My Octopus Teacher
Year: 2020
Rating: R
Length: 113 minutes / 1.88 hours
Nature documentaries are perhaps some of the most educational movies ever made. Sure, there are documentaries about extreme sports (like Senna (2010)), historical events (like The Look of Silence (2014)) or people (like Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018)) but nature documentaries usually leave me with a sense of awe. This feeling comes from learning something about Earth that has been that way for millennia and will continue to be that way for millennia to come. There are so many amazing things to learn from nature that I can’t help but be amazed by it. My Octopus Teacher (2020) is just the latest in a long line of nature documentaries that have wowed me with the new knowledge I gained.
Being from a landlocked state, I don’t have a lot of experience with aquatic life. I’ve occasionally seen something about octopuses being a little peculiar but never fully understood the full extent of their short lifespan. Of course, where My Octopus Teacher excels is in giving the audience a personal connection to this singular octopus. Sure, it may act somewhat different from how most octopi are supposed to act but observing how intelligent it is was truly inspiring.
Of course, I have to fault nature documentaries like this for manufacturing some of this emotional connection to the octopus. It’s basically a trope to show how human-like this octopus is, only for its life to come in danger. Although, I must admit that I did become emotionally invested in this octopus. This was partly due to the stunning underwater cinematography, which itself should have also won an award alongside the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. I always find myself awestruck that someone would have the forethought to capture these moments on camera so that such a movie could be made, but in this case, I’m certainly glad they did.
A beautiful underwater lesson on the life of an octopus, I give My Octopus Teacher 4.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
