The movies are my life's purpose. I will end up in a big filming location someday... either picking up cables, or being in charge.
I'm a Star Wars geek. I listen to Cradle of Filth and Motley Crue. I might have a drinking problem. I watch Nickelodeon on occasion. Sometimes the herb is my best friend. Loneliness and books are close aquaintances of mine.
I'm not an ordinary person... but neither is anyone else.
In these harsh economic times, I got the chance to go see The Cove at PR’s most expensive movie theater, Fine Arts Cafe, simply because it was the only place they were showing it. My boyfriend and I paid $15 for tickets, and another $15 for a “medium” (actual size: smaller than small) popcorn, a cup of cheap wine, and a beer. We proceeded to the room where they were playing “the dolphin movie”, as my boyfriend called it and found it nearly empty. Apart from us, there was just another couple sitting in the back. Since it was a midnight showing, it’s understandable. But I kind of felt that this was how it had been ever since the movie had come out, and by the end of the movie I felt bad that not more people have seen this shocking documentary, regardless of the sky-high prices.
Led by former dolphin-trainer Ric O’Barry, and filmmaker Louie Psihoyos, a group of activists proceed to uncover the massive dolphin massacres happening at a hidden cove in Taiji, Japan. This is what it says on the one-line description on the local papers. But in reality it is much more than that. It a struggle to uncover a huge undercover criminal ploy by high-ranking Japanese government members in order to stop these crimes against marine entities. The only difference between these activists and people like you and me are their hi-def video and audio equipment (supplied by ILM), their ambition, and having the balls to stand up for these creatures, even after being questioned repeatedly by government officials, followed by undercover cops at all times of the day and night, and risking being carried off to jail on a daily basis in order to capture some shred of proof about what is going on by the coast of Taiji.
They need proof to begin making a difference. Because none of Japan’s citizens, which round up about 130,000,000 approximately, know about the mass murder of hundreds of dolphins on a regular basis taking place just steps away from their houses. The International Whaling Commission, which like most government groups is pretty worthless, is blind to the claims of the cetaceans’ cruel deaths on Japanese land, and Japan’s delegation actually tries to enforce a ban on whale restriction laws, which actually doesn’t even cover dolphins. O’Barry’s team however, their mission, with some very cool visuals and footage reminiscent of old-school spy movies in order to show this Commission the crimes that are ongoing right under their noses.
The film is not for the faint-hearted. The raw footage captured by these brave people is enough to bring you to tears, unless you’re a heartless bastard. And even if that’s the case, I suggest you bring your own Kleenex. After you finish blowing your respective noses at the end of the movie, I suggest visiting the film’s website http://www.thecovemovie.com/ to find out more about the process of making this earth-shattering film, the process in which the whaling laws are being modified, and how you can help the cause.
