Pirate of the sea

Paul Watson has been an environmental activist since 1969, when he teamed up with many of the founding members of Greenpeace but was kicked out of the committee due his insistence on pursuing what he called “direct action.”
That same year he founded his own organization: the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. In Pirate for the Sea we are introduced to his legacy through his legal and sea battles. In 1986, Watson received international media coverage by sinking two illegal fishing vessels off the coast of Iceland.
He has also had disputes with the Norwegian navy, and was arrested by the Costa Rican coastguard after being invited there to sign an environmental treaty with the president. While on the Magdalen islands he was attacked by an angry mob that broke down his hotel door with an axe.
The documentary follows this same choppy pattern of the waves we see in the opening scenes. Multiple interviews are used for this quick-paced documentary. Interviews with those who know him are flattering: grandfatherly Farley Mowatt, describes Watson as having a “fire behind his eyes,” and Greenpeace founder Robert Hunter sees him as a modern-day samurai. Few interviews are granted to voices that wouldn’t hail him as a eco-saint. In general, Pirate for the Sea concentrates more on Watson’s persona than on the issues.

There are a few scenes dedicated to Canada, where the Sea Pirate storms into the gulf of the St. Laurence to film the slaughter of baby seals. The baby seals, snow white, black-eyed and defenceless, are seen butchered by gaf-hook welding Newfoundlanders. In a confrontation that ensues between the cameramen and the Newfoundlanders, the seal hunters’ anger is palpable. Their violence is overflowing as they cry “we’re just trying to make a living” while swinging their gaf-hooks at the cameras.
For anyone who wants a rapid-fire look at Paul Watson and a grocery list of his adventures fighting international environmental crimes, Pirate for the Sea packs a lot of information in an hour and a half. Yet, for a more even look at animal rights and environmental activism, there are other perspectives with less bias than this one.

Pirate of the Sea will is playing at Cinema du Parc March 26 at 7 p.m. and April 1 at 9 p.m.

Paul Watson has been an environmental activist since 1969, when he teamed up with many of the founding members of Greenpeace but was kicked out of the committee due his insistence on pursuing what he called “direct action.”
That same year he founded his own organization: the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. In Pirate for the Sea we are introduced to his legacy through his legal and sea battles. In 1986, Watson received international media coverage by sinking two illegal fishing vessels off the coast of Iceland.
He has also had disputes with the Norwegian navy, and was arrested by the Costa Rican coastguard after being invited there to sign an environmental treaty with the president. While on the Magdalen islands he was attacked by an angry mob that broke down his hotel door with an axe.
The documentary follows this same choppy pattern of the waves we see in the opening scenes. Multiple interviews are used for this quick-paced documentary. Interviews with those who know him are flattering: grandfatherly Farley Mowatt, describes Watson as having a “fire behind his eyes,” and Greenpeace founder Robert Hunter sees him as a modern-day samurai. Few interviews are granted to voices that wouldn’t hail him as a eco-saint. In general, Pirate for the Sea concentrates more on Watson’s persona than on the issues.

There are a few scenes dedicated to Canada, where the Sea Pirate storms into the gulf of the St. Laurence to film the slaughter of baby seals. The baby seals, snow white, black-eyed and defenceless, are seen butchered by gaf-hook welding Newfoundlanders. In a confrontation that ensues between the cameramen and the Newfoundlanders, the seal hunters’ anger is palpable. Their violence is overflowing as they cry “we’re just trying to make a living” while swinging their gaf-hooks at the cameras.
For anyone who wants a rapid-fire look at Paul Watson and a grocery list of his adventures fighting international environmental crimes, Pirate for the Sea packs a lot of information in an hour and a half. Yet, for a more even look at animal rights and environmental activism, there are other perspectives with less bias than this one.

Pirate of the Sea will is playing at Cinema du Parc March 26 at 7 p.m. and April 1 at 9 p.m.