Please see below for an update on this story.

This is the first installment of The Public Record’s “Call to Action” documentary review series. We’ve included links at the end of the review to assist readers who would like to obtain additional information and, most importantly, become active.

The Cove

This week, the small town of Taiji, Japan will be flush with cash. The next couple of months for this coastal community will be their boon season, for this is when the dolphin drive happens.

More than 20,000 porpoises and dolphins will be herded into a lagoon in this unassuming tourist town over the next handful of months. Some will be chosen for places like Sea World and aquariums but the majority will be slaughtered. The National Parks Conservation Association estimates that the number of bottlenose dolphins (the most popular dolpin, see: Flipper) specifically around Japan are as low as 37,000.

“We tried to do the story legally” - Louie Psihoyos

Louie Psihoyos, the film’s director started out as a photographer – shooting in extreme locations around the world, from photographing portraits on the top of Egypt’s pyramid’s to the gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. After spending more than a decade shooting for National Geographic magazine, Louie co-founded OPS, the Oceanic Preservation Society. Over those years he made lots of friends in Hollywood. The type of friends that would be useful when you’re making a film like ‘The Cove.’

The film crew reads more like a roster of a Hollywood action film than that of a nature documentary. This “Ocean’s 11″ crew – a joke that the director makes at the beginning of the film – includes: a former George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Sound crew member; two free-dive record holders; an avionics technician; and a treasure hunter. And of course that doesn’t include Taiji’s most hated man – Ric O’Barry. Rick carries of his shoulders the guilt of being the creator of the worlds worship of dolphins. He’s the trainer (and catcher) of the five dolphins that acted as TV’s Flipper. After Kathy, the main ‘Flipper,’ died in his arms Ric was arrested the next day for trying to free a dolphin out of a local aquarium, thus starting his career as an activist. He’s spent the past 4 decades freeing dolphins from captivity and is the Director of SaveJapanDolphins.org

This crew was tasked with filming the dolphin kill in a cove surrounded by sheer mountain walls, barbed wire and roaming guards. If any of them we’re caught, arrest would certainly follow and then deportation from Japan.

The Cove is more of an action film than a documentary – add Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts and you have yourself a multi-million dollar blockbuster. And a plot with the contortions of any of the Ocean’s 11 franchise. Except this is better – because it’s all true. Military grade thermal video, rocks that hide HD video cameras and under water sound for ambiance – they all build to a crescendo that any Hollywood action film could only dream of.

But this is a documentary – one that speaks to our country’s, Japan’s and the worlds obsession with sea life, sea food and the vacations that come with it. Sea World banned Ric O’Barry from the conferences that they sponsor for speaking of Taiji and what happens there.

Japan has denied the independent findings of toxic level’s of mercury in dolphins, whales and many other fish that they still claim that they are fit to eat. Years ago, you may remember the push to only eat ‘dolphin-free’ tuna – labels popped up on every can of the chicken of the sea – we all thought it was because of the cute sea mammals. While that may have been one of the reasons it was mainly because dolphins, as cute as they are, they are toxic waste dumps. Dolphin meat has been found to contain 2000 times the safe level of mercury. In Japan dolphin meat is often labeled as whale or other sea food, so there is no way for their citizens to completely avoid it.

In America it may be easy to stay away from dolphin meat but they aren’t the only seafood contaminated by our pollution, cod, tuna and swordfish are all greatly affected by mercury.

‘The Cove’ illuminates the need for our world to not only deal with this horrendous, needless slaughter but to look at the larger picture of our oceans. There are many things that we can do to slow the drastic drops in all of all sea life due to overfishing, increasing temperatures, and pollution but first people must be aware of the issue.

If I have ever seen a call to action – this film is it – thanks to it’s production company there is a direct and simple way to act – go to takepart.com/thecove for more information. We have little time left to save the oceans and its sea life and attending this movie–with friends–is crucial in order to grasp the seriousness of the issue and its impact on us.

Read more about Japan and the International Whaling Commission here.

Spread the word about this film to people Japan who can take immediate action to stop the slaughter in Taiji by clicking here.

Find out what seafood is safe to eat for your children and especially if you are pregnant by clicking here and here.

Support OPS’s efforts by clicking here.

Tell the Prime Minister of Japan to stop the slaughter by clicking here

Or mail it here:

Prime Minister of Japan

1-6-1 Nagatacho,

Chiyodaku,

Tokyo,

100-8914 Japan

Zach Roberts has produced DVD’s with award-winning investigative reporter Greg Palast including Big Easy to Big Empty and Palast Investigates, which is available as a free download this week. Follow Zach on twitter at zdroberts and on Pubrecord’s documentary review feed DocuTweets. If you have a film you can contact him zdroberts (at) gmail.com

UPDATE:

The press coverage that ‘The Cove’ has garnered for Taiji, Japan seems to have, at least temporarily stopped the dolphin slaughter.

EIN Presswire is reporting that “Ric O’Barry, the star of “The Cove,” successfully made it into Japan and to Taiji along with other Save Japan Dolphins staff and news crews from the U.S., Germany, and the U.K., and for the first time ever – three Japanese television crews.”

This is a very important first step towards the end of the killing of dolphins and whales by Japan, but the fight is no where near ended. There is no word yet is this is just a pause in the dolphin drive while the media is interested or something more permanent.

With the recent elections in the Japanese government the world has a chance to make this a prominent issue for the newly formed government. Please continue to keep the pressure on.

The Public Record will keep you updated as this story continues to develop.