The Cove

"Shallow Water. Deep Secret."

2009 1h 32m EN

🙌

8.0

BANGER

★8.0TMDB · 700

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The Cove tells the amazing true story of how an elite team of individuals, films makers and free divers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate the hidden cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and deadly secret. The shocking discoveries were only the tip of the iceberg.

“Shallow Water. Deep Secret.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

PhiloSubscription

FandorSubscription

Fandor Amazon ChannelSubscription

DocuramaFilms Amazon ChannelSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Hayden Panettiere
Self
Joe Chisholm
Self
Mandy-Rae Cruikshank
Self
Charles Hambleton
Self
Simon Hutchins
Self
Kirk Krack
Self
Isabel Lucas
Self
Richard O'Barry
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Louie Psihoyos
Writers: Mark Monroe
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 17 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Louie Psihoyos, shot by Brook Aitken. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by J. Ralph. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Geoffrey Richman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Hayden Panettiere and Joe Chisholm and Mandy-Rae Cruikshank carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Shallow Water. Deep Secret.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1313104 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Louie Psihoyos directs. Brook Aitken behind the camera. J. Ralph scores. Geoffrey Richman cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 17 years ago.
2Directed by Louie Psihoyos, shot by Brook Aitken. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by J. Ralph. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Geoffrey Richman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Hayden Panettiere and Joe Chisholm and Mandy-Rae Cruikshank carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Shallow Water. Deep Secret.".
7IMDB entry: tt1313104 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 15 themes, including "dying and death", "japan", "suffering", "ocean".
9Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Brook Aitken
Original score: J. Ralph
Editing: Geoffrey Richman
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $1,162,422
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Cove (2009)

Awards

Sundance Audience Award: U.S. Documentary
Genesis Award
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Louie Psihoyos

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Kenneth Axel Carlsson2014-12-27
★ 8/10
In Japan, there is a small town called Taiji. In Taiji, there is a place called the Cove. It is a secret place, a place where 23,000 dolphins are killed every year. The dolphins are not just killed, they are in fact slaughtered in the most brutal way imaginable. And all this without anyone really knowing that it goes on. I've heard of dolphins being killed in the nets when they catch tuna, but I've never thought that people actually hunted down dolphins as a source of food. Dolphins, like any whale really, seem a bit too majestic and mysterious to just slaughter like pigs and cows, at least to me. And if this movie is to be believed, they can also be quite dangerous to eat, as they contain a high amount of mercury. This movie is a documentary, focused around a signle event, where we actually see the slaughter of the dolphins. We see how the crew set up the cameras in the middle of the night, as well as how they scout out the area and plan the entire event. But more interesting than all that, we also meet Ric O'berry, one of the original actors and trainers from the tv show Flipper, who has now devoted his life to stopping the killing and abuse of dolphins. Being part of Flipper, and the one who actually caught the dolphins to appear on that show, he feels personal responsible for starting this whole mess. Of course, it would most likely have happened anyways, but we feel his pain. As a documentary, this is really well made. It is constructed much like a movie, but doesn't become too emotional, except at the very end, where we see Ric telling his story to the world, silently and with a screen on his belly. Last words... I am not a big dolphin lover or anything, but this movie still got to me by the end, because... this seems so pointless. I dont think the dolphins are in any danger of being extinct anytime soon, but still, these creatures are mysterious and might have something to teach us, and for that, they deserve to be treated differently.
CinemaSerf2024-11-25
★ 7/10
There is something pretty harrowing about this documentary and it's definitely not for the squeamish. It follows a clandestine investigation by some American conservationists who suspect that a remote cove near the Japanese town of Taiji is being used by local fisherman to kettle and then slaughter hundreds of dolphins. Facing the hostility of the locals and the authorities, the team are determined to capture video evidence of this atrocity and so using state of the art technology and quite a bit of legerdemain, they attempt to infiltrate the highly secure locale to obtain it. In the course of their planning, we are made aware of the role the International Whaling Commission has in policing the fishing of cetaceans around the world, and plausible assertions are made that Japan is using financial and economic muscle to attract new members to it's fold so they can have it's long-term bans reversed or a least modified. We are also advised of the dangers of mercury within the food chain, and of the dangers of consuming dolphin meat as children - frequently when it is ill-defined on the packaging and/or disguised as something else. There's fairly clear complicity from the authorities demonstrated here, usually presented in the name of tradition and to an extent this documentary rather sneers at that. These are centuries-old fishing communities that quite possibly have always fished like this. That's not to excuse their current, brutal, practices - but what this does lack is a little of the historical context in which these fishermen behave and which might possibly explain some of their government's broader strategy in a nation that looks, like many other island nations, to the sea for the bulk of it's food. At times it uses the imagery as a bit of a blunt instrument to make a point that would also benefit from augmentation by debate. It's thought provoking and well worth a watch, but maybe just a little too simplistic in it's broad-brush philosophy.