Festival Fodder is back with coverage of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Today, we review the highly anticipated documentary The Cove, which surprisingly did not win either the judges or audience awards for documentaries, but nonetheless has been nominated for the Oscar for best documentary. I've always had trouble judging documentaries. Even if one happened to be a disaster cinematically, I'm usually pretty satisfied if the subject matter is interesting enough, and if I learn something new. Furthermore, some documentaries strive to have artistic value and tell an amazing story, while others merely are looking to raise awareness about a certain social issue--with any artistic achievement being an externality. Both approaches are meritorious, in my opinion.
The Cove is explicitly trying to raise awarness about the dolphin hunting industry. What I'll do is judge it from an artistic standpoint first, then from a "social" standpoint (as in how effectively it gets its message accross). I know, I know: artistry enhances message, and even fiction narratives have a message to tell through their art. I'm trying my hardest here, and I wouldn't make the separation if The Cove wasn't so blatantly an expose piece. I'll somehow blend the two for my final rating. Let's get into it.
