The Last of the Sea Women is a documentary about the haenyeo, a community of women seafood divers in Jeju Island, South Korea. It profiles the women and their current struggle with maintaining their culture/profession given environmental threats.
Beautifully shot with several diving scenes and great moments with the haenyeo themselves the film feels mildly intimate and breezy. The history of the haenyeo is summarized, the culture the haenyeo came from is abbreviated, the environmental issues at play lie mostly passive in the background until the end sequence which is not without its power but also feels somewhat contrived within the structure of the film. These women and their story is powerful and engaging and the film is a solid watch however in aggregate there is a NatGeo kind of sanitized feel about the whole endeavor. There is just clearly so much more here that the film does not get into. More nuance, more richness that the film doesn't have the time(or perhaps interest) to plumb. Even the haenyeo themselves clearly have more to say but their access to speak freely seems constrained.
This is director Sue Kim's first feature length doc and some of its lack of dimension could be a result of this being a freshman effort, she shows promise and knows what to shoot and how and seemingly developed a good relationship with her subjects but there is a kind of a glossy marketability feeling that isn't oppressive but is definitely noticeable, maybe that was out of necessity, Kim needed to sell it. But compare this to something like 2019's Honeyland and it's clear the haenyeo deserve something with more depth, more courage, more artistry.
Incredible subjects but only a decent film.
Currently streaming on Apple TV+.
See It.
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