A Sabedoria do Polvo

Todos os filmes documentários de ciências naturais ficam ofuscados. Mesmo que fosse apenas um documentário subaquático sobre um polvo e a amizade de um homem com ele, destacar-se-ia pela variedade de situações vividas com ele e pelo seu valor educativo único. Pois, nele o espetador não é meramente informado e ensinado os factos, mas, graças ao coração e sinceridade do autor, torna-se um co-descobridor dos mesmos. A Sabedoria do Polvo, contudo, é muito mais devido ao seu impacto emocional, complexidade temática e interligação com a vida do realizador do documentário. Se da última vez Alex Honnold conseguiu ganhar o Oscar de Melhor Documentário pela força do espírito humano na performance de escalada, agora deveria ser Craig Foster pelo seu retrato da frágil aproximação de duas espécies muito diferentes e pela sua descrição poética dos paralelos unificadores das viagens de vida delas. (27/10/2020)

Okay, I suspected I might fall into the category of individuals who could theoretically be moved to tears by the life story of an octopus, but I'm still surprised at how much I've come to relate to it. A beautifully filmed, perfectly wonderful story. The underwater world is absolutely fascinating and humanity still knows so little about it. One of the most beautiful and moving documentaries I've ever seen. (30/11/2020)

I don’t care at all its shortcomings as a documentary (i.e. sweet sentimentality), the only type of person who can not like this is someone whose heart was stolen in grade school and never got it back. Unprecedented, beautifully shot and proving that the connection of ugly people with beautiful nature is possible. (15/01/2021)

Um documentário delicado e absolutamente único sobre a improvável amizade entre um cefalópode curioso e um cineasta exausto que passou a maior parte da sua vida a mergulhar com ele todos os dias. Uma ligação original, emocional e por vezes excitante entre o mundo dos seres humanos e o mundo dos animais, encontrando paralelos unificadores na vida de ambos os protagonistas e convidando informalmente a uma compreensão da natureza a partir de uma perspetiva completamente diferente. (04/01/2021)

When I recently watched the series Animals, it was the Octopus that intrigued me the most, hiding many secrets under their omnivorous tentacles. My Octopus Teacher doesn't rely on its visual sophistication, as is often the case with animal documentaries, but tries to engage with content instead of form. We follow two life journeys – human and cephalopod – where the latter takes on a very fatal quality given that the lifespan of octopuses is not very long. At times, I did feel that Craig Foster was pushing his feelings too hard and projecting his disposition too "violently" onto his eight-headed "buddy", but on the other hand, you cannot deny his genuine passion for what he does. Octopuses are truly admirable creatures – be it their intelligence, their wit, their mimicry, the way they hunt, or their fatal dedication to their offspring. (26/11/2022)

An immensely sensitively filmed documentary that, against the backdrop of an almost intimate relationship between a person with their heart in the right place and an incredibly intelligent octopus, brings to the lay public the secrets and beauties of the kelp forest world off the shores of South Africa. I fell in love with the octopus in the opening minutes and, accompanied by a commentary led by Craig Foster's voice and pleasant music, I couldn't get enough of the images from her harrowing life journey until the very moving end. I think Craig Foster deserves respect and reverence for his boundless love of nature, which he leads his son to share. (100%) (02/04/2021)

The most surprising documentary in my life. It's been a few days since I saw the film and I still have that warm feeling it evoked in me. I’m recommending it to everyone. An incredible caress to the soul. The last time I was this moved was maybe in 2011 with Intouchables. I’ve always loved octopi... on a plate, but now I can’t imagine myself eating one ever again! For the first time in my life I'm thinking about vegetarianism, and so far no film has managed to do that – even videos from slaughterhouses or factory farms have failed to have any effect on me, and yet this film doesn't even push the idea that eating animals is wrong. How is it possible? Because this documentary has a heart, it doesn't offer much in terms of science, just heart, love and respect for animals and nature. For me, just wow! (21/04/2021)