It is indeed a very sobering and poignant day when a documentary can so bluntly state that everything natural that lives around us has in fact suffered from our very own human existence. Planet Ocean, as inferred by the self-descriptive title, is a feature-length documentary that explores the controversial relationship between our planet’s ocean and humankind. Critically acclaimed documentary film-maker and environmentalist Yann Arthus-Bertand, alongside co-director Michael Pitiot, both bring us 93 minutes of indisputably beautiful footage and a wealth of environmental knowledge and information.
From the very beginning, Planet Ocean is visually stunning. Many of the aerial-shots featured throughout are panned in such a way that they clearly demonstrate obvious passion and appreciation towards the environments shown. International underwater cinematographers that work in partnership with OMEGA provide much of the consistently beautiful and impressive imagery, showcasing truly fascinating footage of ocean-life and even the predatory rituals of some of its inhabitants. Moreover, being able to visually see captured-footage from an underwater perspective certainly aids the viewer in being able to digest much of the knowledge-heavy narration featured throughout.
Narrated by Josh Duhamel (Transformers), Universal Home Picture’s Planet Ocean begins in Shark Bay, Australia, one of many of the places that are journeyed to throughout the documentary. Slow camera-pans of crashing waves are shown as Duhamel quietly introduces us to the importance of the ocean and explains how it is firmly at the very centre of the origins of mankind. In obvious purposely-executed contrast to this opening serene imagery, shots of heavy-duty ships transporting forest logs are soon thereafter shown as the narration now tells us of the damaging effects that industrialisation and globalisation has had on the planet’s environment, even going as far as to refer to mankind as being ‘super predators’.
Transport back 4 billion years ago and we are shown how one of the greatest terrestrial floods originally formed the ocean and, incredibly, how powerful air-currents descending from the polar regions are capable of transporting millions of cubic-meters of water when in contact with the ocean due to the atmospheric collision with the hot air of the equator. The scientific knowledge throughout the documentary is certainly both fascinating and informative, however it is unfortunately hindered in terms of truly creating any notably enthusiastic impact due to the rather monotone and dreary tone in which it is narrated throughout. Consequently, Planet Ocean would undoubtedly be an enjoyable documentary for any environmental enthusiasts, however it would perhaps lack the spark to sustain the attention of any sitting outside that niche due to how overly-flat the delivery is.
Later in the documentary, Planet Ocean continues on to explain the detrimental effects of over-fishing and how all damaging waste gained from this is simply put back into the ocean, thus inevitably causing a rise in pollution that does little to sustain or help our environment. The documentary further describes the growth of the ship-industry as ‘relentless’, stating how the construction of large ships that size at 400 meters in ocean-space have in fact enabled the globalisation of industries due to factories being moved onto these physical creations.
In contrast to the predominantly negative and critical tone of the documentary, the music featured throughout Planet Ocean is in fact relaxing and very peaceful to listen to. Mainly consisting of soft instrumental scores that increase and decrease in intensity at suitably timed intervals, the music also aids to further highlight the sheer beauty of some of the imagery and footage shown, creating a pleasant backdrop that is enjoyable to listen to.
Although the information narrated in Planet Ocean is certainly informative, the documentary does at times perhaps over-chastise humankind in so much that it tars all of us with the same obnoxious anti-environmentalist brush. However, at the conclusion of its exploration, Planet Ocean does provide insights into possible solutions that may aid in future environmental conservation, creating a refreshing change from documentaries that simply highlight our ignorance, yet do nothing to help us change it.
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