DEFEND CONSERVE PROTECT **1/2 (76 minutes) PG

As clearly green-biased as it is, at least the title of this film does the job of signalling what an unapologetically activist, one-sided enviro-doc you’re in for. And it does have its moments.

Edited from hundreds of hours of footage taken by the crews of four small Sea Shepherd ships, director Stephen Amis takes us on a voyage with a seemingly fearless, sea-faring group of (mostly young) adventurers determined to make a small but loud dent in a Japanese whaling operation in the southern ocean.

The film certainly can’t be faulted for being topical, with the Japanese brazenly announcing recently that they’re doing away with the pretense of hunting whales for “research”. They’ve pulled out of the International Whaling Committee, scrapped the word “research” off the side of their main ship – it’s still there in the film, along with the website address – and they’re going back to commercial killing in local waters to supply Japan’s small whale meat market.

What is it about Japan and whales? Why do they come all this way south? What does their government say about the issue? What does our government say? Why aren’t these, and many other, questions asked?

Defend Conserve Protect isn’t that kind of documentary. In fact, you could argue that it’s not a documentary at all, but a cinematic op-ed piece, a genre ignited by Michael Moore with Fahrenheit 9/11 back in 2004. (Perhaps it’s a sub-genre of documentary?)

The film isn’t interested in the other side of the story or in balance, which is OK in this case because it’s upfront about it.

What it is interested in is giving voice to the majestic whales via a narration delivered by comedian/actor/supporter Dan Aykroyd, something the film would have been better off ditching.

So without an argument to test, the film is likely to be most appealing to those of like mind, which pushes it into the realm of propaganda.

Look, nobody likes the sight of whales getting harpooned and dragged onto a ship, and those sequences are pretty brutal. But it would be useful to know more about these whaling crews and of what happens on these ships.

More worrying, though, are the risks these green activists are willing to take to prosecute their cause.

In the film’s key sequence one of Sea Shepherd’s small ships deliberately gets between the factory ship and a massive fuel tanker, which are both giants. Sandwiched between them in rough seas, the little ship is clearly in peril as it gets knocked about. It’s gripping footage, to be sure.

Yet while we like to admire those who put themselves in harm’s way for a cause they believe in, there is a difference between brave, crazy-brave and straight-out stupid. Given how, ultimately, the act was token gesture of defiance, it would have been great to see that debated in the film.

On a lighter note, we also get to see what happens when one’s enthusiasm for a noble cause can override common sense, as when you push a vessel just that little bit too hard and render it useless.

Melbourne director Stephen Amis does a splendid job editing the many camera angles together to create a cohesive story.

Best known for feature films such as The BBQ and The 25th Reich, Amis has a long association with Sea Shepherd and says he received no payment for his work on the film.

Amis was kind enough to sit down with us to chat about the film in some detail, including the risks taken by the activists. He makes it clear that he was not part of the voyage, but was tasked with editing all the footage together, an endeavour that took him almost three years.

He also speaks about his other works, including his Shane Jacobson comedy The BBQ, which he directed and co-wrote. A dismal box-office and critical failure, he speaks frankly about what happened to the film shortly before production. He also reports that, despite its theatrical run, the $3.8 million film did end up in profit.

Please enjoy.

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