Blackfish

 For the last little while I have been quite lucky and grateful for the fact that stability reigns and that there is some normality coming back to my life.  Well, perhaps that is only the case half of the time, but when compared to how I was feeling a month ago, it is a huge step forward.  Yesterday I reviewed a documentary that did very little to help with my anxiety, as I had been deeply affected by The Act of Killing for the last two days.  Today I look at another documentary that is a strong bet for getting an Oscar nomination, one that has some disturbing elements but is nowhere near the black hole of emotions that The Act of Killing was.  That one I would never recommend to general audiences, and today's documentary is one that I sure would.

While I do enjoy a good documentary, I always feel that one of true quality is a rare creature to find, almost mythical in nature.  The white whale eludes me many times, as a lot of documentaries suffer from poor pacing where you get an emotional or intellectual punch during the first twenty minutes and then sit through filler while they build towards the next one.  Other issues that plague documentaries are ones such as pushed agendas, incredible biases, and the portrayal of only one side of the story.

Blackfish, the CNN documentary on the behind the scenes life of killer whales in captivity at Sea World, may miss the mark on showing all sides of the story, but having watched it I can tell that it is not for lack of trying.  The usual feel that I have after a slanted documentary is the desire to shower off mentally because I feel dirty on account of the verbal filth and manipulation of emotions that are thrown at me to drive home a point.  With Blackfish it is quite visible that we almost get a singular perspective that the manner, conditions, and overall captivity of killer whales is a negative thing, it never felt to me like pure manipulation.

It is a documentary that gains a lot of its content from facts and figures of true life events, and the tale is told mostly from the voices of people who have been trainers of killer whales and now feel like there are major issues with how these mammals are captured and treated.  The testimonies are extremely heartfelt and passionate, and do not come off in any kind of tone of propaganda, which helps to temper the one sided nature of this issue.  It also becomes clear at the end of the film that Sea World had their chance to be a part of the documentary and say their piece, but opted not to.

I often role my eyes a little whenever I hear a movie or documentary reviewed in one sensationalist word such as ‘shocking!’, but I am amazing myself to admit that such a description fits Blackfish near perfectly.  The curtain is slowly revealed to the audience on the lives of killer whales in captivity, it evenly unwinds its tale in a manner that makes the film evenly fascinating to watch from beginning to end, a true testament to the quality in which it was put together.  As the documentary progresses, we find out more and more disturbing information that at times had my mouth wide open in astonishment.  The magical beasts that I saw as a child at Sea World in Florida, jumping in joy for the excited crowds, are shown in their true states, prisoners who are robbed of what their lives should be, torn from their families, and forced into participation.

It offered a very emotional, intellectual, and entertaining format to deliver its message, and it did so about as remarkably as it could.  I will not pretend that I am now a crusader and that my entire life has been changed due to it, but that okay because is not the point of this film.  The point is to raise awareness, to pull the curtain back so we can see the true nature and inner workings of an industry that we would otherwise never give a second moment’s thought to.  I doubt I will ever be back in Orlando any time soon, but if I was I know that I would think twice about buying a ticket to see the killer whales perform.

Rating – 4 out of 4 stars