My Octopus Teacher
After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal.
- Released: 2020-09-04
- Runtime: 84 minutes
- Genre: Documentaries
- Stars: Craig Foster, Tom Foster
- Director: Philippa Ehrlich, James Reed
Comments
- masonfisk - 17 June 2024
A LESSON FOR THE SENSES...!
The 2020 Oscar winner for Best documentary feature which was a Netflix original. Following a filmmaker's, Craig Foster, yearlong effort to get to know an octopus outside the kelp forest outside his home brings more surprises than he expected. Spending his time trying to get his mojo back that Foster admits he needed after feeling burned out by his career, he started to take trips into the area near his manse where he encounters the colorful sea creature covered in shells as a means of camouflage which piques his interest to pursue the answer to this naturalistic question as to why the octopus did this where he finds out his friend is more intelligent than he thought as it goes through the motions about its daily life avoiding all predators (his main nemesis is a shark) while forming a bond w/Foster (the octopus would climb on Foster's hand in friendship) but w/time whittling down (the octopus loses a tentacle to a shark, which it grows back) & the creature is about to give birth (which usually signals its death since the many eggs laid literally take the life out of it), all Foster can do is watch & reflect. Made w/the same care that the greats used to make like Jacques Costeau (hell I'll throw Steve Zissou into the mix), the film is a window into a world most will never encounter so this presentation is the next best thing. - Dawnaoak - 9 October 2023
One of the most heart-touching films ever!
This was on our list for quite a while. We knew it was going to be emotional. We finally buckled down and watched it and it "broke" us emotionally. Sometimes a good, deep, loving, meaningful experience with a good amount of tears is cathartic.
At times it literally takes your breath away as you swim with the storyteller and can feel the breath running out.
This is an incredibly well done documentary. The storytelling and weaving of poignant moments of the underwater life and the live above are seamlessly told.
You can't help but walk away from this film changed, moved. We highly recommend watching with someone who is meaningful in your life to share it with.
