Stars:
***
Rating: PG for images of animal cruelty and
some language
Run
Time: 1 hour, 29 minutes
Marine
biologist and underwater photographer Rob Stewart brings a lifelong passion for
sharks to the cinematic forefront.
Setting out to
learn about life and the ocean’s delicate balance Stewart immerses himself in
the mystery of the sea’s most enduring creatures, four hundred million years
strong.
As two-thirds
of the world’s surface is water it’s a vast and daunting classroom. Stewart
begs the question: is the shark really an enemy or does he just get a bad rap?
The fact is that sharks kill on average five people a year whereas elephants slay
close to one hundred and cars take hundreds of thousands of lives.
What begins as an effort to debunk the
myths turns to an expose of the wicked world of illegal shark finning and a
burning desire to protect a rapidly diminishing species.
The doc twists
in the wind when Stewart boards a renegade conservationist trawler bound for
Costa Rica to face off against illegal long-line poachers who fish the open
waters for prized sharkfins. Predator becomes prey at the exorbitant price of
$300/lb.
Shaking down a
multi-billion dollar finning operation might not be the best call as Stewart
and crew find themselves arrested on charges of attempted murder.
“Sharkwater”
has a message – or two or three; its intentions are nothing if not noble.
Watching a shark butchered for a single fin and tossed back into the sea
half-dead inspires outrage. Stewart is understandably zealous in his mission
but his focus turns too often to himself and his own righteous efforts rather
than to his beleaguered subjects.
Visuals are
consistently stunning, glorifying a vibrant universe leagues beneath the sea. Hammerheads
congregating in the tepid waters of the Galapagos Islands are an awe-inspiring
sight. But Stewart’s narration is curiously monotone as he travels a circuitous
narrative route in his efforts to be heard.
The world’s
shark population has been decimated by a staggering 90% due to unlawful fishing
activities and indiscriminate slaughter. “Sharkwater” is a call to action.