Director: Eleanor Mortimer

Beautiful visuals are the best reason to see this uneven documentary and meditation on ecology. The picture follows an expedition of amiable young biologists and taxonomists as they sail to the remote Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a  vast region between Mexico and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, some twelve days from land. Using a remotely operated vehicle which can descend 5,000 metres below the surface, they film the wondrous creatures they encounter. We are informed it can take fourteen years to officially name the species, so for now they have such colourful titles as Barbie Pig, Sea Cucumber and Headless Chicken Monster. While performing their mission, the crew muse on the potential deep-sea mining operations which may be taking place in the future, grants pending, and their own intrusion into this alien world. Footage of them remotely snatching these benign creatures from the seabed with what looks like an amusement park crane to the sinister sounds of Portishead’s ‘Glory Box’ imbues their mission with a sinister feel. Ultimately the picture feels a little shapeless as ‘meditations’ often are, while director Mortimer’s breathy whispered voice-over, redolent of Mark Cousins, borders on the whimsical and banal. 

David Willoughby

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