Impressionen unter Wasser

Leni Riefenstahl begins the film by directly addressing the spectators on matters of sea life preservation, particularly coral reef life. When she said "healthy coral reefs" I could not restrain from wondering to what extent echos of "aryan" could be heard in the word "healthy," or "concentration camps" for "aquariums," a few seconds later. Such is the stain that surrounds her myth (a lesser word will not do in either case), that one may pull back in awe (even as the greenery behind her at some point eerily rustles, and the screen palpitates with a couple of subtle close-ups-and-outs or two). I, for one, align with the mockery-and-terror sentiment expressed by the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, namely that Leni Riefenstahl may never die, such was her will to live (and maybe here we can trace the hatred she suffered because this overarching will-to-live was more Nazi/Nietzschean than her Nazi past)!

Yet there are no hypocritical masterpieces, or ideological ones, and this film is definitely a masterpiece. One risks passing by it as just another - however refined - underwater documentary. The film is a serene visionary testament, a quiet celebration of shape and color, organically rendered, disjointedly rendered, letting just the right sense of editing and camera movement interfere and guide matters.

Colors!

Shapes!

Movement and moving!

Fish faces!

So rich a film in its 44 minutes. The only suggestion I want to make is - given that there may be cheesy masterpieces - the film would greatly benefit from a more upbeat soundtrack, say a jazz one like in Jean Painleve's underwater (rive-gauche existential!) documentaries. As it is one risks making a tepid experience from a marvelous sense of matter-of-fact and fluidity. I hope we have soon a soundtrack with a masterful musical sense, the way the film does.

And as it is Leni Riefenstahl grazes past a monster of the deep century, schools and eels and surfaces (after a quite gray toning down of the film among the sharks towards the end), well, presumably into eternity.

I watched this film on an imported Hong Kong DVD, and it is spectacularly beautiful. I would guess that this was Riefensthal's last project. She was 98 years old at the time of making it, and some of the footage shows her swimming underwater (with a shock of white hair floating above her diving mask) and examining the aquatic wildlife up close. Presumably she did the majority of the editing, but she did have a camera operator to do the shooting. Giorgio Moroder's electronic synthesizer score is serenely beautiful, with occasional snatches of eeriness suitable for the more unnerving scenes such as a fragile, spindly shrimp-like creature nimbly scrambling into the gaping, sharp-toothed jaws of some large fierce-looking beast to clean its mouth. The dazzlingly myriad, colorful, and bizarre variety of forms that this undersea life takes outdoes the imaginations of the most outlandish science fiction writers and film-makers. No movie alien is stranger than these creatures.

At the start of the film Leni Riefensthal addresses the audience directly, in German (the DVD had English subtitles), explains the form and style of the film, and makes an urgent plea to preserve the great coral reefs and their fantastic wildlife. Watching this frail-looking woman of 98 earnestly making her case for the conservation of these natural wonders, it's easy to forget that she is still reviled by some for her role as Hitler's favorite documentary film-maker. Whatever guilt she may be perceived to bear for that, she paid a heavy price for it. Despite a few projects such as this film, and her still photography, it could be said that for the remainder of her life a potentially great artistic legacy in film was lost because of it - so much talent gone to waste.

After her years of exile from the directing chair, Riefenstahl has created another masterpiece on par with her creative genius from her years in Nazi Germany. Thoroughly enjoyed and an all time classic. This movie through its amazing use of technology and innovation has presented the modern world with a final representation of Riefenstahl;s rare talent. "Impressionen Unter Wasser" is equally as powerful as "Triumph of the Will" and "Olympia" and helps to portray Riefenstahl's belief that "form and content should coincide" as was seen in her production of "The Blue Light (1931)". The filming techniques in this masterpiece are well supplemented by the shear beauty of the sea and provide an insight into what exists across such a vars expanse of Earth.

This film can be viewed on many levels.

First as a plea for preservation of the coral reefs. The director makes this plea in person at the beginning of the film. The beauty of the photography, the stunning variety of life that is shown and the incredible connection between human and aquatic life that Leni makes when she appears in the film, only serve to continue and strengthen that argument. After seeing this film, it would be hard for anyone to justify a jet ski park in this reef.

Next, it is a nature film, but unlike any nature film I have ever seen. There is no "story", there is no voice over, just music. We are presented simply with a selection of creatures living in the coral reef. The variety is astounding. Creatures of incredible shape and substance; Rocks come alive to reveal they are actually some form of life. Huge rays swim around and dance in an elaborate ballet. The beauty is beyond anything I have seen in similar films - and all of this is done without comment, leading the viewer to thoughtful reflection on the nature of life and form.

It is a work of art. Choosing from what was a huge amount of footage, Leni managed make a film that flows, astounds and keeps our interest without a single word of explanation.

Finally as a personal and perhaps a social document. As I was viewing this film, I could not help but think about her and the judgments against her. Leni has been reviled by so many. Even today the intelligentsia will not forgive her Nazi connections. If I lived through WWII I might feel the same way, but frankly, I am seduced by her art. It is seduction which I submit to willingly, because whatever wrongdoing she has done, it is in the past. Today her films raise us above the mundane and will continue to do so into the future. She always claimed to be innocent of wrongdoing. Was she completely innocent? Probably not; who is? She was always criticized for not admitting to anything. But considering that she was faced with imprisonment, if I were in her shoes, I might not admit anything ether. I do believe that she was not politically motivated to any great degree. I think she used her Nazi connections to help make films which was her real goal. After all, she was a woman in a man's profession. Oportunities were probably not very frequent, even for one of her astounding skills and sensibilities. Her real crime may be simply ignoring politics, and to a political person, that is an unforgivable crime, regardless of what side you are on, especially today.

Seeing the different life forms and the different ways they acted, some harmless, some predatory, and seeing her swimming among them all, I could not help but think that she was, in her own way, making a comment. She seemed to be saying. Do you see all this life, all these different ways of living and being? They do not fit into your neat ideas of what life should be or how life should act. Life knows no boundaries, and we as men and woman can not hope to fully understand it. As an artist I followed my instincts, just as these creatures do, in ways that neither I or you can fully understand. Seeing all this variety, how can you be so sure that you can fully know or judge me?

The music in this film is terrible and distracting.