another save- this-species film, or just another wildlife conservation flick.
It contains scenes of murder most foul, which will start again in the month of September, unless people around the world make some noise beyond puppet worldwide organizations fueled by corrupt bureaucrats bent on smug thinking that half-baked nonsensical answers can keep the truth under wraps.What also added that emotional weight to the film, is the inclusion of Richard O'Barry, who could be infamously credited with sparking the interest in dolphin-aquariums and shows around the world, simply because of his involvement in the Flipper television series, where he had responsibility in capturing and training 5 dolphins used for that successful series, and henceforth spawned an industry of sorts where dolphins are captured en masse by confusing them and leading them into man-made traps, then allowing trainers around the world to come and choose those with potential.
His crusade led him to Taiji, Japan, which is the source of the trade, with over- zealous Japanese fishermen bordering on counter-surveillance, muscling in on local police influence, to try and keep O'Barry at bay from interrupting their profitable trade, and of course putting a dampener on O'Barry's search for redemption.Most of the film then centered on the filmmakers and their assembling of a few good men and women with specific skill sets, such as free-diving and prop-making, acoustics experts to covert camera operations, in an attempt to expose the truth from The Cove, an area designed by natural geography and exploited by the fishermen to perform their most heinous acts.
Also, the high levels of mercury found in the meat not only endangers whoever is putting it on their dinner plate, but just emphasizes the entire polluted food chain with the fact that we are the #1 pollutants on this planet, and poisoning of marine life, or rapid consumption of food from the sea, is something that will impact us in time to come very soon, unless we wake up.One of the world's most intelligent creatures getting slaughtered indiscriminately, and you can do something about it.
Even more unfortunately, this attitude turns off many naturally skeptical people (the support of which the environmental movement sorely needs) from real and important causes.From the Japanese perspective, whales and dolphins are not particularly special.
It is unbelievable that all Americans hate Japanese for killing dolphins yet they do not think that it is a bad thing to kill, slaughter and eat one billion tunas, cows, pigs, chicken and every other animal every month in USA.
the cove is an amazing piece of political propaganda.how many times has the word Japanese been used?such extreme nation based generalizations are very dangerous and damaging.Hollywood was never been so political as this.of course i am hurt to see such wonderful animals being treated like this, but i am also angered that such a problem is not solved in a more delicate manner and that it is used for such blunt political propaganda as this movie is.director should have had enough tact to cooperate with someone in japan.one-sided anti-Japanese sentiment and propaganda are extremely dominant throughout the movie.this issue is about people who commit crime against animals, it is not about nations and politics..
So why, in a secretive Japanese industry, are the slaughter of these animals able to continue with seeming support from both the Japanese government and the IWC (International Whaling Commission)?In an incredibly beautiful cove in the small fishing village of Taiji, Japan, thousands of dolphins are forced by the fishermen into the cove where they are killed for their meat (which incidentally have high levels of mercury within them, caused by industry dumping of course).
However, with the help of a moulder from Industrial Light and Magic, a series of high-tec recording equipment (including HD cameras within mock rocks), the team begin a highly dangerous mission to film and record the sound of the dolphin slaughter.In scenes laced with very real drama - in One Night in Paris filming mode (ahem, sorry, night vision) - we follow the divers and rest of the team as they risk their lives to set up the secret filming equipment.
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.
I think that The Cove and other great documentaries about animal cruelty should be shown in schools, and maybe the world would become a better place..
Guess what: none of these places is nearly as remote as Taiji, yet there is no Oscar winning movie to feature secretly filmed ranches and slaughterhouses in the USA or Europe (and even in my home area there have been incidents when escaped cattle was shot down by the police, most of the time the cops needing several minutes to kill, pumping dozens of bullets into the animals' bodies - now THAT would be great footage for - say - an Indian Ric O'Barry counterpart, wouldn't it?).Yes, it is important to slow down the process of human-induced extinction, yes, dolphins are worth saving, yes, the mercury issue is important, but sorry, no, I don't consider dolphins to be more equal than other animals based on their presumed intelligence.Thorsten.
3. The reason for Japan's insistence on this type of fishing.Unfortunately these three topics were talked about only superficially whilst the film went on about how dolphins are special, how the team making the documentary were wonderfully heroic and other sentimental, superficial nonsense.The thing is that the core topics in the documentary are not specific to dolphins or Japan but affect all of our habits internationally and are the collective responsibilities of all of us who like to eat our fish, our chicken and our meat.
