By Holladay Allen
Native Foods Café Tribe Member
is an amazing documentary that was made over a period of four years throughout all five of the Earth’s magnificent oceans.
Not only is the camera work and quality unbelievably stunning, but the images they were able to record are out of this world. And I say this quite literally as we may share the same planet as the ocean, however, it is a completely different world than the land we traverse everyday. The film was directed by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud (both of whom also directed Winged Migration) and narrated by Pierce Brosnan (Yay Pierce! As you may already know, Pierce recently donated his artwork to the new Spay/ Neuter California license plate).
One the great elements of Oceans is the way they juxtapose the awe-inspiring beauty of the ocean with the imminent danger it faces due to human ignorance and indifference.
Oceans provides satellite images of the run-off pollution that spews out of rivers and strams into the ocean. One of the greatest threats to the Leafy Sea Dragon (who looks like a fancy ribboned seahorse) is the run-off from local rivers in Australia. This coupled with the exotic marine collectors who try to capture these exquisite creatures for their aquariums could very well be the demise of the Leafy Sea Dragon. The Leafy Sea Dragon almost always perishes when removed from its natural habitat.
Oceans also documents the death of hundreds of unintended victims in the giant nets fisherman use all over the world. Sharks, whales, turtles, and many other unwitting creatures find themselves tangled up in these cruel torture devices that induce a slow drowning. Oceans catches a whale shark (the largest recorded fish in the ocean) deceased in one of these nets.
On the flip side, Brosnan narrates us through the beautiful relationships these creatures have with one another. From mother to child, as we watch a mama walrus take her child out for a swim in the arctic waters, to the symbiotic relationship between the Clownfish (think Nemo!)
and the Sea Anemone. Though it looks like a beautiful sea flower, the Anemone is actually a meat-eating tentacled creature filled with deadly toxins. The Clownfish is somehow immune to its poison so it is able to hide within the Sea Anemone for protecion. The Clownfish also keeps the Anemone tidy finishing up remnants of its meals and eating dead tentacles as well as attracting new blood for its host. Pretty amazing, huh?
Oceans also shows the natural selection of the sea as newly hatched baby turtles scramble to make it to the ocean before being snatched up by hungry birds swooping down above them. In one of the most amazing shots of the film, a diver swims right next to a Great White Shark for almost an entire minute, proving that perhaps these “killing machines” are not as savage as we think.
Overall, this movie is a visual masterpiece that does an eloquent job of summing up both the unsurpassed beauty and overwhelming plight of the ocean in a brief period of time. Perfect for movie night with family and friends. Pick up some sea-friendly Baja Surf Tacos from Native Foods Café (my fave vegan restaurant) and make it dinner and a movie!
Comments