The Cove (2009)
96%RT Audience Score: 94%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
39 wins & 18 nominations total
Though decidedly one-sided, The Cove is an impeccably crafted, suspenseful expose of the covert slaughter of dolphins in Japan.
If you’re looking for a movie that’ll make you feel all the feels, then The Cove is the one for you. It’s like a spy thriller, but instead of James Bond, you’ve got a bunch of activists trying to uncover the dark secrets of dolphin hunting in Japan. And let me tell you, it’s not pretty.
The filmmakers really know how to build suspense, and you’ll be on the edge of your seat as they sneak around trying to get footage of the dolphin slaughter. It’s like Mission Impossible, but with more dolphins and less Tom Cruise.
Now, I gotta warn you, this movie is definitely taking a side. It’s not trying to be objective or anything. It’s pretty clear that the filmmakers think dolphin hunting is messed up, and they’re not afraid to show it. But hey, if you’re gonna make a movie about something, you might as well have a point of view, right?
Overall, I’d say The Cove is a must-watch for anyone who cares about animals, the environment, or just good storytelling. It’s like a rollercoaster of emotions, and you’ll come out of it feeling angry, sad, and maybe even a little bit hopeful. Plus, you’ll never look at Flipper the same way again.
Production Company(ies)
Diamond Docs Fish Films, Oceanic Preservation Society
Distributor
Roadside Attractions
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Tokyo, Japan
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for disturbing content
Year of Release
2009
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 34m
-
Language(s):English, Japanese
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 31, 2009 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 8, 2009
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, Taiji, Japan, dolphins, activist, Ric O’Barry, filmmaker, Louis Psihoyos, Ocean Preservation Society, slaughter, box office, budget, PG-13, Paula Dupré Pesmen, Fisher Stevens, Mark Monroe, English, Roadside Attractions, Hayden Panettiere, Isabel Lucas, Louie Psihoyos, reviewed by Ben Kenigsberg, S James Snyder, Christine Champ, Edward Porter, Philip Wilding, Trevor Johnston, Tom Meek, Felicia Feaster, Debbie Lynn Elias, David Harris, Erik Price, Dorothy Woodend, audience score, critic consensus, disturbing content, genre, producer, directed by Louie Psihoyos, written by Mark Monroe, 95% Tomatometer, 133 reviews, 94% audience score, 25,000+ ratings
Worldwide gross: $1,187,434
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,641,165
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,468
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 178,971
US/Canada gross: $857,005
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,184,476
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,151
US/Canada opening weekend: $57,640
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $79,665
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,023
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Isabel Lucas – Self
Louie Psihoyos – Self, Director
Mark Monroe – Writer
Paula Dupré Pesmen – Producer
Fisher Stevens – Producer
Director(s)
Louie Psihoyos
Writer(s)
Mark Monroe
Producer(s)
Paula Dupré Pesmen, Fisher Stevens
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
39 wins & 18 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Documentary Feature Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (133) | Top Critics (50) | Fresh (126) | Rotten (7)
November 18, 2011 | Rating: 2/5
Ben Kenigsberg
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
November 17, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
S. James Snyder
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
The Cove does what every great documentary with a cause should: It educates, entertains, and inspires audiences to take action.
May 6, 2011 | Rating: A-
Christine Champ
Film.com
TOP CRITIC
Restrained and harrowing.
October 30, 2009 | Rating: 5/5
Edward Porter
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A taut, thrilling documentary that plays out like a heist movie while never overshadowing its message or activist credentials.
October 23, 2009 | Rating: 4/5
Philip Wilding
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
There’s an effective thriller element to this vividly assembled doc.
October 23, 2009 | Rating: 5/5
Trevor Johnston
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Disturbing beyond its graphic nature namely because of the widespread complicity in the town and unwavering cruelty.
June 11, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
Tom Meek
Cambridge Day
In this thriller-doc, the entertainment value of a heist flick combines with the merits of a cause.
January 24, 2020
Felicia Feaster
Charleston City Paper
Watching THE COVE makes you wonder exactly who is the intelligent species — man or the dolphins. My vote is on the dolphins and on people like Ric O’Barry and Louie Psihoyos.
November 6, 2019
Debbie Lynn Elias
Behind The Lens
The Cove is an important film with an important message.
October 10, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
David Harris
Spectrum Culture
What happens is ugly. But that’s not the shocking part. The shocking part is that the filmmakers pulled it off:
October 18, 2018
Erik Price
Esquire Magazine
But for all its Sturm und Drang, the film has some of the same problems it criticizes; its villains are estranged from the natural world, and the film estranges us as well.
August 22, 2017
Dorothy Woodend
The Tyee (British Columbia)…
Plot
Richard O’Barry was the man who captured and trained the dolphins for the television show Flipper (1964). O’Barry’s view of cetaceans in captivity changed from that experience when as the last straw he saw that one of the dolphins playing Flipper – her name being Kathy – basically committed suicide in his arms because of the stress of being in captivity. Since that time, he has become one of the leading advocates against cetaceans in captivity and for the preservation of cetaceans in the wild. O’Barry and filmmaker ‘Louie Psihoyos (I)’ go about trying to expose one of what they see as the most cruel acts against wild dolphins in the world in Taiji, Japan, where dolphins are routinely corralled, either to be sold alive to aquariums and marine parks, or slaughtered for meat. The primary secluded cove where this activity is taking place is heavily guarded. O’Barry and Psihoyos are well known as enemies by the authorities in Taiji, the authorities who will use whatever tactic to expel the two from Japan forever. O’Barry, Psihoyos and their team covertly try to film as a document of conclusive evidence this cruel behavior. They employ among others Hollywood cameramen and deep sea free divers. They also highlight what is considered the dangerous consumption of dolphin meat (due to its high concentration of mercury) which is often sold not as dolphin meat, and the Japanese government’s methodical buying off of poorer third world nations for their support of Japan’s whaling industry, that support most specifically at the International Whaling Commission.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Hayden Panettiere appears in The Cove as herself, advocating for the protection of dolphins and speaking out against their slaughter in Japan.
Louie-Psihoyos.jpg
