Blue The Film - Review

Blue The Film - Review

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Posted 2019-05-17 by Melbournefreelancerfollow
Blue the Film is an Australian documentary on how humans are impacting life under the sea. It's about how our choices are destroying precious sea life, ruining their habitat, and the marine environment irrevocably. Written and directed by Karina Holden and produced by Holden and Sarah Beard, it was released in June 2017. It won the AACTA award for Best Cinematography in a Documentary as well as three nominations—Best Sound in a Documentary, Best Editing, and Best Original Music.



The cast includes Madison Stewart, Lucas Handley, Valerie Taylor, Philip Mango, Jennifer Lavers, and Tim Silverwood. Their passion for the subject is evident and it comes through to the audience. There are no emotional outbursts or sentimental non-sense just down-to-earth practical perspectives backed by cold, hard science. Karina Holden's screenplay is riveting and full of facts backed by extremely effective underwater cinematography by Jon Shaw. It's about 70 minutes long and keeps you completely engrossed as you learn firsthand the plight of these poor, gentle creatures caught up in our acts of selfishness.



The documentary had a good run and won critical acclaim in numerous international film festivals . It is now available for on-demand screenings , public screenings on purchase of licence. It will be available on DVD in July 2019. Online options include iTunes or Amazon . I have it on iTunes where it costs about $18 to buy or just $7 to rent. If you want to host a screening you have to purchase a licence. The cost of this depends on whether you intend to charge for tickets or offer free viewing. It's about $50 for educational purposes such as for students in a school setting.



Blue the Film changed my life. More specifically it changed my outlook on plastic. What mankind boasts about as a boon that makes life easier, faster, cleaner, and all sorts of wonderful is killing life. And Blue tells you it's not just on land but in the oceans as well. Plastic pollution is changing the chemistry of the oceans, which is two-thirds of all life space compared to the one-third that we land-bound creatures occupy. Turtles that live to see their 100th birthday are now threatened with premature deaths, chemical contamination of their blood stream, and genetic modification of their progeny.



According to the documentary, about half of all marine life has become extinct. What's worse they find that by the year 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. We simply cannot afford to ignore this disastrous reality anymore. Australia is the second largest waste producer in the world per capita. According to their scientific data, about 50 million plastic bags will reach the ocean annually from this country alone. The Great Barrier Reef is steadily losing its coral cover and hanging on to its World Heritage status on a hope and misguided optimism.



Blue makes you think.To think that all claims of progress, development, and civilisation are at the cost of magnificent marine lives dying horribly with 50 kilos of plastic calcifying in their bellies. To think of seals getting their flippers amputated as they grow into plastic they got trapped in as babies and of tiny baby turtles choking to death on plastic six-pack casings. To think of dolphins getting trapped and dying in discarded fishing nets swaying with the currents on the ocean floor and sea birds dying with bellies full of bottle caps. The list of human thoughtlessness and exceptional selfishness goes on. But Blue is not about pointing fingers or being overly pessimistic. If you watch the trailer attached below you'll see it's about getting the audience informed and active; to take a stand and make a move, however small.



Watching Blue the Film was harrowing at certain points, but it gave me hope. It was sad and it made me cry, but it also gave me new resolve to do what little I could. It takes you through guilt, hopelessness, anger, an awakening, and then a determination to be no longer passive. I'm still haunted by the look in the sea turtles' eyes. Call me crazy, but in its eyes I saw wisdom, love, and compassion for the intrusive human. The documentary is a reality check. It educates, opens your eyes, shifts your thinking, and ends with the reassuring message that even one person can make a difference.

#animals_wildlife
#cinema
#environment
#film_festivals
#film_reviews
#natural_attractions
#science
#things_to_see
%wneverywhere
85786 - 2023-06-11 07:14:04

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