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Sharkwater (2007) DVD Review
Sharkwater (2007) DVD Credits:
Sharkwater (2007) Directed by:
Rob Stewart
Sharkwater (2007) Written by:
Rob Stewart
Sharkwater (2007) Cast:
Rob Stewart, Paul Watson, Patrick Moore
Sharkwater (2007) Released by:
SW Productions
Region:
1
Sharkwater (2007) DVD Release Date:
1st November 2007
Our Rating: Extras Rating:

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Sharkwater (2007) Synopsis:

Shark-enthusiast Rob Stewart tries to clear up the myths surrounding the animals. While risking his life to expose the truth, he tackles issues of depleting resources and the role of the government in protecting our environment.

Sharkwater (2007) DVD Review:

Sometimes we can forget how beautiful this world is. We ignore deep-sea life even more because of accessibility problems. Films like Sharkwater remind us how much we are missing. However, Sharkwater is much more than just a picture of the natural beauty of sea life; it is a plea to save sharks, and in turn, the world. Rob Stewart, the visionary for Sharkwater, is on a mission in this film to debunk rumors about the misunderstood shark and save them from what is sure to be eventual extinction. His journey throughout this documentary is captivating and packed with action, which makes the film more than just a pill to swallow.

A life-long shark enthusiast, Rob Stewart wants to clear up the myths about sharks. As shown by the popularity of Jaws, many people think sharks are voracious, man-eating hunters. Stewart proves this false by not only swimming with them, but also petting them with little fear for his safety. The movie points out that approximately five people die from shark attacks each year while drug overdoses claim over 20,000 lives annually. In this documentary, Stewart also includes clips of a military training video about what to do if you are stranded in the ocean to ward off sharks. Though he makes no comments on the video, it is clear that he holds this outdated video in contempt.

The action comes in when he joins the Sea Shepherd crew, an anti-poaching group, in an effort to stop shark hunters from Costa Rica who kill sharks primarily for their much-sought-after fins. Despite being called by the Costa Rican government to stop these hunters, the crew is arrested. However, the crew escapes and sails out into international waters with the machine gun- wielding coast guard chasing them. They escape but are no longer able to go to Costa Rica. A similar thing happens when Stewart goes to the Galapagos Islands, the other popular shark haven. In both these instances, the governments of these areas decide that the economic benefits of selling shark fins outweigh the ethical argument of saving animals. This brings another layer to Stewart’s battle to protect the environment.

Stewart argues that sharks are essential to life on Earth, at least indirectly. This brings up the much larger point of how much human-made environmental change the Earth can take before catastrophic results occur. Stewart interviews many marine biologists and Greenpeace workers to try to shed light on this subject. This effort brings Sharkwater to another level as a documentary. Not only is it beautiful and persuasive on the topic of saving sharks, but it relates the central message to every single person. Everybody should be concerned with the Earth’s depleting resources, and Stewart presents this to the audience in an interesting tale on his fight to depict the reality regarding sharks.

The montages in this film fit seamlessly into the storytelling. The cinematography is breathtaking. And although the shots of Stewart in the hospital are kind of corny and over-acted, for the most part Sharkwater is spectacular. Its depth, both in the water and in its message, makes it a very worthy film.

The extras on this DVD provide only a little bit more to the experience of Sharkwater, but they are rather interesting. The making-of featurette shows the difficulty of shooting a large part of the film under water and the pain-staking editing process. Also included is the Shark Defense Naval Training Video, which is a nice artifact. It reveals how little we really knew about sharks back during the 1940s and 1950s. The couple of TV spots and a trailer are not worth watching if you have seen the movie already.

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Sharkwater (2007) DVD review written by: Kirsten Moore

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