I do not celebrate Earth Day. I generally make a daily, concerted effort to be environmentally conscious, without being militant about it, and make my annual donations to organizations that maintain similar ecological beliefs. I think Earth Day is a wonderful concept, but I feel it shares the same faults with a day like Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Are we only to celebrate our differences and diversity on that day?
Buying into this idea that being earth-friendly one day out of a year can make a change, Disneynature launched their second film two days after Earth Day, “Oceans.” While I do have a cynical attitude toward the day in question and the corporate motivations behind it, I know one thing is true: “Oceans” is one of the most awe-inspiring and beautiful films I’ve seen on the big screen.
A French production, co-directed by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzard, the team behind the equally breathtaking study of the sky’s inhabitants “Winged Migration,” “Oceans” documents the beauty of the sea and those whose lives it impacts. Using the latest technology, the gentlemen capture jaw-dropping visions and astutely explain the need to preserve earth’s most mysterious mass.
The only negative I can point to, is Pierce Brosnan’s melodramatic narration, which consistently hinders the suspension of disbelief. The striking visuals speak for themselves, though I understand the thought-process behind a famous actor providing the voice-over.
Instead of focusing on the negative, let’s look at the many positive aspects. Like “Winged Migration” before it, “Oceans” captures the sea and those that live there in a brand new light, due in great part to the technological advances in conjunction with a seemingly bottomless budget. Whether following the slithery, underwater movements of an aquatic iguana to the breakneck air dives of fish-craving pelicans, to the graceful undulations of an octopus in flight, the images diverge from your average Discovery Channel documentary by fully immersing the viewer into all facets of the beauty of the deep.
“Oceans” is a movie that demands to be seen theatrically. It is the best argument as to why we need to defend the oceans and those who benefit from it, including ourselves.
While I still do not appreciate the gimmick of Earth Day or those corporations who celebrate it and yet ignore what it stands for the other 364 days out of the year, I cannot help but appreciate the sheer wonder and splendor Disneynature give us with “Oceans.”
Ari Silber is a Loyola MBA student. Before graduate school, he worked for nine years in the Los Angeles film industry, focusing on marketing, publicity and distribution.
