Craig Foster is a filmmaker who was going through a particularly rough patch in his life. As a coping mechanism he decided to go diving in the nearby ocean. What he found under the surface revolutionised the way he viewed the world and our role in it. This is, fundamentally, what My Octopus Teacher is about; what our role in this world is as humans. It's not a nature documentary, and in fact what we see and learn about the titular octopus isn't really important. Over the course of a year, diving down into the kelp forest every day, he documented the life and death of a singular octopus. He grew unhealthily attached to it, but it opened his eyes to the fact that humans are not separate from the natural world. We're as much a part of it as the octopus is.
The main reason that this movie isn't really about the octopus is that the facts offered are flimsy at best, and do not come from any form of authority. In fact we get the opposite. Foster constantly humanises this animal, describing its behaviour as if it were a child. The documentary is shot and edited to support this narrative as well, but instead of educating on how octopuses live, it instead creates an emotional attachment for us. The wild octopus is depicted akin to a pet in its significance to Foster's life. I cuddle my cat the same way Foster is shown cuddling the octopus. I humanise my cat the same way Foster humanises the octopus. But my cats behaviour is not the same as a human beings, and neither is the octopus. Did the octopus see Foster as a friend? Or did it see him as a watchful guardian? An annoyance? Just a point of curiosity? Foster depicts the relationship as platonic, but it's unlikely the octopus had the same perspective.
Beyond the educational deceptions this humanising presents, it also creates a polarising narrative. Some people are enamoured with the relationship and message, watching this guy grow closer to nature and befriending its inhabitants. Others blame him for interfering and/or not interfering enough, or profiting (emotionally) from a wild animal. In both cases these people have been sucked into the humanised narrative and created an adequate emotional response to it. Where do I lie? Definitely the former, but why is highlighted by the latter. The message of the documentary is that humans are part of nature, and not separate from it as most of us often live. This is undeniably true, but it raises an interesting question as to how far we should or should not interfere in the natural world.
Was Foster interfering by just being there? If so, why did he draw a line at not interfering when the octopus was being attacked? Biologists often say that when interacting with wildlife, you need to be respectful of it. Would it have been respectful of Foster to beat the sharks away? To the octopus, maybe, but definitely not to the sharks. While he depicts the octopus as a friend or a pet, he's quite obviously aware that that is not the case, and it is not his place to protect her from predators. What about just being there and filming? Maybe he got a bit too close, both emotionally and physically, but beyond that, how was that interference different to that of professional nature documentarists and scientists studying animals? And if we really are as much a part of nature as Foster suggests, is it really interfering at all? There's such a fine line here, and I'm not arrogant enough to suggest I have the answer and can declare who's right and who's wrong.
On a purely technical merit, My Octopus Teacher succeeds in just about every way. The cinematography is fantastic, most of which done by Foster himself, from the footage he filmed over that year-long period. The humanised narrative he depicts is, I admit, very effective as well, warming us to the octopus so much it causes the discussions above. Whether you were a supporter of the friendship or had issue with Foster's behaviour, we can all agree that we loved that octopus and was rooting for it right until the very end. It reaching out and for physical contact was more than likely curiosity or a form of self-preservation on the octopuses behalf, but it's hard not to view it as the first connection and loving embraces of a budding friendship. And because of all of this, the film's gut-punch ending is so emotionally effective. Regardless of the morals of this documentary, you can't deny it's a very well-crafted film.
My Octopus Teacher is not a film I would blindly recommend to people, even if just because of its divisive nature. But the message it's trying to tell is universal and needs to be heard by as many people as possible. If My Octopus Teacher manages to reach people other similar efforts wouldn't have done, then I can only deem it a success. We live on this world. We're a part of it. Everything we do affects the world around us. We have a responsibility to preserve it, not because the animals deserve it (it's called natural selection for a reason), but because we are it. We are not disconnected. The world affects us as much as we affect it. Foster came into this octopus' life and affected it one way or another, but the octopus affected his life as well. We are not above the natural world just because we're smarter and have opposable thumbs. I give My Octopus Teacher an effective but morally grey 7/10.
16 out of 22 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
