English, Documentary, Netflix, 8.1/10 IMBD, Directed by Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed
An intriguing log book, that turns a memoir, when God’s creativity flabbergasts the viewers with the similarities of the intelligent invertebrates to the humans. Life never ceases to teach you- not only the fittest survive but also the smartest.
It does seem an extension of a National Geographic series to begin with. But the prologue of the documentary, gives a new colour to the story-telling through a newer lens. A fatigued documentary film maker searching for a solution to rejuvenate himself and he finds a friend to bond with – Life mirrors one’s inner emotions in its teaching, I realized. He revisits his childhood free-diving routines, to elevate his mundane mood and the screenplay is born out of the documentation of his year long visit to the habitat of his friend.
The high tides of the ‘Benguela Current’ of the Atlantic, churned my stomach and the gushing cold wind on the ‘False Bay’ caused some serious palpitation in a person like me, who has an aversion even to the world’s most calmest water. When Craig dives sans his oxygen tank, in his bare body without a diving suit, I felt the biting chillness of the shallow ‘kelp forest’. The antidote to my startled self was the magical dance of the algae – ‘Kelp’, with its broad yellowish brown leaves, swaying in contrast to the clear blue waters, the calmness seemed nothing less than meditative.
The survival techniques of an Octopus, is engrossing, especially when Craig deciphers those through the tracking eyes of the Central Kalahari men. A rare proposition for the viewers indeed. It is usually an enchanting experience when nature either consents to reveal its secrets or flaunt its creativity. But when the same is captured through those crystal clear underwater lens and is presented in a gripping narrative, it sure is a compelling watch.
The work would have been just a mundane documentary had it not been paired with a beautiful story – A human, bonding with an Octopus and for whose loss, his eyes even wells up at one point. But what happens in the mid part of the film while they are bonding, is what represents the maker’s intent. The transfer of some valuable human lessons from the behaviourally diverse invertebrates is the key and when Craig’s narration, visually finds parallels in the intelligence of his octopus friend to the humans, it is beyond belief.
The survival techniques are common to any species, but when it is a strategically planned one, its dramatic. It is an engaging watch.