O'Barry of "The Cove" : " this tsunami of bad publicity is coming their way"

[Cetacea]

How does one expose the secret systematic slaughter of 23,000 dolphins?

It helps to have a billionaire, plus a dedicated activist, a neophyte filmmaker, two of the world's best free-divers, a former avionics specialist from the Canadian Air Force, a logistics whiz trained in transporting pop-music stars around the world, a maritime technician, a military infrared camera for night cinematography, unmanned aerial drones, a blimp and fake rocks specially designed by George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic to hold secret cameras.

Also required? A willingness to risk arrest, police harassment and potentially much worse.
That was the "Ocean's Eleven"-style team assembled to make this year's Sundance sensation "The Cove," the unconventional true-life environmental thriller that brings to light the mass killings of dolphins, specifically those exterminated in the Japanese port village of Taiji, just south of Osaka. The footage in the film, which opened in L.A. theaters Friday, is shocking -- a tranquilly beautiful Japanese bay turned red with the blood of dolphins, as well as graphic images of fishermen spearing the gentle, highly intelligent sea mammals.


"..."..Psihoyos and O'Barry hope the film will generate awareness and help bring change to the situation in Taiji. As a country, Japan has also opposed extending the international whaling ban to dolphins. Speaking before the film's commercial release, O'Barry noted, " don't know this tsunami of bad publicity is coming their way. In Japan, they call it 'giatsu,' which translates into external pressure. . . . movie is giatsu on a massive scale."

article: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-dolphin1-2009aug01,0,1040730.story

[zonkers]

1. It's like Free Willie... on steroids. Can't wait to see it. I love these guys for making this film

[Cetacea]

2. Be prepared to be disgusted and outraged.

These guys did a great service to everyone and at great risk to their own safety.

[zonkers]

5. I am not looking forward to being disgusted but I am prepared. Thanks.

[angstlessk]

3. added it on my netflix cue...it is not available yet...but will become so

I hope netflix makes this movie viral!

[InternalDialogue]

4. And a profile from the Denver paper this morning.

It's interesting that this film, which wowed people at the film festivals, is still under the radar. I think you're right, though. From what I read, the film is gripping, and the filmmakers are expecting a much wider American release after what they expect will be good numbers from the limited release.

It's the kind of filmmaking I love, the genre of movie that appeals to me... but what I know of the film might be too much for me to see. I know I'll do it, but I'm actually not looking forward to what I'll learn.

[Cetacea]

6. The initial release is in New York and LA.

After it generates the (excellent thus far) reviews it will go into wide release, probably next week. The official site has a "theater locater".

I agree with you regarding being hesitant to actually see it. But I do hope and believe that this film could bring about major changes.

[Cetacea]

7. Huffington Post review: "Year's most exciting film."

"...So it is with The Cove, a movie that can't help but rouse audiences to action. Each raised voice, it would seem, is one more dagger in the heart of Japan's effort to cover up this aquatic atrocity. How much face can one country lose before it changes policies that sanction this kind of cruel criminal activity?

If The Cove were a fiction film, it would be derided as far-fetched, contrived, even hard to swallow.

The fact that it's nonfiction doesn't make it any easier to believe -- if only because the footage is so horrifying, the facts so disturbing. It's not that you can't believe it, but that you don't want to.

Which is what makes The Cove one of the most important and heroic pieces of work I've ever seen. It's not just that these filmmakers expose vicious, inhumane and ecologically dangerous practices, apparently sanctioned and covered up by the Japanese government and its media. But the filmmakers have done it while risking their freedom -- even their lives -- for the cause."

Full Review: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marshall-fine/huffpost-review-ithe-cove_b_245206.html

[autorank]

8. k*r Great post. Here's a very good review of "The Cove"

http://coto2.wordpress.com/2009/08/02/spycraft-guts-and-talent-expose-the-cove/">Review of The Cove