Sometimes, a movie can evoke feelings that affect us physically. Somehow, it manages to bypass one’s reflexes, the “it’s just a movie” reflex, evoking a reality that feels genuine. I found “Open Water” extremely disturbing in that sense. The other movie was “Touching the Void”, the mountain climbing movie from earlier in 2004. After watching both films, I felt the need to stand outside, walk, and soak in the sunshine as I attempted to uplift my spirits.
Not saying that “Open Water” is some sort of an emotional rollercoaster thriller. Open Water is a rather calm film according to my perspective, a film in which less and less takes place as a fundamental unit begins to set in. The ending is so subtle, it is easy to overlook. The film depicts the story of a couple that goes scuba diving, only to resurface and discover that their boat has, for some strange reason, left without them. The couple seem to be devoid of company and their surroundings. The couple feel very alone.
“Touching the Void” was impactful for me since I dislike heights and cannot picture myself dangling off a mountain. In a different manner, “Open Water watch here free fmovies” reached me. I am not scared of deep waters and rarely think of sharks, however, the idea of being lost, forgotten awakens feelings from deep within me. To be left behind is so infuriating and hopeless.
When night takes over day, when thirst is impossible to cope with, when jellyfish sting and sharks reveal their presence, with no returning boat, the situation becomes a dark, vast cosmic joke.
It is one thing being in danger of losing your life and another to have hours to think about it. To discuss why their vacation was settled on a ski holiday instead of a Caribbean one. The angriest line in the whole movie is for sure: “We paid to do this”. They went through so much trouble and numerous expenses just to be stranded in the middle of the ocean.
The movie features Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis in the roles of Susan and Daniel. They step from the universe of SUVs and running phones, busy office schedules into - literally - an endless ocean. With relevant equipment, they are capable of floating for a considerable period of time, which indeed far exceeds the duration of their interest.
The ocean’s surface is tranquil, the temperature of the water is bearable but not warm enough to be fatal. The initial sequences justify in calm, determined fashion, why entail counting scuba divers, in which case two divers are counted twice, and the boat returns with 18 instead of 20 and set out with 20. If you consider this unreasonable frames of mind, negligence, then yes, you can, in a way ponder on why this turn of events. But the film is based on true story of scuba divers forgotten mid ocean.
Written, directed, and edited by Chris Kentis, the film tells its tale in a way that is elegantly understated, more disturbing than any stitches added could ever be. It is clear that the film was shot with digital video cameras; what would a 35mm camera do out there anyway? And they are out there. I understand the actors were in deep water, with real sharks, quite literally.
For almost an hour, we essentially watch Daniel and Susan float, a blend of idle talk and thought. Their dialogue seems authentic and monotonous. There is no poetry, no philosophy, no meltdowns, just people who are too familiar aware that they are trying to convince themselves that things are not as dire as they appear. What? They cannot be forgotten. The crew cannot miss their gear on the boat or the air tanks they so haphazardly left behind. The boat is sure to come back; a search is guaranteed, right?
They attempt to recall some facts from the Discovery Channel. Daniel understands how dangerous it is to drink sea water. (You can sip on urine, but that's a tricky business when you're lying idle in a scuba suit.) Those surely are shark fins cleaving the water’s surface. Most sharks won’t bother you, but the word “most” does not provide nearly enough comfort to them. There is even a time when Susan considers whether this could have all been Daniel’s doing: He stared at that damned eel for far too long.
As relevant as “guilt” is any other notion. None of the thoughts that they have will ever matter in the reality that surrounds them. The world is not a democracy, and neither is the cabin. The choices they made in life are forgotten. The life they have, wish, hate, love, plan, and their friends are all disconnected from them way too far from them by this new thing that becomes their life. And somehow being alive, but cut off from everything they know about needing to live, is strange: Their senses carry on recording that they are, but anything they do is of no of the slightest worth.
I wasn’t frightened while watching the movie, and I certainly was not afraid of sharks, drowning, or dehydration. I had no “Jaws” feelings for the whole movie. However, everything changed when it got dark and a thunderstorm was rumbling in the distance. A heavy feeling washed over me. This movie highlights the slender thread that we believe holds our lives and reasons for living together. We need that belief to carry on with life. If, for some unusual reason one day that thread is violently taken away, would be an unspeakable fate.
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