“My Octopus Teacher” (2020, dir. Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed) is a documentary feature made in South Africa. It became a Netflix hit and a winner of the Oscar statuette for Best Documentary. What made such an unusually titled film become so popular?
Briefly, it’s a story of a man befriending a common octopus. The man is Craig Foster, a filmmaker who made a couple of films about African wildlife and who once trained to track animals in the Kalahari Desert. He is the narrator of this film, and a big part of the fascinating underwater footage is shot by him. It took ten years for this film to be made and, despite the high-quality cinematography (another man behind the camera was Roger Horrocks who contributed to David Attenborough’s “Blue Planet II”), it feels like a one- man production. There’s something beautifully intimate about this picture and very personal.
Feeling a bit lost after his African adventures, Craig longs for something extraordinary to happen in his life. He starts snorkelling in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean, in the kelp forest of False Bay near Cape Town. There he finds a small common octopus and starts observing her habits. After some time she becomes aware of his presence. He watches her chasing a crab or figuring out how to catch an elusive lobster. Craig admires her hunting techniques, her clever moves to avoid predators, the power of camouflage; she even uses him in her strategy to catch her prey. Craig realises he’s dealing with a very smart creature. Most curious to him is that this creature isn’t a mammal. It’s a mollusc – a completely different species from the animals humans usually approach. So different that the octopus could be considered an alien from another planet. He slowly gains her trust and, finally, they form a bond that changes into a most unusual relationship. They share a touch; shake hands and tentacles, and even cuddle.
Such a fascinating friendship becomes very exciting to Craig. He develops a habit of seeing his ‘friend’ every day, spending time with her in their little underwater paradise. But, they are not alone in the kelp forest.
Danger lurks in the waters – the pyjama sharks. Small but deadly sharks – especially for a fragile octopus. Craig fears for the octopus’ life and is soon confronted with a serious issue: by scaring the sharks away to protect his friend, he will be interfering with the marine ecosystem. He rationalises that by being there and befriending the octopus he is already trespassing into the non-human territory. In any event, the inevitable happens: sharks attack the octopus, biting off one of her tentacles. Craig blames himself. It’s a dark moment in the film; it takes the octopus three months to recover and grow back her organ. It truly is an extraordinary creature. She regenerates – something that humans could only dream of. Her brain appears to be located all over her body, mostly in her tentacles. She touches Craig and as she does so she feels him with her brain, too. Her eyes are of an alien-like entity; she observes him and we imagine that they, too, reflect something more than just the light. But humans always fall prey to anthropomorphism – we project our feelings, behaviours onto other beings. We see ourselves in our dogs and cats. So why not see ourselves in an octopus, which shares with us its touch, closeness, intimacy, and trust?
The octopus teacher gives Craig a few valuable lessons. His existence becomes meaningful again. It helps him bring back balance in life and bond with his teenage son, who also loves snorkelling and enjoys swimming with his father. Craig’s relationship with the octopus educates him about the fragility of our environment, particularly the fragility of the sea – the entire world underwater that covers most of our planet. It’s a vulnerability that is also reflected in our current struggle to save Earth: the looming global warming, which could end in total disaster; the exploitation of our oceans. Under the waves is another world worthy of discovery, respect and trust. We came out of the oceans. We could rediscover that precious connection. We humans are more at ease with dolphins, whales and seals – the mammals. Yet the uncommon, surreal friendship Craig enjoys with a common octopus is a different story altogether. It teaches us that we could try to understand what might seem alien to us. It teaches us that patience, gentleness, kindness and dedication are the key to a better relationship with our planet.
After almost a year, the precious underwater friendship reaches its ending. The octopus does what every species is here to do – it finds a partner, reproduces and dies. It extends the life of the species. After that, the mother octopus sacrifices herself for her babies to lure away sharks from them. It’s a real tearjerker. We know to what end that story leads to; it’s the law of the jungle but, still, it’s hard to bear. After all, “My Octopus Teacher” is a warm-hearted family drama from Netflix. This family drama, though, contains a message in the bottle. A message of love and respect towards our fellow animals and responsibility for their and our common future.
It’s a great film. Go see it.
