Against the Tide

The technical aspects of the film are commendable. The camerawork, sound design, and production quality contribute to an immersive viewing experience. The two central characters offer engaging performances, and their authentic emotions are a highlight. However, "Against the Tide" stumbles in terms of pacing. The middle section of the film feels disjointed and occasionally directionless, with moments that could have been trimmed to maintain focus. Despite these pacing issues, the documentary remains a unique and engaging exploration of the challenges faced by marginalized fishing communities and the toll of environmental degradation. It provides valuable insights into a pressing issue and the human dynamics within it, making it a worthy watch for those interested in both.

A documentary about the intertwined lives of two fishermen, 'Against the Tide' paints a picture of how climate change and globalised corporate greed affects the contrasting fishing practices of two friends - Rakesh and Ganesh - in Mumbai, India.

These young men belong to the traditional Koli fishing community, who are one of the few original inhabitants of the city. With his ancestral and sustainable fishing practices, Rakesh struggles to provide a decent life to his family. On the other hand, his friend Ganesh is a prosperous fisherman engaged in deep-sea fishing using modern technology, employing large vessels and crew. Although Ganesh encourages Rakesh to change his fishing style from shallow waters to deep sea, the latter is a firm believer in his modest subsistence fishing style.

The camera follows the friends and shares their conversations that reveal the economic and social gap between them. Despite their apparent contrasting lifestyles and fishing methods, both are deeply affected by the dwindling fish stocks thanks to climate change and human greed. Towards the latter half of the film, the audience learn that both the men are at the mercy of the same depleted sea. Rakesh is forced to sell his boat, and Ganesh is faced with a mounting debt to support the unviable fishing operations.

Apart from Rakesh's mother, there is hardly any vocal female who shares the concerns of the film's messages. It would have been better had there been more insights from other women. Their role revolves mostly around as guardians of their stories, rituals, songs, dances and social bonds. Also, at times the domestic narratives of the two friends and their inter-personal drama seem to overshadow the environmental and economic messages of the core topic.

A highly watchable film with commendable direction, cinematography and editing, 'Against the Tide' carries strong messages of overfishing, climate change and threatened unsustainable traditional occupations in the face of globalised economical activities across the oceans.

Saw this a the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

"Against the Tide" is a documentary about two friends, both Indigenous fishermen, are driven to desperation by a dying sea. Their friendship begins to fracture as they take very different paths to provide for their struggling families. India culture is pretty interesting to observe and while the film offers some interesting insight in the economy system and fishing lifestyle, the film does struggle a little with some poor pacing.

The camerawork, sound designs and production is pretty good. The main two leads who are focused throughout are pretty interesting as you watch their dynamics play out and how they interact with one another. Times where you see them showing genuine emotions felt nature. Unfortunately, the direction seems to kind of go all over the place halfway and certain moments felt like filler. As if the filmmaker wasn't sure how to continue certain scenes and added moments that could have been removed.

Many times the film reminded me All That Breathes which was also an India documentary. But the overall film was interesting.

Rating: B-