Think about these simple facts: while the documentary made a big deal about 23,000 dolphins being killed in Japan, this pales in comparison to the 5m+ tons of tuna fished every year.
Why was the film so eager to ignore the most important implications of its story instead making this a documentary about poor cuddly dolphins and bloodthirsty evil Japanese fishermen?I think the answer is political.
But the movie would make you think that this dolphin killing that is happening in japan is the biggest tragedy and injustice in the world since the Holocaust.
This documentary is pure cinema - it has it all: tension, emotion, beautiful cinematography, excellent story and structure, passion, and it's REAL.A Documentary about the uncovering of the immense, symbolic and ghastly environmental crimes performed by Japanese dolphin killers in Taiji, Japan.I think, besides the content itself, it's especially the build-up of the film that makes it so convincing.Totally deserved the Oscar.An absolute must-see..
The fact everything you see is actually real only adds to the overall distress of the situation, and where large scale uproar would have unfolded had The Cove been an out and out film, as portrayals of a set nationality in the Japanese as everyone else around them are deconstructed; humanised and presented as people with problems, beliefs and progression; the fact this is all footage captured in its realistic form only aids in the resonating of the situation.The documentary builds to an espionage-driven final third or so as the notion of hidden cameras courtesy of a Hollywood special effects company kicks starts a secret mission to Taijin so as to undercover as much as possible without ever actually being there in person.
The town where people hunt Dolphins to be sold for Sea World, and some of them will be slaughter for food They want to record what those people do in that cove.
If we can't stop the brutal & inhumane slaughter of more than 20,000 cute dolphins in Taiji Japan which seriously concerns human health problems, then forget about the other issues to be absolved ,there is no Hope.
Dolphinns are sensitive,emotional beings.They are intelligent and fast learning creatures with fantastic sense of humor always had a unique connection with human feelings.Asses yourself , will u just sit and let the dolphin abuse to occur instead of having the authentic knowledge of where and when abouts of this evilness...or do what (depends on you).....If u want to have more in-depth knowledge then u must see.the stunning and shocking Oscar Winner for Best Documentary of Louise Psihoyos & Ric'o Barry "The Cove" which bought light and gave prove to world about this Infamous Dolphin Slaughter by on the cost of their lives (in this operation few of the activists were murdered)Link to the Documentary--Information- www.imdb.com/title/tt1313104/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1.
Great documentaries change your viewpoint, inform, entertain, and amaze.Some documentaries are immensely uncomfortable to watch but doing so is a revelation - The Cove does that.I have not seen a more powerful documentary about the environment.This should be obligatory viewing in all schools and should be seen by as many people as possible: it is powerful and above convincing - I left seeing no justification - economic, scientific, dietary, or zoological that negates or justifies the horrific pictures of mass slaughter - comparable to the White Man's slaughter of buffalo and elephants - it is meaningless exploitation of a natural sentient wonder.75% of the film explains the science - but it is the last 25% that impacts.This is my pick for the Oscar: there may be better made documentaries or even more "entertaining" ones but none that are so simply powerful as this this year..
O'Barry could be living a life of luxury and comfort as a millionaire since he was considered to be the best dolphin trainer in the world, but something inside him changed and he became an activist against the captivity of these animals after experiencing the death of Kathy.
The team has to work as silently as possible in order to not be discovered and avoid being imprisoned by the Japanese officials.The Cove is really a powerful documentary that enlightens us and enrages us about the way the dolphins are captured and slaughtered.
He looks incredibly dumb.Ending comments So if this wasn't such a "in your face" documentary by rich extremist I'd like it, but now I'm just laughing at the people which unfortunately takes away the attention from the real problem: The dolphin killers.Word of advise: next time you make a documentary - make it about the subject and not about yourselves..
After learning of how dolphins were being ruthlessly slaughtered around the world (especially in Japan, where most of the film takes place), he became an activist.
In this case it's at a cove in a small village, Taijii, where fishermen are (somewhat not so) secretly killing dolphins en masse, and the cameramen are after a simple thing: put believably disguised rocks that have cameras inside that can film outward and capture on tape what is going on, due to the strict lack of access during the day.
