movie commentary: The Cove

The film The Cove documents the activism of Ric O'Barry, who captured and trained the five dolphins that played "Flipper" in the television series forty-some years ago. Over the years O'Barry became increasingly aware of the cruelty of forcing dolphins into captivity. In this documentary O'Barry sets out to bring public attention to fisherman in Taiji, Japan who make their livings from dolphin capture and slaughter. They set out in boats, make a lot of racket to herd dolphins to shore where the dolphins with highest entertainment potential are sold to trainers. Those that aren't bought are slaughtered. Most people in Japan don't have any idea that the Taiji dolphin slaughter is even happening. The film is remarkable, but it contains graphic violence.