OSCARS 2021: My Octopus Teacher (2020)

I vaguely recall, sometime last year, the Twitter-sphere burning up with discussion of some Netflix thing called “My Octopus Teacher.” Because the daily stress of living through an apocalypse made every day gray drudgery, one indistinguishable from the next, I don't remember when it was. Because I barely pay attention to Twitter trends or whatever bullshit Netflix shovels out every week, I wasn't entirely aware of what this octopus thing was. I assumed this was another “Tiger King” thing, some sensationalist documentary stretched out for six hours. Imagine my surprise when “My Octopus Teacher” wrangled an Oscar nomination. “Oh,” I said to myself, “this is a real movie.” I guess I better watch it. More surprising yet, I'm glad I did.

“My Octopus Teacher” is about Craig Foster, a maker of nature documentaries who finds himself suffering personal and professional burnout. Hoping to alleviate this, he moves back to his childhood home on the South African coast. He begins to go for daily swims in the near-by kelp forest. While out there, he meets a common octopus. He develops a bond with the eight-legged celphalopod. Every day, he goes out and meets his squishy friend and she shows signs of being fond of him too. Documenting these encounters by himself and with a camera team, he recounts the things the octopus taught him.

There's one factor, above any other, that I think “My Octopus Teacher” owes its Academy Award nomination for. That would be the astonishing nature footage. Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed are credited with directing the film but it seems Foster did most of his own camerawork. This gives the film very much a first-person-like perspective. His swims into the kelp forest are like visiting another world. They are underwater jungles, full of predators and prey. Foster gets up close and personal with the octopus, peeking into its rocky hiding places. We are given a detailed look at the amazing talents of the octopus, the way it shifts colors, disguises itself, outsmarts its attackers. Some of the images here – like Foster suspended in air between rows of kelp or a crab falling through the water – are unforgettable.

Yet “My Octopus Teacher” isn't just a visual wonder. You do find yourself growing attached to Foster's little eight-limbed friend. As he slowly wins the trust of the little creature, she crawls into his hand. The octopus allows Craig to hold her as they rise through the water. She even cuddles up on his chest at one moment, like a kitten. As the octopus escapes a determined pyjama shark, loosing a limb in the process, you find yourself worried. You feel relieved as the creature escapes or successfully hides, by clinging to the back of the shark's head. The octopus shows a lot of personality, in the way it playfully knocks Craig's camera over or gingerly plucks a group of starfish away from her nest.

Most of the criticism directed at “My Octopus Teacher” has revolved around Foster. He narrates the film himself and his words fill almost the entire movie. (When I wrote this the Wikipedia cast list contained only Foster, his son, and “an octopus, as herself” but it's since been removed by some spoil sport.) Sometimes, his thoughts and soliloquies become a little overbearing. As “My Octopus Teacher” reaches its conclusion, he plainly lays out the movie's themes. And yet, I'll admit, I relate to where he's coming from. The wonder and, yes, love he shares for his animal companion is perfectly conveyed. I've found myself thinking and feeling some of the same things Foster expresses, so I forgive his more touchy-feely or pretensions moments. 

It seems Foster's enthusiasm for his octopus friend is what made “My Octopus Teacher” a minor meme last summer. People were debating if maybe his attachment to the eight-legged sea creature was a little too familiar. I guess that's the typical reaction of the sarcastic, cynical internet. When faced with the ethereal wonders of the natural world, they have to crack naughty jokes about tentacles. Regardless of all that, I still found “My Octopus Teacher” to be a frequently gorgeous and often touching motion picture. It is worth seeing just for the beauty of the underwater world it presents. Yet the oddly lovable titular critter makes it truly extraordinary. [8/10]