The Dark Side of the Ocean (Rick Rosenthal, 2015): USA

Reviewed by Jessie Su. Viewed at Metro 4, Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2016.

This film was full of stunningly beautiful images. This is a must see if one appreciates nature and marine life. Director of The Dark Side of the Ocean, Rick Rosenthal, succeeds in opening a whole new world under the sea. I was a little bummed out that I could not fit this film into my schedule, but at the very last minute a gift fell from the sky and another showing was added at the 2016 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. What an eye opener documentary.

Four time Emmy award winning filmmaker Rick Rosenthal is a marine biologist, cameraman, and director who takes us on the journey to track the world’s biggest movement of sea-life called the vertical migration. He is also known for directing the world-famed Planet Earth and Blue Planet. There was no script due to the unpredictability of the animals. Every moment is so exciting and breathtaking, especially when a sea creature emerges out of nowhere.

The documentary includes footage of some sea creatures never seen before. I certainly learned a great deal about marine biology. Rick succeeded in shooting a massive amount of plankton that is so dense, military submarines can hide in it because it becomes opaque to sonar. Pilot whales that can dive 600 feet were captured. He informed us that the arrival of whales show potential signs that squid will come up during the day. A pack of twenty dolphins were spotted that also feed on deep sea squid. As soon as the massive amount of plankton emerged a feeding frenzy started. Anchovies, tuna, dolphins, sharks appeared all of a sudden and it was the most intense action scene I’ve witnessed on film. So many amazing animals were filmed. Lenny Williams did such a good job adding emotional impact with the scary music in the dark that sounded similar to a heartbeat.

They even give us the privilege to see Monterey Bay Aquarium researchers using one of the highest end deep sea camera diving to a depth no human can physically go to, where beautiful creatures you can’t even imagine live. Rick Rosenthal even said “The looks of these creatures isn’t something even Star Wars can think of.” They look like aliens.

Wide lenses and a Canon C-500 were used because they were the best low-light underwater camera available at the time. It’s all manually focused. If you looked close enough, you could see two currents going together underwater. This is mostly due to temperature and sometimes wind. Drones were used to shoot the high angle, panoramic shots of the boats and immense sea.

Rosenthal and cameraman/editor Mark Romanov where there after the film for a Q&A session, and they were so informative and willing to answer. My mind was blown. Anyone who appreciate marine life will enjoy The Dark Side of the Ocean.

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Published:
02.22.16 / 5pm
Category:
Documentary, Films, Santa Barbara Film Festival 2016