Sharkwater Review
Hey guys, just thought I'd throw up my review for the recent documentary Sharkwater as it is yet to be posted on alternativereel.com check it out.
Title: Sharkwater
Year Released: 2006
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Rob Stewart
Starring: Rob Stewart, Patrick Moore, Erich Ritter.
Movie Clip Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggtxA4wuXzY
Quote: “The truth will surface.”
Review:
The documentary Sharkwater started life as a fairly standard nature documentary from underwater wildlife photographer Rob Stewart, with the theme that sharks are not the dangerous man-eating monsters they are portrayed to be in films like Jaws and in the mass media, instead they are intelligent inquisitive creatures who are perfectly evolved to be the top predator of the oceans. However, while filming, the crew came across a ship illegally fishing with a ‘long line’ (a line many miles long with baited hooks along its length) a method of fishing that is extremely wasteful and dangerous to all marine life. This discovery caused the director to make the decision to funnel his passion for sharks into wiping out illegal practices such as long-lining and ‘finning’ (where a shark is caught, its valuable fins removed, and the still living fish is dumped back into the sea to die). Along the way, the crew comes up against pirates, the Taiwanese mafia, corrupt government officials and even flesh-eating bacteria.
Sharkwater is first of all a stunning piece of work, visually. It juxtaposes gorgeous shots of marine life (shot over many years for several different projects) with horrific scenes of sharks being finned and other marine life being killed by wasteful fishing practices, this has the combined effect of making the film very moving emotionally. Like Super Size Me and An Inconvenient Truth before it, this film makes you want to go out and be proactive in fighting for the cause.
The first time status of the director becomes apparent when the cameras are turned on the humans and the story of his own journey is told, these scenes are clunky and there is little narrative flow, whereas his background as a nature photographer is readily apparent once the cameras are submerged.
At times the director’s obvious passion for sharks and their protection crosses the line into what I would call emotional manipulation, he makes the argument that if all sharks are wiped out it could affect marine life to such an extent that oxygen producing algae may die out and literally suffocate the planet. Some of these claims are difficult to believe and really the hugely diminishing numbers of sharks around the world is reason enough for their protection. The argument is made that sharks have as much right to live on this planet any other protected species, a viewpoint I happen to agree with, and if the film had stuck to a more reasoned argument it could have been more convincing.
I’m wondering if Sharkwater would have been better if the whole human-centric story had been removed, but as it is, it is a very compelling call to arms for the environmental movement to not ignore the shady practices going on in international waters, with some stunning footage of marine wildlife thrown in for good measure.
Title: Sharkwater
Year Released: 2006
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Rob Stewart
Starring: Rob Stewart, Patrick Moore, Erich Ritter.
Movie Clip Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggtxA4wuXzY
Quote: “The truth will surface.”
Review:
The documentary Sharkwater started life as a fairly standard nature documentary from underwater wildlife photographer Rob Stewart, with the theme that sharks are not the dangerous man-eating monsters they are portrayed to be in films like Jaws and in the mass media, instead they are intelligent inquisitive creatures who are perfectly evolved to be the top predator of the oceans. However, while filming, the crew came across a ship illegally fishing with a ‘long line’ (a line many miles long with baited hooks along its length) a method of fishing that is extremely wasteful and dangerous to all marine life. This discovery caused the director to make the decision to funnel his passion for sharks into wiping out illegal practices such as long-lining and ‘finning’ (where a shark is caught, its valuable fins removed, and the still living fish is dumped back into the sea to die). Along the way, the crew comes up against pirates, the Taiwanese mafia, corrupt government officials and even flesh-eating bacteria.
Sharkwater is first of all a stunning piece of work, visually. It juxtaposes gorgeous shots of marine life (shot over many years for several different projects) with horrific scenes of sharks being finned and other marine life being killed by wasteful fishing practices, this has the combined effect of making the film very moving emotionally. Like Super Size Me and An Inconvenient Truth before it, this film makes you want to go out and be proactive in fighting for the cause.
The first time status of the director becomes apparent when the cameras are turned on the humans and the story of his own journey is told, these scenes are clunky and there is little narrative flow, whereas his background as a nature photographer is readily apparent once the cameras are submerged.
At times the director’s obvious passion for sharks and their protection crosses the line into what I would call emotional manipulation, he makes the argument that if all sharks are wiped out it could affect marine life to such an extent that oxygen producing algae may die out and literally suffocate the planet. Some of these claims are difficult to believe and really the hugely diminishing numbers of sharks around the world is reason enough for their protection. The argument is made that sharks have as much right to live on this planet any other protected species, a viewpoint I happen to agree with, and if the film had stuck to a more reasoned argument it could have been more convincing.
I’m wondering if Sharkwater would have been better if the whole human-centric story had been removed, but as it is, it is a very compelling call to arms for the environmental movement to not ignore the shady practices going on in international waters, with some stunning footage of marine wildlife thrown in for good measure.
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