The Last Cruise

I think reviews that complain about narcissistic and ignorant people in this short documentary/film are missing the point. We are watching to see what happened. Not what we wish we could see. I think this is a great little film showcasing actual footage (no simulated or acted out scenes) of what happened on that cruise ship. It's surreal, haunting and honest.

"The Last Cruise" (2021 release; 40 min.) is a documentary about the infamous cruise ship the Diamond Princess, which left the port of Yokohama, Japan on January 20, 2020 (the very day that the WHO officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic), and it wasn't long before a first passenger tested positive, and then another and then another...

Couple of comments: this is the second documentary written-produced-directed by up-and-coming Hannah Olson, who debuted with last year's excellent "Baby God" documentary. Here she retells what one could term "the voyage of the doomed", as the gigantic cruise ship (housing 3000+ guests and staff) becomes an international pariah and immediate symbol for the devastation brought by an unknown and highly contagious new virus. Olson introduces us to two US couples as well as 2 staff (a dishwasher from Indonesia, a pastry chef from I believe India), and we follow their ups (a few) and down (a lot). It makes for fascinating viewing, to be honest. Predictably the footage is mostly derived from the smart phones of the guests and staff. While there are no winners here of course, I felt particularly bad for the staff, who literally go begging in international TV news outlets, begging for their rescue. The footage of the staff cramped together in close quarters, knowing full well that the virus is spreading, is just sickening. Another can't miss moment is that the US guests are watching US TV coverage and you can hear how Trump and his band of jokers keep claiming that "we've got it completely under control". Wow, just wow. What an utter and complete incompetent fool. If I have any complaint about this documentary, it is that at just 40 min. The documentary flashes by in no time, and it seems to me there was plenty of room for additional footage and coverage.

"The Last Cruise" premiered last month at SXSW to immediate buzz, and just recently started showing on HBO. It is now available on HBO On Demand (where I caught it), Amazon Instant Video and other streaming services. If you have any interest in how the world was dealing with COVID-19 in its earliest days, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

When I started this I was definitely very interested in the topic and the situation. It just seemed like a doc of halfway developed arcs and never told a full story. I feel like there were so many missed opportunities to learn more about the backstory of the guests that were featured, the crewmembers, the families at home, comparing what was going on on the ship to what was going on in other places, etc. And also - my goodness - what happened to these people? What was it like when they got home? Who are the people that died? Who got sick after the flight? There was so much either left on the table or on the cutting floor. I think this documentary could've been so great and just wasn't developed enough.

I debated on whether or not I even wanted to watch this. People who take cruise ships are usually either elderly and out of touch or upper middle class to wealthy and entitled, while all of the above utterly ignore the grave impact cruise ships have on carbon emissions and the state of our world's precious oceans. I totally expected the self-absorption that some other reviewers are complaining about. BUT I remember being obsessed with the horror of this particular cruise ship in 2020 so I thought well if I hate it I can just turn it off.

The experience of the poor crew is the core reason you should watch this documentary. To contrast the experience of the travelers to the workers is eye-opening. I can only imagine the sadness and barely controlled rage of these individuals who were put at risk, and I was glad to hear their stories and appalled to see just how many were non-English speaking and non-Western and brown skinned....of course a corporation was treating these human beings as second class citizens, it's always an important reminder to see it full color though.

I think there should have been more coverage on the people who died on this ship, there were 14 victims. Perhaps the director felt it was exploitative but really that should have been shown more attention.

The passengers they interviewed were really annoying to listen to. I mean they need video and the only people that had footage were daily vloggers so that might be the reason. Good documentary but I now understand what Bill Burr was talking about.