Blackfish

Blackfish is a  documentary about orcas kept in captivity, notably at SeaWorld The film was directed by  Gabriella Cowperthwaite, and produced by CNN films as part of their documentary series. The film uses interviews with former SeaWorld trainers, along with stock footage and archive news reports. The film focuses mainly on the whale Tilikum, the largest whale currently being kept in captivity, and one of the earliest to be caught, who is responsible for the deaths of three people.

The film details chronologically the time from the capture of Tillikum off the coast of Iceland, to his killing of Dawn Brancheau in 2010 and the subsequent lawsuit. The film takes the perspective that the capture and confinement of orca's is wrong, that orcas live longer in the wild, and that SeaWorld won't admit these facts due to it being economically advantageous to keep these animals captive. The film also features various interviews with marine biologists and orca specialists, explaining the shortened lifespan of these animals, and how their conditions may be harmful.

At Seaworld, beautiful, majestic intelligent creatures are kept in cramped, dank tanks, and encouraged to do silly tricks so that fat tourists can point and laugh, despite the tanks at SeaWorld being significantly larger that the proscribed legal size, the tanks will never be big enough, in the wild orcas can swim hundreds of miles a day, and have incredibly close nit family units, whereas at SeaWorld and the like, these animals are crammed together, artificially inseminated, often with close family members, and the mothers are separated from their young soon after birth. The film tells a heartbreaking story about a mother separated from her daughter, who floats at the edge of her tank and calls for her, moving and emotional this is film making at it's best.

Many have stated that the documentary doesn't present a balanced viewpoint, and that the film is biased. I feel that we already know SeaWorld's point of view (SeaWorld was contacted numerous times for a statement), they make their point of view known every day when the force poor animals to perform tricks for fat tourists, do we really need to hear it again?I feel that fictional, narrative driven movies are allowed not to be impartial, and no one criticizes them for being biased, yet the instant a documentary appears, everyone suddenly expects impartiality. Despite tha fact that this film was produced by CNN films, it is not a news broadcast, nor are the filmmakers journalists, they are directors, and they have succeeded at making a chilling documentary about a complex issue.

The only thing this documentary doesn't explain in any depth is the legal issue surrounding the scandal, and doesn't tell us why the animal hasn't been put down, or why he is still allowed to perform. Despite perhaps it's focus being a little off, Blackfish remains a compelling watch about a difficult subject. Rating: B

John Hargrove: Those are not your whales.