Word: covings
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September heralds the six-month dolphin-hunting season in Taiji, a small seaside town in Japan's southwestern Wakayama prefecture. And residents are sensing the attack on them has also begun. The Cove - a U.S. documentary with the air of a spy thriller that has been called "advocacy filmmaking at its best" since its release on July 31 - depicts Taiji's centuries-old tradition of killing dolphins with an unflinching eye on the sometimes gruesome process. The documentarians, led by photographer turned director Louie Psihoyos and dolphin trainer turned activist Richard O'Barry, have stirred both international outcry and acclaim...
...each year. No film festival has a moral obligation to accept a film, but TIFF's slogan of "Action! For Earth" raised more than a few eyebrows when the widely lauded eco-documentary didn't make the cut. In the end, Yoda said, the festival "decided to take The Cove due to international attention worldwide." (See pictures of Japan and the world...
...Peppermint Bay This is a maritime city so best get out on the water and take the half-day Peppermint Bay Cruise, tel: (61-3) 6231 5113, which departs from the Hobart Cruise Centre at Sullivan's Cove. Heading out into the estuary of the Derwent River can be hair-raising when the Southern Ocean is choppy, but it's bearable on a large, luxury, high-speed catamaran. Soon you enter the tranquil waters of the d'Entrecasteaux Channel - named by early French explorers, who had friendly contact with local Aborigines before the British arrived and devastated the indigenous culture...
...what does this mean for the Japanese? There's something about the way the fishermen look, pulling hard on their cigarettes as they stare down at the reddened waters of the cove, that suggests the task isn't exactly easy for them. Some would argue that dolphin-fishing is their cultural right and that foreigners should stay out of their business (i.e., the sale of dolphins for meat, at about $600 a head). The film counters with a fleet of scientists flown in (more money!) to unearth evidence that no one should be eating dolphin meat; samples were toxic with...
...filmmakers consider themselves heroes already. I wouldn't argue against that. This is a philanthropic mission, and Psihoyos and his team get their heartbreaking work done. You just hope the hint of boastfulness doesn't dilute the message, because when you're mopping up your tears after The Cove, you want this film to make a difference...