My Octopus Teacher

Between the wave of true-crime and celebrity docs, My Octopus Teacher in Australia on Netflix, and in the US on Netflix is the one worth your evening. It says what it needs to say in one sitting, no filler. An 8/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. The storytelling serves the subject rather than the other way around. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Netflix.

My Octopus Teacher arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. My Octopus Teacher resists the urge to oversimplify a subject that deserves better. After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal. Featuring Craig Foster and Tom Foster, it gets access that is hard to secure twice. It was released in 2020. The restraint in My Octopus Teacher is what makes it trustworthy — it does not need to editorialise to make its point. The consistency throughout is what elevates it — not every moment is the best, but none of them are a reason to stop watching.

Documentary fans who value serious storytelling will find My Octopus Teacher essential viewing. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. The access the production gets is remarkable, and the storytelling does full justice to it. Worth watching in order, from the beginning.

My Octopus Teacher was released in 2020, directed by Pippa Ehrlich. The full 85-minute film is available to watch now. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.