10s Movie Review - Blackfish

Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 83 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: John Hargrove, Samantha Berg, Mark Simmons, Dean Gomersall, Carol Ray, John Jett, Jeffrey Ventre

Description: A documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales.

Review: In 2010 the makers of “The Cove” received an Oscar for their shocking documentary. With their portrayal of the Japanese dolphin hunt and all the bloody scenes it entailed, the consumption of dolphin meat in the Asian country was exposed. In addition, the idyllic and romantic image of the dolphinarium was done away with a stroke. Flipper may have given the impression of enjoying himself immensely and appears to be performing tricks with all the pleasure in the world, the reality is much grimmer. The marine mammals were cornered in a Japanese bay and bloody butchered for their flesh and imprisoned in the dolphinarium. If you hadn’t developed enough of an aversion to dolphinariums after seeing “The Cove”, “Blackfish” might be the deciding factor.
The dolphin’s big brother, the orca aka killer whale, has it at least as hard. The appearance of the black and white whale is a lot more serious and threatening than that of the dolphin. Dolphins have the bad luck that their facial expressions and gurgling always make them seem to be laughing. The orca is a dangerous sea predator with remarkable social qualities and intelligence. A diver tells the emotional story of the capture of a group of young orcas who were cornered. Their parents, uncles and aunts did not flee, but in solidarity stayed nearby a few meters away when the young animals were caught. The young orcas did not survive and had to be cut open and stuffed with stones before being sunk to the bottom of the sea.  
As if the misery surrounding the capture wasn’t bad enough, the scope of “Blackfish” is even greater. This is also where it takes a different path than “The Cove”. There have been at least seventy cases in recent decades of incidents in which trainers in dolphinariums were killed, suffered very serious injuries or narrowly escaped them. The marine parks, of which the American Sea World is by the largest and best known, were happy to seep the incidents under the rug. In their view, the orca is a harmless and peaceful animals and it is actually always the trainer’s fault that accidents occurred. However, many former trainers and scientist agree that it is the captivity of the animals and the complete desperation that drives them to this behavior. The orca male Tilikum is a notable case in point. He cause a fatal accident in Canada in the 1990s. despite this, Sea World in Florida bought Tilikum where he caused trainer Dawn Brancheau to die a gruesome death in 2010.
It is a one-sided story. Documentary filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite can do little about it because Sea World did not want to cooperate. The only backlash given comes from a former trainer. On the other hand, she pushes her message hard. Despite the lack of an adversarial approach, the filmmaker succeeds in sketching a fascinating history of Tilikum and the many wrong decisions that the money-grubbing man has made. The image of trainers at the mercy of the orcas are both shocking and fascinating. There is some effect, because “Blackfish” is presented almost as a thriller. Downright shocking is the way Sea World tries to blame the accidents on the trainers. Touching and heartbreaking are the stories about mother orcas crying when their calves are taken from them.
The main conclusion of this impressive documentary is that sensitive animals like orcas simply belong in the wild

Rating: 5/ 5