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.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.0/10
IMDb: 8.1/10
Letterboxd: 3.83/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 82
TMDB: 7.9/10
Director
Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed
Production
The Sea Change Project, Off the Fence
Cast
Craig Foster, Tom Foster
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A beautifully photographed, emotionally resonant nature documentary that turns an unusual animal encounter into a meditation on grief, attention, and re-connection with the natural world. It can feel a little self-mythologizing at times, but the underwater imagery and the octopus’s intelligence make it memorable.
Best for
Viewers who like intimate, contemplative documentaries
People drawn to ocean photography and animal behavior
Audiences open to reflective, emotional nonfiction
Fans of nature films with a personal, human angle
Skip if
You want a strictly observational wildlife doc with no filmmaker presence
You’re allergic to sentimental voiceover
You prefer fast-paced, information-heavy science documentaries
You don’t want a story that centers human emotional transformation
Overview
My Octopus Teacher is at its strongest when it lets the sea and the animal do the talking. The footage is extraordinary: patient, tactile, and full of small discoveries that make the octopus feel less like a subject and more like a presence. It’s the rare nature documentary that earns its emotional pull through repetition, attention, and time rather than through narration alone.
Worth noting
The film’s human perspective is both its hook and its most debated feature. Some viewers will find the personal framing moving, while others may feel the documentary leans too hard into the filmmaker’s inner journey. That tension is part of the conversation around it, but it doesn’t erase the power of what’s on screen.
Bottom line
If you respond to films about solitude, healing, and the fragile boundary between observing nature and being changed by it, this is well worth your time. It’s tender, sometimes corny, and often gorgeous, with a final effect that lingers longer than you might expect.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Solana (5★) · 4178 likes
Went into this worried he was going to fall in love with the octopus, but now I think I might be in love with the octopus
Simon (4★) · 3169 likes
If you catch me trying to befriend the cockroach in my bathroom after watching this doc, mind your own business.
Karsten (3.5★) · 2166 likes
oscar bait because
1) surprisingly not the first time the oscars nominated a movie about a human wanting to fuck a fish
2) bait! like the fish
harry (2.5★) · 2022 likes
Octopus: literally just vibing
Human : it’s...for me? 👉🏼🥺👈🏼
Chance Lee (2★) · 2009 likes
The octopus is one of the only animals I won't eat because of guilt; however I'd have no problem eating this guy, who frames the nature documentary as a sad straight rich white guy story about himself and fits the octopus into a manic pixie dream girl trope to fit his needs.