The Cove

Lionsgate | Release Date: July 31, 2009

8.2	USER SCORE Universal acclaim based on 106 Ratings

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TerenceSSep 7, 2009

Metacritic severely let me down on this one. The movie is pretty much propaganda, and not good journalism. I will give some credit to the person who cut and assembled the film. They did a good job with it, in giving it action and pace.Metacritic severely let me down on this one. The movie is pretty much propaganda, and not good journalism. I will give some credit to the person who cut and assembled the film. They did a good job with it, in giving it action and pace. However, the point of the film is to attempt to embarass and villify the Japanese.
It's also very pious. The attempt to point to out and show the Japanese laughing at the Americans who care about dolphins, when those same Americans would laugh at an Indian crying over us slaughtering cows.
There is no objectivism in the documentary here. Also, as Tracy A pointed out earlier, our pollution does far more to affect sea life as well.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful

TracyAAug 10, 2009

Gosh, just the film for scare hype to those ignant about fishing methods. Harpooning and polespearing are not that unusual for killing large fish. After all, the Japanese have been eating dolphins for centuries. What they kill can't be Gosh, just the film for scare hype to those ignant about fishing methods. Harpooning and polespearing are not that unusual for killing large fish. After all, the Japanese have been eating dolphins for centuries. What they kill can't be compared to the number (over 100,000 per year) killed or drowned by the fishing nets of our tuna fishermen. Many dolphins get entangled in old nets, floating freely and loosely in the seas. Besides, many near-shore dolphins and porpoises are exposed to pollution and toxins, making them sick.. just look at the growing reports of the large numbers of sick and dying bottlenose dolphins washed up on our East Coast! Fishermen, off northern Australia, have been using dolphin meat to bait sharks! Save your money and spend it on 'UNDER THE SEA.'… Expand

2 of 5 users found this helpful

dijavantewowJul 13, 2012

Well shot, but not a great film. It seems to make the Japanese look like such terrible people for killing dolphins just because Americans had Flipper and now care about that animal more than others. If you watched this and agree it's terribleWell shot, but not a great film. It seems to make the Japanese look like such terrible people for killing dolphins just because Americans had Flipper and now care about that animal more than others. If you watched this and agree it's terrible because killing animals is always bad, then that is fine, but if you meat, then you have no basis to judge these people for what meat they choose to eat.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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hwheatleyDec 11, 2011

massively overhyped and patronising propaganda piece that clutches at any anecdote or emotional heartstring-pulling possible in an attempt to illicit outrage without ever properly investigating the facts or trying to understand why themassively overhyped and patronising propaganda piece that clutches at any anecdote or emotional heartstring-pulling possible in an attempt to illicit outrage without ever properly investigating the facts or trying to understand why the dolphin killing continues. Repeatedly tells us how many dolphins are killed in the cove in an attempt to shock, but doesn't put this into any ecological or ethical context. Seems to try very hard to portray the americans as fearless fighters against the evil japanese dolphin-killers.

Does the killing of the dolphins cause any threat to the species? The film tells us with vitriol that WWF and the International Whaling Commission have done nothing about it, suggesting that they are at fault, but perhaps they are concentrating efforts elsewhere because the dolphins are not endangered species? Of course no one from these organisations gets to put across their view.

The film tells us that the dolphin meat contains high levels of mercury, then shows shocking images of people made sick by mercury at some point in the past. But what actually caused that incident? How did mercury levels those people were exposed to compare to those in the dolphin meat? What is the evidence that the levels now can cause harm? But the viewer is not supposed to ask these questions - JUST LOOK AT THE SICK CHILDREN! Briefly glosses over the question of why the dolphin killing is any more wrong than westerners killing cows and pigs without presenting any strong argument - assumes the audience is already in agreement on this. Tries to convince us that it can't possibly be a tradition by asking a few people in Tokyo - okay, well how about the local community, what do they think about it? Is the local economy dependent on the hunt, and if so, could an alternative income be found?

Uses pseudoscience to try to persuade us of the intelligence of dolphins - a sound clip of a 'scientist' saying that dolphins may be more intelligent than humans - by what measure? How do you know that? I don't doubt that dolphins are intelligent, but the film completely fails to demonstrate this. Then there are anthropomorphic anecdotes about dolphins appearing to 'commit suicide' or save a surfer from a shark, and people feeling that they had a 'connection' with a dolphin.

The footage of the dolphin slaughter is shocking indeed, and the sight of the sea turned red is certainly highly emotive, although I expect any footage of an abbatoir in the US could look similarly horrific.. it's clear that the cruelty inflicted on the dolphins is the main wrong being committed here, but little is said about this in the film.

Perhaps the makers thought that any more sophisticated analyses or insight would put audiences off and thereby reduce the impact that film could have. The film will probably have a strong impact on those who like to have something to feel self-righteous about without having to think very hard. But those who are after an objective, reasoned and insightful documentary should look elsewhere.… Expand

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

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