If you ’re a moving-picture show caramel brown , you ’ve probably find out of the improbable genius of one ofNetflix ’s most recent and noted documentaries . My Octopus Teacherdocuments the reliable tale of Craig Foster , filmmaker and co - beginner ofSea Change , whose goal to reconnect with nature through casual sea dives saw him draw together with an octopus . The moving-picture show was barely brush up upon its release in September 2020 but spread like wildfire through intelligence - of - lip to feature in the streaming land site ’s top 10 several times in multiple country .
The award - win title of respect ( including commendations fromWildscreen , BAFTA , and theOscars ) presents in stunning detail the growing cartel between the octopus and Foster , whose filmmaking experience was able to captivate polar moments in their year - long relationship . The unconvincing association begin when , unsure of his place or purpose in the creation , Foster started assume day-after-day dives in the gravid African Seaforest . He hoped the regimen would make him feel like a part of nature rather than a watcher , by getting quite literally up - faithful and personal with some of the region ’s most magnetic species .
As well as take you on a journey through the protected kelp forest on Foster ’s threshold , the documentary give a glance of daily living for an octopus and the risk that brings . This feat was helped in no low part byProfessor Jennifer Mather , who co - film director Pippa Ehrlichdescribedas “ an octopus psychologist ” .
“ She watched every single conniption with us , discussed Craig ’s interpretation , and assist us get inside the mind of an devilfish as much as she could , ” said Ehrlich in an interview withThe Wrap . “ She was able to aid us interpret that an octopus is a snail that has lost its cuticle – it ’s a very , very intelligent creature that ’s also very vulnerable . She told us an octopus ’ main experience of the earth is the tension between fear and curiosity . ”
The documentary reinforces their exposure when the devilfish suffer a serious combat injury , recede one of its eight arms to a pj’s shark . As it cower , pale and weak , from the brush ( it ’s now thoughtoctopuses feel painin the same way humans do ) it ’s difficult not to see it as a victim , but the filmmakers were eager to keep human codes of conduct away from those of the creature in the documentary .
“ We did n’t name the octopus – that was the first thing we decided , because we know that anthropomorphism could be a problem , ” continued Ehrlich . “ We require to give her as much devilfish - cape as possible . ”
As Foster ’s everyday exposure to the octopus enable him to move from abandoning his camera as a agency of getting footage , to being able to sit ringside as it kick the bucket about its day , he captured an adjustment never before recorded in science . The “ shell causa ” defense mechanics display in the video below feature inBlue Planet IIas cameraman Roger Horrocks and assistant producer John Chambers fall in Foster on his daily dive . Thanks to his strict regimen , he was the first to report an devilfish using a accumulation of carapace in this elbow room , creating a calcified suit of armor exploiter its many suckers to keep the shells in place .
As for Foster ’s initial motivations for embarking on this journeying , it seems his fleeting ( in human years ) but intimate coming upon with this octopus were successful in reaffirm his situation in the world . “ What she taught me is to feel that you are part of this home . Not a visitor,”said Foster . “ And that ’s a huge departure . ”
