My Octopus Teacher (Netflix) is one of the best nature documentaries I’ve seen

[AngryMoth]

When I first loaded this up I was shocked to see it was an hour and twenty minutes and thought there would be no way it could justify that length but I just finished watching it in one sitting where I was captivated throughout and almost moved to tears by the end.

In contrast to something like Blue Planet which gives a holistic, whistle stop tour of the oceans, this focuses on a single animal in its environment and the guy was able to document pretty much its entire life story over the course of about a year which makes it very personal. The level of trust he builds with the subject allows him to get some incredible footage, I'd highly recommend anyone interested in this kind of thing to give it a shot

 

[Deleted member 33412]

Absolutely. Just watched it this evening, simply breath-taking.

 

[Satori]

Wow sounds fantastic. Just added to my watch list. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Volimar]

I do really enjoy a lot of these laser focused documentaries so I'll check it out. Thanks OP.

 

[Septimus Prime]

Octodad at work?

Is this good for kids?

 

[androvsky]

Sounds interesting, even if it isn't a westernized adaptation of Assassination Classroom.

 

[OrakioRob]

Just watched this with my wife after seeing this thread yesterday. Thanks a lot for sharing it, OP. What a beautiful little documentary. And wow, the production is excellent! The images are breathtaking.

 

[Martin]

That title made it sound like some creepy anime.
But reading your post I'm going to totally watch this! Thanks

 

[shaneo632]

Is it available in 4K? Might watch later.

 

[z e r t]

Thanks OP I'll add it to my list. Never heard of it but sounds interesting.

 

[Mcfrank]

My wife watched this last night and she was a wreck afterwards.

 

[Birdie]

That title made it sound like some creepy anime.
But reading your post I'm going to totally watch this! Thanks

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Yeah since there's an actual anime/manga with an actual octopus (more or less) as a teacher.

 

[LinkSlayer64]

I thought this was stealth promotion for Assassination Classroom, which is not a creepy anime, it is actually really good and heartfelt.

 

[Septimus Prime]

Watched it with my son earlier. He loved it, but the ending was a little sad.

 

[HStallion]

I thought this was stealth promotion for Assassination Classroom, which is not a creepy anime, it is actually really good and heartfelt.

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Lol its filled with all kinds of questionable bull shit.

 

[Birdie]

Lol its filled with all kinds of questionable bull shit.

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It kind of is...

But at the same time the ending is legit super good.

 

[Demption]

Have to watch this today, thanks for making a thread about it!

 

[Rei Toei]

Thanks for sharing, sounds super interesting. Octopus are fascinating. Reminds me I still should read Children of Ruin

 

[RastaMentality]

Lol its filled with all kinds of questionable bull shit.

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Questionable science?

EDIT: Oh y'all are talking about the anime. Lol.

 

[RastaMentality]

The part when he touches the octopus for the first time literally felt/looked like something out of a feature film. insane footage.

 

[Rendering...]

Thanks for the recommendation. I had no idea this existed.

 

[Unicorn]

I stopped after maybe 10mins. The narrator was insufferable in privilege.

 

[RastaMentality]

I stopped after maybe 10mins. The narrator was insufferable in privilege.

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Seeing South Africa presented solely through the lens of a white man usually makes me uncomfortable but the beauty of the underwater visits actually outweighed that. He's not a narrator but he does the best he can tbh.

 

[Unicorn]

Seeing South Africa presented solely through the lens of a white man usually makes me uncomfortable but the beauty of the underwater visits actually outweighed that. He's not a narrator but he does the best he can tbh.

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I'm specifically turned off by the whole "I left my kid to do the only thing I knew how to do to cope - the luxurious hobby of scuba diving." Like, biggest eyeroll ever.

 

[Nothus]

Finally got around to watching this last night. Fantastic documentary with some incredible footage. The ending broke me but I still loved it!

 

[Samurai_Heart]

 

[UberTag]

I consider the above to be a required companion piece for this film.

The memory of the laughs it brought me will hopefully serve to keep down the vomit I will want to expel when this documentary takes the Oscar over the likes of Collective, Crip Camp, Boys State (not nominated) and A Life on Our Planet (also not nominated).

