Just as Microcosmos brilliantly explored the insect universe and Winged Migration (aka Travelling Birds) flew with birds, this stunningly photographed documentary sets out to unlock secrets of the deep.
Directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud (who also did Winged Migration) spent four years roaming the seas and coastlines, funded by French and Spanish production companies and Walt Disney Studios.
The result is some amazing, never-before-seen footage of all manner of creatures filmed in close-up using innovative techniques such as digital cameras placed in hydrodynamic boxes attached to a submarine scooter, fixed to a 'polecam’ tied to a vessel’s hull, and built into a 'mid-air, mid-water" machine.
It’s just a pity that the doco’s buoyancy is deflated by the deadly dull, plodding narration by Pierce Brosnan. No doubt Pierce had to stick to the leaden script but why the funereal tone and the almost complete lack of a sense of excitement at the often wondrous spectacle?
Also, apart from an obvious swipe at man-made pollution, there’s no over-arching theme or narrative thread so the film functions primarily as a collection of pretty pictures rather than a compelling piece of storytelling.
Pierce solemnly informs us the oceans are 'the source of the greatest stories and legends." What did he and the filmmakers have in mind – Moby Dick? 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? Nemo? Flipper? We’re none the wiser.
The ecological theme is hammered home as Brosnan laments the large number of endangered species such as the bluefin tuna; warns that Arctic waters will become susceptible to commercial navigation as ice caps continue to melt; and decries the millions of tonnes of garbage that are dumped into oceans. Shots of a shopping trolley on the seabed and fish caught helplessly in nets reinforce that message even more eloquently.
Australia gets a few mentions including remarkable shots of an advancing army of hundreds if not thousands of spider crabs, plus mantis shrimp and moray eel on a coral reef, but someone should have told Pierce and the producers there’s no such thing as 'Melbourne Bay" and how to pronounce Melbourne.
As someone whose interest in piscine matters is chiefly deciding whether to have fish crumbed or battered, oysters natural or Kilpatrick, I’d never seen close-ups of the blanket octopus with membranes like long, flowing silk scarves ('exquisite," says Pierce superfluously), a massive blue whale, winged dragons or a sea slug called the Spanish dancer.
In one of the most dramatic scenes, a shipping boat is buffeted by giant seas, filmed both from the deck and from the air, a sequence that would have been right at home in the George Clooney thriller The Perfect Storm. The doco shows Mother Nature can be cruel, typified by baby turtles hatched on land being picked off by predatory frigate birds and stone fish pouncing on unsuspecting prey.
Among the other impressive sights are a pod of humpback whales surfacing in Alaska like prehistoric monsters, vast schools of exotic fish moving in synchronised patterns and a host of protoplasmic jellyfish.
Bruno Coulais' intricate musical score often shifts in mood, from quiet to exhilarating, in a deft counterpoint to the jaw-dropping photography.
But Pierce drones on, trotting out a series of platitudes such as, 'In a real sense, the ocean is alive," 'The ocean smiles at the sky" and 'Human indifference is surely the oceans’ greatest threat." If you were watching on DVD or TV you’d be tempted to turn off the sound and simply enjoy the spectacle.
