This documentary is one of the best docs I've ever seen. Tilikum, the Orca who is the film's focus, is not the only tragic victim in this movie. We feel the loss of Dawn Brancheau & the other trainers killed in this movie acutely.
There are scenes of wild orcas that are rapturous & conversely there are scenes with them that are filled with tension & dread. The filmmakers aren't out to shock you with graphic imagery (if any exist). The spoken & written descriptions are horrifying enough. (It is not for children!) I wish I could un-hear the plaintive cries of a mother orca after being separated from her child. That scene had to be in the film, but it is almost --it is-- too much.
To call this film one-sided is like calling a film about the horrors of meth addiction, child abuse or the dangers of cigarette smoking biased. How could it be any other way?
It is an absolutely unforgettable film.
Update 2015: This film is even more powerful if you see it after you had read John Hargrove's book "Beneath The Surface" which explores the film's subject in greater detail. I can't think of a film + book that complement each other so perfectly except maybe "Eight Men Out" & "Into The Wild" (maybe Cheryl Strayed's "Wild" which I haven't read that was adapted into an excellent film).
There are scenes of wild orcas that are rapturous & conversely there are scenes with them that are filled with tension & dread. The filmmakers aren't out to shock you with graphic imagery (if any exist). The spoken & written descriptions are horrifying enough. (It is not for children!) I wish I could un-hear the plaintive cries of a mother orca after being separated from her child. That scene had to be in the film, but it is almost --it is-- too much.
To call this film one-sided is like calling a film about the horrors of meth addiction, child abuse or the dangers of cigarette smoking biased. How could it be any other way?
It is an absolutely unforgettable film.
Update 2015: This film is even more powerful if you see it after you had read John Hargrove's book "Beneath The Surface" which explores the film's subject in greater detail. I can't think of a film + book that complement each other so perfectly except maybe "Eight Men Out" & "Into The Wild" (maybe Cheryl Strayed's "Wild" which I haven't read that was adapted into an excellent film).