 

[THEVOID]

Wow! This was really incredible. I was surprised how touching it is and how intelligent 🐙 are.

 

[E_i]

Yeah since there's an actual anime/manga with an actual octopus (more or less) as a teacher.

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Yeah that's what I thought it was when I saw the title.

 

[Deer]

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This is amazing. If I ever pay for a netflix subscription again, I'll be sure to not watch the actual film

 

[jdmc13]

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I'll never forget the turn around my mom had on that film after I linked her this video.

 

[Prison_mike]

Does the octopus die at the end and will I cry?

Asking for my wife....

 

[Samurai_Heart]

Does the octopus die at the end and will I cry?

Asking for my wife....

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It does as to whether you'll cry it does its best to try and get you to.

 

[Bengraven]

Are they trying to kill the teacher?

 

[hiredhand]

I consider the above to be a required companion piece for this film.

The memory of the laughs it brought me will hopefully serve to keep down the vomit I will want to expel when this documentary takes the Oscar over the likes of Collective, Crip Camp, Boys State (not nominated) and A Life on Our Planet (also not nominated).

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This so much. The footage itself is really good but even that is ruined by repeatedly cutting to the obnoxious narrator. Anyone who honestly thinks this is better than Collective needs to be kicked out of the Academy.

For anyone wanting to watch a great documentary that is stylistically the polar opposite of My Octopus Teacher yet also a documentary mostly about a single animal, I would recommend Gunda. It's a black and white documentary about a mother pig (and also featuring a one-legged chicken) with no narration, score or humans.

 

[Pet]

Sorry OP, I watched the doc on your rec and I found it absolutely insipid.

 

[Prison_mike]

It does as to whether you'll cry it does its best to try and get you to.

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Well I thought I would cry 100% but now some posts are making me think the OP is easily impressed and the doc is actually uninspiring and with bad narration.... hmmmm perhaps I shall watch this

 

[capitalCORN]

Humans will embroil a doc about recently carnivorious dung bettles to the tides of history because much like cultural erasure, it hurts too many people to not be a part of something, even if it's fiction. This 'doc', for it's fixed lens, gives a good glimmer about how much we don't fucking know about the sea, which is also coincidentaly the greatest harbourer of life on this planet. Figure that.

 

[THEVOID]

Well I thought I would cry 100% but now some posts are making me think the OP is easily impressed and the doc is actually uninspiring and with bad narration.... hmmmm perhaps I shall watch this

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If you have a beating heart it's hard not to get emotional about the Pus.

 

[KodaRuss]

I thought it was really well done. I enjoyed it.

 

[maruchan]

Good thing I watched the trailer. The i thought this was one of those weird hentais.

 

[ced]

I loved it

 

[AndrewDean84]

I just finished it. I really enjoyed it.

 

[Stencil]

I just watched it last night. Amazing. What a wild life, just wake up and go to the ocean every day to hang out with an octopus.

Maybe I missed it, but what does that dude normally do for a living? Pretty specific skillset -- free diving and videographer.

 

[Agamon]

I'm glad someone linked Maggie's video on this. Happy I didn't waste my time with this tripe.

 

[JAlpsWanderer]

I'm glad someone linked Maggie's video on this. Happy I didn't waste my time with this tripe.

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What is the argument against this documentary? Critique videos are a dime a dozen these days but I really enjoyed what I watched.

 

[Pyrrhic Victory]

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This video is fantastic and perfect. My Octopus Teacher is flawed to its core. And pretty.

 

[Nothus]

This just won the BAFTA for best documentary! :)

 

[Nappuccino]

What is the argument against this documentary? Critique videos are a dime a dozen these days but I really enjoyed what I watched.

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Maggie's are worth your time. I watched it ages ago, so I'd do a poor job trying to restate her points without watching the video again. But namely, the guy is incredibly self-obsesed and doesn't realize how much he's distorting his own disturbing behavior in the guise of having a meaningful moment out at sea. Not to mention the number of ways he misrepresents the actual biology of the octopus and how much danger he brings to it through his own obsessive need to connect with this thing that does not want him there.

 

[UberTag]

This just won the BAFTA for best documentary! :)

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Unfortunately, awards voters will not have watched Maggie's video.
That goes for the Academy as well... this film is well on its way towards winning the Oscar.