Blackfish

"And God created great whales."
-Genesis

The whale ate the trainer? This is one of the several responses we hear from 9-1-1 dispatchers in the opening moments. That's a fairly disturbing incident to comprehend. But it's not too far later when we go to James Earl Jones, using his powerful voice to give an introduction for young, new employees at Sea World. With such an awe-inspiring promotion, how can one not forget about the unpredictable behavior (according to whale researchers interviewed) of the great whales? This movie's aim is to ensure that we forget not. The stories in the Gabriela Cowperthwaite-directed documentary "Blackfish" are not tear-inducing like "Free Willy" from twenty years ago or the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove," but they will nevertheless make you mad as hell.

One example is early on in the film, when we hear stories of capturing whales. One individual looks like Paulo Freire with masculine tattoos, and yet he emotionally explains his role in the capturing. "You understand then what you're doing," he says, as he explains the other orcas surrounding the boats, calling out for the young captured. One whale is named Tilikum. Shoved into a tiny pool, his trainer's cruel methods included food deprivation. The other whales knew that Tilikum was the cause for their lack of food, and so the performers would lock Tilikum in the pool with the other two whales, and the next morning he would be badly bruised. Eventually, Tilikum would be responsible for the death of a performer. The park shut down. Sea World purchased Tilikum. Not simply to perform, but because his sperm is so profitable for them. If you've ever been curious about the retrieving of whale sperm, you're in luck, as the process is seen here. "His semen is worth a lot of money," we are told.

Sea World is evil. That's the message here. Is it unfair? Sea World allegedly had the chance to be interviewed but declined.  We're told by researchers interviewed that whales are very intelligent beings living highly elaborated emotional lives. Science has shown that they can think, and do so quite well, but the fundamental argument regarding animals in such captivity is not, as vegans have told us, whether they can think, but whether they can suffer. In "Blackfish," there is plenty of footage of whales suffering, and the terribly depressing noise they make when their babies are taken from them. But that's only half of the source of anger. The other is directed at Sea World. The obvious comparisons are to previous documentaries, like "The Cove" and "Grizzly Man." "Blackfish" is not as good as either of them. Still, you owe it to yourself to see it.