Review of Blackfish (2013) by D.a. Z — 29 Mar 2014

It is a depressing reality that overnight activism PETA-crazed documentaries are effective for circa three minutes, fizzling into nothingness due to their lack of real humanistic impact. Sure, we feel bad for the dolphins for a while, but in the end, we get up and go, because who can make a difference, really? COME ON MAN, REALLY? We're left with nothing but a temporary mark of something that's meant to be meaningful yet leaves us with no emphatic meaning.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are in luck today. We have masterful, emerging documentaries like Blackfish to slap us out of our apathy. This beautifully and masterfully told documentary has you hooked from the start, informing you that it will focus on the death of an animal trainer named Dawn Brancheau who was killed in an accident, or so it has been reported, by an orca or "killer" whale named Tilikum. Best of all, Blackfish is by no standards a conventional documentary. As the events of Brancheau's death being to unfold, Blackfish throws the viewer into a tide of beautiful cinematography, gritty interviews, and a powerfully moral belief in truth. Gabriela Coperthwaite, in all her directorial beauty, tells a tale of the gorgeousness of nature, the greed of humanity, and the love that we are slowly but surely losing.

Blackfish plays in alternating sequences in time, with a patterned form of symbolic and stylish storytelling. As a documentary, it holds nothing back. You hear the cries for help in the 911 calls. You see footage of outdated Sea World commercials, interviews, and all the injuries and deaths discussed throughout the film. Blackfish is, by no means, an exploitative film. It does not mean to shock but to give you every detail of the truth in a multi-layered manner, down to every grizzly detail and deceptive act. Indeed, Blackfish will reign supreme to animal activists, and surprisingly, much to historians, animal psychologists, and conspiracy theorists. But in all honesty, Blackfish exists for the every single human being of all ages. It is a psychologically gripping documentary that teaches you to feel empathy again and truly love an animal that deserves to be loved as much as every other living thing. It will leave you in gorgeous awe and horrified disgust, and it does so with emotional and intellectual purpose. Blackfish is a beautiful and unsettling experience, and it deserves to be watched and recommended to all.