My Octopus Teacher Review: Netflix’s heart-expanding adventure

By Nisha Ganasen

If you're not a marine biologist and haven't seen ‘My Octopus Teacher’ yet, chances are good that you haven't formed a strong opinion about an eight-legged freak who will eventually make you fall in love with her.

Among the five Oscar nominated documentaries, Netflix’s “My Octopus Teacher” took home a 2021 Oscar for best documentary feature.

The documentary starts with a man named Craig Foster who was an exhausted filmmaker in 2010.

He found a unique remedy for his fatigue: free diving in an underwater kelp forest near Cape Town, South Africa.

Being underwater makes him feel alive again while he discovers many animals’ and plants’ uniqueness.

Then, he started to bring his cameras along with him to film nature's beauty. That is when his journey to an extraordinary love story between a human and an octopus begins.

Foster tells his story to the directors of this documentary Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, and unfold his wonderful experience against the backdrop of footage he shot below the reef.

Craig Foster first interaction with The Octopus after gaining his trust.

(Source: Netflix)

The documentary begins with a scene from the ocean, an octopus glides overhead while the calming voice of filmmaker Craig Foster narrates, “A lot of people say that an octopus is like an alien. But the strange thing is, as you get closer to them, you realize you’re very similar in a lot of ways.

“You’re stepping into this completely different world, such an incredible feeling, and you feel as though you’re on the brink of something extraordinary.”

He spends a year with the octopus, becoming acquainted with it as he witnesses it being threatened by sea predators, feeding on wildlife, and approaching him with interest. He intended to be “more like an amphibious animal” without barriers between himself and the marine animal.

As she mates, lays eggs, and passes on in the end which is an inevitable phase of any living organism, Foster finds purpose and appreciation of our creaturely fragility on Earth in her life.

This film is simple, slow moving but for fans those love to watch nature’s wonder, it’s one worth watching. This film is the first to chronicle a single sea creature’s life story from a personal, openhearted and emotional perspective.

It enables viewers to connect with the octopus emotionally and also learn about the animal behaviors previously unknown to scientists.

We all have been taught in school how animals have to fight for their life from not being food for predators. We can watch how a sea animal had to run – fight - hide for its survival . It is one of the most rated parts in the documentary.

Foster has captured the moments clearly. That part teaches life lessons for our humankind not to give up on life so easily because after a week or so we will get back on our feet eventually.

“Another lesson she taught me is that I am part of this place, not a visitor, that’s a huge difference.”

Throughout this film a viewer can gain different perspectives: trust between an antisocial sea animal towards a curious human; a love story between a man and an octopus; lessons for our own life.

This documentary by Ehrlich and Reed is another reminder of how little we understand about a creature who shares this planet with us. And how we presume in the system of species we have developed.

You may think it is just another similar movie about animals but after 20 minutes in, eight-armed cephalopods will reach out to hold Foster’s finger. That might be the moment your childhood perception of an octopus, and perhaps perception of life, would change.