“What she taught me was to feel that you’re part of this place, not a visitor” – Craig Foster
My Octopus Teacher premiered on 7th September 2020. Directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, the documentary stars Craig Foster. The 85-minutes-long documentary revolves around Foster who forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world.
The Octopus and The Man
My Octopus Teacher is a heartwarming tale of human and mollusc’s friendship where each and every minute is filled with eternal praise for nature and its beings. Craig Foster spent most of his early years near an ocean, so the enthusiasm towards sea life came quite naturally to him. While exploring the depths of the sea one fine day, he saw an octopus but little did he know that this would turn into something that he would keep with himself for the rest of his life and learn from it every passing day.
The series reminded me of a popular Indian saying – “Maine Samundar Se Seekha Hai Jeene ka Salikha” which means – I learned the art of living from the sea. Foster, meeting the octopus every day for 250 days, learns about healing, caring and growing in a world filled with solace and newness. The 8-armed animal touched his soul in a way nobody else did, he felt for her deeply as if it was someone he had to take care of.
From seeing her since she was a little animal till the day she gave birth, turned white, and died, the journey is a roller coaster in itself. There is something so heart touching about this documentary that you feel some amount of the pain Foster did and as you see the octopus survive through the wilderness, you grow proud of her wit and skills.
The documentary finds its core in its earnestness – an affection that is beyond the boundaries of science and sea. A bond that pushes you to go into the deep water for almost a year without a miss. A bond where their pain feels like a personal loss. Indeed, nature has a friend everyone seeks! At no point do you lose the ground reality where you feel that this is scripted – it all feels genuine and heartfelt.
Stream It or Skip It
STREAM IT! My Octopus Teacher is a heartwarming documentary that has made its way to Netflix and like Tiny Creatures, the documentary shows animals as more than what they are usually seen as. The bond between Foster and the octopus is beautiful but the setup and the underwater experiences add to the must-watch element of the documentary. How beautiful is nature and its beings! If you love nature and animals, then this documentary is, especially, for you.
My Octopus Teacher is now streaming on Netflix.
Read our other reviews here.
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