San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
EXPLORE A SEA OF CINEMATIC FILMS, TV SERIES ON OCEANS
More than a year into the pandemic, as each day somehow feels too much like the one before, my go-to daydream is an afternoon next to the ocean. Familiar or farflung, crowded or serene, developed or desolate — anywhere works as long as I can envision spreading a towel on the sand and soaking up the sun.
New technologies allow filmmakers to illuminate how humans are interacting with oceans in ways that we never thought possible, for better or worse.
The following documentary films and television series, loosely grouped by topic, will give you a deep dive into the oceans, their complexities and their vulnerabilities:
Global oceans
“Blue Planet II” (Amazon Prime, Discovery Plus). Four years in the making, this awe-inspiring 2017 BBC series — hosted by David Attenborough, like many of the selections below — sent camera crews to every ocean, from the Galapagos to the sea floor below Antarctica’s
ice. Don’t forget the original “Blue Planet,” which first brought the oceans’ natural history to the world in 2001. (Rent or buy on Amazon Prime, watch on Discovery Plus.)
“Life” (Amazon Prime, Discovery Plus). The “Fish” and “Creatures of the Deep” are two of 10 episodes in the 2009 BBC documentary series narrated by Attenborough that capture a profusion of marine life around the world.
“Our Planet” (Netflix). In collaboration with Silverback Films and World Wildlife Fund, this Netflix series takes viewers for a voyage on “The High Seas.” One of eight episodes in the 2019 documentary series narrated by Attenborough, it highlights a blue whale mother and calf ’s intimate bond before plunging a half mile below the surface to meet bizarre and mysterious deep-sea creatures.
“David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef” (Amazon Prime). Using some of the newest submersibles, this three-part Smithsonian series from 2015 provides a new perspective on Earth’s largest living structure.
Sports
“Kim Swims” (Amazon Prime). This inspirational 2017 film by Kate Webber and David Orr profiles Kim Chambers’ quest to swim solo from shark-inhabited Farallon Islands waters, 30 miles off San Francisco, to the Golden Gate Bridge. Chambers is the sixth person to complete the Oceans Seven, the world’s most notoriously difficult swims.
“Momentum Generation” (HBO Max). In this 2018 HBO documentary by Jeff and Michael Zimbalist, the ocean is a refuge and a stage for some of the world’s most influential surfers.
Exploration
“Mission Blue” (Netflix). Fisher Stevens and Robert Nixon’s 2014 Netflix documentary about pioneering oceanographer, explorer and advocate Sylvia Earle showcases not only her barriersmashing career, but her lifelong dedication to the oceans and their inhabitants.
“James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge” (Amazon Prime). Directors John Bruno, Andrew Wight and Ray Quint let viewers accompany filmmaker and explorer James Cameron on a very long expedition: one that descends 35,787 feet to the Mariana Trench, the world’s deepest spot.
Conservation
“Chasing Coral” (Netflix). Over three years, a team of scientists, divers and photographers worked to provide a firsthand look at coral reef disappearance. The 2017 Netflix film is a compelling call to action.
“A Plastic Ocean” (Netflix). Craig Leeson and his team expose how millions of tons of plastic end up in the oceans each year.
Animals
“Whale Wisdom” (Amazon Prime Curiositystream). Wildlife filmmaker and marine biologist Rick Rosenthal’s 2018 film, his most recent, whisks viewers to locations such as Patagonia, Norway and the Cook Islands to observe spectacular behaviors including gray whales surfing, sperm whales playing ball and humpbacks teaching each other songs.
“My Octopus Teacher”
(Netflix). This touching Netflix documentary, released last year, resonated with audiences for its depiction of a deeply personal bond between filmmaker and free diver Craig Foster and an octopus in the Great African Sea Forest off the continent’s southwest tip. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature earlier this year.
“Superfish: Bluefin Tuna”
(Amazon Prime). Join director Rosenthal as he journeys from the Azores to the Gulf of Mexico and beyond to document one of the ocean’s most surprising evolutionary wonders: enormous, warmblooded bluefin tuna.
“Rise of the Great White Shark” (Amazon Prime). Diving deeper than sensationalism and predation, this 2017 documentary from Andy Casagrande examines great whites’ natural history, physiology and behavior, as well as some of the threats to their survival.