A scene from North Sea, Nature Untamed [Photos: Joost van Uffelen/Dutch Maritime Productions]

NORTH SEA, NATURE UNTAMED
Directed by Peter van Rodijnen
Certificate: PG
☆☆☆☆

“THE best way to observe a fish is to become a fish,” said trailblazing eco-explorer Jacques Cousteau.
And that is what Dutch film-maker Peter van Rodijnen does in this visually delightful and cockle-warming documentary.

The opening scene features a small boy gazing with wonder at Cousteau and his team of adventurers. Cousteau was a champion of our natural world – and there is a clear thread running from his work through to diver and cinematographer Peter.

He takes us beneath the surface of Europe’s largest but largely unknown wildlife reserve. It feels timely.

We are currently debating whether drilling licences will be given for further oil fields in the North Sea. The arguments against ask how it can possibly be a good idea when we know the damage fossil fuels do, while others say the transition economy will still need oil in coming years, so why not get it ourselves instead of importing it?

This documentary could swing the deal. While the North Sea is the busiest shipping route in Europe, a place of intensive fishing, oil and wind turbines, it is also a “hidden wilderness on my doorstep,” as Peter states.

Because the North Sea is a) washing up on our shores and b) cold, grey and moody, it does not command the same interest as a study of colourful exotics elsewhere. But Peter shows this is misleading. From plankton up to basking sharks, he follows the food chain from the bottom upwards and shows us that “the small stuff can be just as beautiful as the big”.

Peter’s deadpan delivery draws on Cousteau’s personable approach. It comes over as slightly naive, and with it, charming.

“This film is my way of protecting it. This is more than just a feature film. My hope is to spark wonder and love, because people only protect what they care about,” says Peter.

We learn of how mackerel all but disappeared from over-fishing. A ban followed, and today the fish are returning and, along with the mackerel, the Atlantic bluefin tuna, grey seals, minke whales and bottlenose dolphins are flourishing. Climate doom is a condition of our time as the crisis rages around us. This remarkable film shows there is hope to be had, and it can be found beneath the murky waters of a sea that bashes against our eastern coast.