If the film possibly gets off track at any time it's just one or two minor places, like a diversion into the fishing industry and how it ties in with the dolphin saga (it just barely does, mostly by proxy of it being one of Japan's economic mainstays).
The message is clear- so clear some may contest how truthful everything in the movie is, though it's hard for me to see what would be obfuscated all things considered (i.e. an Oceanic Preservation Society Production)- and film buffs looking for a strikingly shot documentary, with glorious images of dolphins at sea and their personalities (yes, personalities) shining through, will be excited..
There is no excuse for this inhumane cruelty toward the beautiful creatures of the oceans, and I believe The Cove and documentary's like it must be watched by everybody to help people understand what they are supporting when they purchase a ticket to SeaWorld, and every park like it.
Ric O'Barry shows Louie Psihoyos and the Oceanic Preservation Society the dolphin slaughter happening in Taiji, Japan.
I personally have been getting into animal documentary's recently, i had heard of The Cove for quite some time, and finally being able to check it out, i wasn't disappointed.I personally thought there was going to be a lot more animal killings in the film than there were, which was a great thing, there's nothing worse than seeing animals being killed for the purpose of human consumption.The film follows different stories, some in Taijii, Japan, with the actual killings, and others for the activists setting up the equipment and figuring out ways they can expose this cruel act to the world, and then the the small tid-bits added to the film about the the whole "Flipper" show and exploiting animals for the sole purpose of entertaining humans.The story is shocking, some scenes are distressing, but it is a must watch for all people who care about the environment.The final scene in the film, which i won't talk about much, i found it so powerful, one of the most powerful scenes in a Documentary i have ever seen, it almost brought me to tears.Overall, i recommend you all check out, The Cove, in my opinion, it is one of the best documentary's i have ever seen, and will open your eyes to things which are going on in the world..
Along with Sea World and other "captive" examples of dolphins for human entertainment it's considered a cruel act that actually fuels the economy of Taiji, Japan.The film builds up the grisly mystery of this remote fishing village and the people behind the farming of dolphins.
This film follows a team attempting to capture footage of the mass slaughter of dolphins that takes place in secrecy in small fishing village in Japan.Ric O'Barry was the dolphin trainer for the TV series Flipper.
This documentary is for sure a life changing thing, more people need to know about the wrong doing that is done to the whales and dolphins.
People should watch thing documentary and show their friends and family to get the word out about dolphins and whales..
It is a documentary thriller filled with wildlife education, thorough journalism and top-notch espionage as much as it sheds light on an environmental/animal rights issue as deserving of our attention as anything else.Louie Psihoyos draws the analogy perfectly to "Ocean's Eleven." He is the Danny Ocean with the drive to assemble a team and accomplish his mission: finally capture video evidence of dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan to make the world aware and the Japanese government accountable for its actions.Psihoyos brings together a number of specialists from deep-sea divers to set designers who work for major Hollywood special effects, set and props company Industrial Light and Magic.
Together they must slip by local authorities and fishermen who literally dedicate hours of their time just to prevent people from getting video footage of any wrongdoing (who also have their own cameras hoping to get enough evidence to arrest these "tresspassers.") So much of the power of "The Cove" comes from the fact that this one cove serves as a large percentage of Japanese dolphin slaughter.The documentary also has a main character, Rick O'Barry, who is an incredible story in and of himself.
Few films can truly achieve character depth (as in O'Barry's story) and suspense (their mission to plant cameras where they're not allowed) while being entirely true and not contrived in the least.If you like feeling empowered to leap to action after a documentary, this is not quite the expertise of "The Cove." It's more a change in perspective and a showcase of what empowered people can accomplish when they put their heads together.
The documentary does not drown itself on its ploy, which is to provide verifiable evidence of the annual slaughter of 23,000 dolphins in a Taiji, Japan cove.
I agree that seeing other species of fishes, in the same documentary, being transported to the fish market and butchered there, was equally disgraceful; but again, that was not the point / message of the film!Others posed the argument that dolphins are merely food as 'understood' by the minority of Japanese people – well so why do they try so hard to hide the cruel killing?
And now that I have watched it, I believe that this was a fully-deserved accolade."The Cove" expounds on the very sad issue of dolphin slaughter in Japan.