“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 that we’re very similar in a lot of ways.” This is the quote that begins the story of a man and how he learned so much about the ocean and his own life from one octopus. Craig Foster, who said this quote at the beginning of the documentary “My Octopus Teacher”, grew up in Western Cape, South Africa. He returns to his home area to escape from the difficulties he has faced out in the world and the revulsion he has towards everything he once loved to do.
At the start of the film, Foster decides to return to the kelp forests and ocean he grew up swimming in and exploring to somehow try and begin again with his life and repair his relationship with his family. For a while, he simply adventures to many different areas of the ocean he’s exploring. However, one day he finds a little patch of clear water among the huge kelp forest and notices a strange object in the water that he’s never seen before. Soon, he discovers it’s an octopus and a bond is formed.
After that first encounter, Craig commits to going every day to visit the octopus and soon they are connecting on a deep level, even to the point that the octopus recognizes him and they interact physically. He watches and documents her activities and in turn, she teaches him about her fascinating life and the extraordinary intelligence and survival skills that she possesses. It is a story of ups and downs, filled with beautiful moments and terrifying suspense.
Overall, however, the story is captivating mostly because of the strange and enchanting life that is revealed. How the octopus lives and eats, learns and grows, and interacts with Foster, all while still being only a mollusk that shouldn’t necessarily have this level of intellect.
One of the most amazing and adorable moments with the octopus is when she comes out of its little rock den and, instead of hunting for food as she normally does, she swims around and then comes across a school of fish. She then begins to wave her tentacles in the air and scares the fish in all different directions. At first, Foster assumes she is hunting but then he realizes she’s playing with the fish just purely for fun. It astounds him that she would do it for no survival reason whatsoever but instead simply for the joy of it. That moment in the film was very touching and heartwarming.
I loved watching this documentary because it was so pure and beautiful in the way that the story between the human and octopus unfolded. He didn’t interfere with her life or the nature around her at all but instead studied and interacted with her, letting her teach him. The film displays the positive impact her teaching has on Foster’s life and the inspiration he took from it to start the Sea Change Project, which is a community of divers dedicated to the protection of the kelp forest.
In his final interview on camera, Foster concluded by saying, “What she taught me was to feel that you’re part of this place, not a visitor. That’s a huge difference.”
The Beat @APU 