Blackfish

I never concerned myself with the typical boy passions when I was younger. Dinosaurs, sharks, guns and cars were all the territory of my younger brother when we were kids, leaving my time free for fluffier pleasures. My (more effeminate) interest of choice was the elegance and beauty of whales and dolphins, fuelled primarily by the excitement of the Free Willy trilogy, a couple of trips to Windsor Safari Park and even the holy grail of a day at SeaWorld in Florida. What a treat then that my first film of the 2013 Sundance London season should be Gabriela Cowperthwaite's 'Blackfish', a partly beautiful, partly chilling documentary examining the affairs of Tilikum the Killer Whale, the veritable daddy of about half of all Orcas currently kept in captivity, and the subject of a number of cases of aggression and indeed murder of his human trainers.

I knew very little of the subject going into the film. I have even been to SeaWorld myself and experienced the magical time that is enjoyed by the several million park guests that walk through their Orlando gates every year. I'll even admit to having completely escaped any mention of the latest court case brought against them in 2010 by the American Health and Safety organisation OSHA which forms a significant part of Cowperthwaite's story. What Blackfish does do though, is tell what could be a particularly linear and relatively quick story in a really quite persuasive and well paced way. Tension is one thing that is delivered in spades. As the brutal realism of the story becomes ever more chillingly apparent, the use of interviews with ex-trainers, home videos and park's own footage continually crank up the horror, making the final realisation (one which required both hands over my face - one for my gaping disbelieving mouth, and one to cover my eyes) altogether inescapable.

Open wide: while there's no denying how incredibly special these animals are, Blackfish does raise a few questions about how we should look after and appreciate their beauty

Whilst certainly not a truly impartial view, the story that Blackfish unfolds is both so unknown yet truly important that it should receive more eyes than those captive at Sundance London alone. Gabriela's own view in the Q&A afterwards perhaps told you everything you need to know; would she continue to go to SeaWorld? "Yes, but I'd go a little more aware of exactly what I was seeing".