Search - Nature: The Dolphin Defender on DVD

Extremely powerful, some parts hurt to watch, but need to be

MEzawa | Clinton, NJ | 11/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just a brief warning- this DVD is very well-composed, it contains both beauty and tragedy, and there are a few scenes you may have recurring nightmares about.

Hardy Jones is a wildlife filmmaker. His specialty is dolphins. When we first meet Mr. Jones, he is on a boat, headed to a select spot where he can swim and interact with dolphins. When he explores into the ocean, we see that the creatures are very welcoming, unafraid, and playful. They even play games with him, and protect him from a shark, teaming up to drive it away, putting their own lives at risk.
That is among the most demonstrative cases of irony. The dolphins protect a human, but in a later scene, the situation is horridly different.

Later in the film, you witness what happened in Japan about 25-30 years ago. A mass murder. A massacre. A Holocaust, to put it lightly. Half the ocean has been dyed red. Thousands of them, dolphins, are being slaughtered just because the fish industry of the country thinks they are interferring with their business. One specific scene, one string of about 8-10 seconds, will never leave my mind, ever. You see a man holding a spear, stabbing at a dolphin's heart. The dolphin is twitching and flailing desparately, as if begging the man to stop. It doesn't happen. You see another dolphin being dragged by its tail in towards the shore, struggling to free itself and you just knew what was coming next. But Mr. Hardy Jones catches it all on tape. There was to be change, thankfully.

All in all, this movie hurts to watch. It rips your heart from its cage. But, it is very necessary to watch, and it inspires you to take action and do something. This film needs to be seen. Everybody needs to see this film. The last line in the film gives the viewer enough inspiration as it is,
"humans can't communicate with dolphins yet, so we (meaning you and him) must be their voice."
"

Excellent, beautiful, and moving

Martha O'brien | New York | 09/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great wildlife film. The footage of the dolphins swimming in the sea is wonderful. And you hear Mr. Jones' point of view on his encounters with an orca, his attempts to save dolphins' lives, and his own friendship with a certain spotted dolphin named Chopper, who helps save his life. The ending is particularly moving when, after an entire quarter-century, Mr. Jones goes to the same spot where he first met Chopper, and there Chopper is again, and he remembers his human friend. Anyone who loves dolphins, or wildlife in general, should watch this film."