In Japan, there is a small town called Taiji. In Taiji, there is a place called the Cove. It is a secret place, a place where 23,000 dolphins are killed every year. The dolphins are not just killed, they are in fact slaughtered in the most brutal way imaginable. And all this without anyone really knowing that it goes on.
I've heard of dolphins being killed in the nets when they catch tuna, but I've never thought that people actually hunted down dolphins as a source of food. Dolphins, like any whale really, seem a bit too majestic and mysterious to just slaughter like pigs and cows, at least to me. And if this movie is to be believed, they can also be quite dangerous to eat, as they contain a high amount of mercury.
This movie is a documentary, focused around a signle event, where we actually see the slaughter of the dolphins. We see how the crew set up the cameras in the middle of the night, as well as how they scout out the area and plan the entire event. But more interesting than all that, we also meet Ric O'berry, one of the original actors and trainers from the tv show Flipper, who has now devoted his life to stopping the killing and abuse of dolphins. Being part of Flipper, and the one who actually caught the dolphins to appear on that show, he feels personal responsible for starting this whole mess. Of course, it would most likely have happened anyways, but we feel his pain.
As a documentary, this is really well made. It is constructed much like a movie, but doesn't become too emotional, except at the very end, where we see Ric telling his story to the world, silently and with a screen on his belly.
Last words... I am not a big dolphin lover or anything, but this movie still got to me by the end, because... this seems so pointless. I dont think the dolphins are in any danger of being extinct anytime soon, but still, these creatures are mysterious and might have something to teach us, and for that, they deserve to be treated differently.
