Blackfish

Ahh, someone figured out that keeping a ten-ton colossus in captivity for the amusement of grubby weekend families probably isn't all that great. Well, congratulations. Otherwise, the most fantastic footage is of course the authentic footage of Tilikum getting pissed, sure, and the style of the documentary is somewhere below the level of news reports on commercial TV station, but that can be excused by its target audience. (12.10.2014)

Orca: Killer Whale II. A documentary with two approaches. The predominant passages sailing in the waters of “humankind is a band of hypocrites trying to turn creatures that deserve our respect into cute wittle moneymakers" are excellent and the fate of the imprisoned Willy who is forced to entertain families... Ahem, Tilikum is uncompromisingly touching and sad. But it doesn’t even matter so much that everybody is singing the praises of orcas just because they “are more intelligent than most in the animal kingdom", as if this gives them the right to greater freedom than any other animal kept in water worlds, circuses and similar shows. I was taken aback by the presentation of orcas as nice and sweet creatures, almost like the second coming of Christ on Earth where Tilikum is an unfortunate exception proving the rule and this anomaly arose due to bad treatment; one begins to wonder whether this is the intention or if the author is really so naive that she doesn’t realize how orcas behave in their natural habitat. The conspiracy line about evil corporations and their decades old evil plan is also a problematic area. The creators themselves even admit by the way that several conflicting versions of the same situation always exist and that no hard evidence exists, but here they tendentiously give room only to those versions that suit them. And this isn’t about their attitude to SeaWorld as such; their stance is sufficiently convincing even without their version of events. And the court judgment is a Pyrrhic victory; now SeaWorld staff will have better protection, but perhaps the only joy that the poor orcas had in their swimming pool life has now been taken away from them: contact with their trainers. (28.01.2014)

A killer whale killed a man. Why did it do it? No, I'm not joking; this is actually a documentary about what drives killer whales to kill the trainers who work with them. Alright, maybe I'm downplaying it a bit; this is a documentary, not a slasher film. More or less. It’s definitely worth watching because even though the start is quite ordinary, there are segments that will literally give you chills. I won’t condemn people for wanting to work with orcas; I will condemn the entrepreneurs who are unwilling to take responsibility for their actions. They don't even address it, despite having the opportunity to do so. People still don't realize that animals are simply unpredictable. And people are also pretty messed up when it comes right down to it. Unfortunately, it's quite an expected consequence for a killer whale in captivity to kill someone. Unfortunately, it's also common practice for marine parks to blame their employees for it. (04.12.2013)