It`s been quite a while since I last watched a documentary on Saturday morning, mostly because I always find myself having things to do and write on the weekend because of school. With some time to spare, I was finally able to open my Documentaries folder and take a look at one of the movies that have been waiting patiently. I remember when Eco Pirate played at Fifth Ave. Hardly anyone went to see it, unfortunately, and we only screened it for a week. It`s a good documentary, and director Trish Dolman isn`t afraid to show some very disturbing, graphic images, like whales being harpooned and killed, and even more terrifying and unexpected, baby seals getting bludgeoned in the Arctic. But it`s moments like these, this uncensored look at what Paul and the rest of his followers really believe in stopping. It`s the ugly truth of what goes on in the world, and people, as Paul says, are ”stupid”. What some people believe to be eco-terrorism, this film examines the injustice of nations who proceed with illegal activity or in some cases, like Japan, blatantly lie about their whaling purposes (they call it ”research” yet others point out that you don`t need to kill whales to study them), Watson looks more and more reasonable in his actions. He and his crew throw stink bombs onto other boats, clog their waste outlets (ie. the holes near the bottom of the ships where blood from whales pours out), and sometimes even ram the ships, all in the name of protecting animals and the environment.
If you have the stomach and eyes for watching animals getting killed a bit, then I would recommend this documentary. It may be a little long, but the entire film is a well-made and fascinating portrait of a man willing to make the change no one else will do.
aaron's random musings 
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