I picked this up at our library because it looked slightly interesting, and we're going on a beach vacation soon. ...WOW! It is so good!! I've watched it three times now, and took it to a get-together for other family members to watch it, and they all really enjoyed it as well, especially "The Making Of" segment. Our 2-yo was mesmerized, and we all appreciated the very unique, entertaining, beautiful footage. It was originally shot for IMAX theaters, which must have been perfect! I recommend watching it on the biggest screen possible, with the lights out.
Our favorite parts...
Time-lapsed footage of 30-foot tides in Canada: watch the harbor drain until the big boats are sitting on mud, then it fills back up again!
Sped-up footage of boats zipping across the water, people on the beach: humorous.
Surfers and huge waves in Hawaii: really captures the feeling of surfing, and their passion for the ocean.
Coast Guard boat jumping and crashing through enormous waves at Cape Disappointment.
The music by Sting, with tweaked instrumentals, really fits!
Islander Dad with his two kids in a speed boat, cruising at high speeds under rock formations, and skimming the beautiful shores.
The fact that there were no actors, just real people like the dad, and a woman's first time snorkeling with jellyfish and descending into poisonous depths of a salt-water lake.
THE MAKING OF... where the producers talk about difficulties they had with different shots, dangers they faced in several scenes, cost of production, orchestrating the soundtrack, and reason for making this film.
Their reason for making this film, for putting their heart and soul into it, was in the hopes that people who watch it will fall in love with the sea, and therefore want to protect it. As they said, "there is only one ocean," and it encompasses such a majority of the earth that no matter where we live, "we are all islanders."
