Oceans
Rating: 8/10
Directors: Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzard
Voiceover: Pierce Brosnan
This year's nature doco is an outstandingly shot, relatively non-preachy primarily French piece about the majesty and bounty of the Oceans of our planet.
With laconic and sparse narrative from Pierce Brosnan, the gorgeously shot footage sweeps across and swoops in and out of the waters of the world, as our senses are bombarded with wondrous images.
Images such as sealion, marine iguanas, a sea otter smashing shells on a rock on its belly to feed- to scenes of squid fending off crab who've wandered too close to their territory.
It's an hypnotic and mesmerising snapshot of the world around us.
And a reminder of what brilliance lurks under the waters and far, far away from our eyes.
With the greatest of respect, when Pierce Brosnan's laconic voice over is ditched, then this really is when the film soars because there's nothing to beat the beautiful viciousness of nature at work.
Sometimes in cinema, all you need is what's up on the screen to take your breath away -with just the majesty of nature, Oceans is truly awe inducing as it takes in the life in oceans all over the world - including New Zealand's waterways.
Granted in a film like this, there's bound to be a message about the effect of pollution and the vanishing wildlife but unlike others of their ilk, here the directors show some restraint and don't hammer home the message. By using images from space of the effects of pollution on the waters, the message is got across simply and eloquently - once again, just a simple image paints a greater picture than a thousand words could.
Funny, touching, and amazing, Oceans truly is a majestic piece of cinema, which really needs to be seen on the big screen.
