The Deepest Breath

Just watched this.

I'm not a freediver, but as a rescue diver, I found this beautiful and intense, and I understand the feelings that moved Alessia and Stephen and many of the comments they made.

Also having been to Dahab, I know how beautiful, but also how dangerous it can be.

But I don't think you need to do any diving or love the sea at all to enjoy this story of living the moment and pushing your limits. At times stunning, at times anxiety-inducing, it's beautifully edited and it's a great story of two people finding their calling AND finding each other.

I ended the movie with a few tears and an even deeper appreciation for "carpe diem" and for the beauty of (and respect for) the ocean.

I strongly recommend it.

I often find myself deeply fascinated by people's passions, at the same time it sometimes frightens me the idea of how the obsession with passion can possibly be the end of you literally and figuratively. What does it really take to go after your passion? And how willing are you to sacrifice for it?

I watched this documentary without any knowledge of freediving or the story and it immediately grabbed my attention right from the opening scene, that itself kept me on the edge

It's such an interesting element of the story structure how stunning they capture the concept to be as an extreme sport, yet how dangerous of an endeavor it actually is. It shows you both sides of the athlete's obsession about it and the lengths they go for it, which leaves you questioning wanting to understand the depths of satisfaction beyond passion given their lives are at dangerous risks knowingly.

The cinematography was stunning, incredible archival footage! It takes you through the diver's journeys from top to underwater beautifully it's sometimes scary. The interviews were heartfelt and informative enough for you to understand a bit of the extreme sport, while at the same time, it maintained sensations and delivered emotionally making you feel for the tragedy and how their story intertwined in destiny.

Beautiful and profound and a celebration of love and life and living. It gripped me as much as Free Solo did in its edge of seat drama and tension. So cleverly structured and paced. I could sense its foreboding nature throughout but still could not anticipate the final heart wrenching outcome. Emotional and beautiful storytelling. Thank you for sharing this very personal story set against a beautiful score. I could not look away for a second and was transported into this unknown world, not experienced since The Big Blue. If you loved that film, this one will stay with you too. I will carry this story with me for a long time. Bravo!

From the first pictures of this documentary it is evident that something bad is about to happen. By careful editing the suspense of not knowing what or to whom it will happen is held up until the end. As a result the runtime of almost 2 hours felt more like one.

To my taste the documentary is trying a bit too hard emotionally in some scenes, but it works and I did care for most of the characters. While there is some sublime cinematography it feels partly out of place as the rest of the footage does not hold up. The subject matter itself might seem nonsensical to some and the character's true motivation a bit shallow - although sometimes that is all there is.

This emotional documentary film dives deep, not only into the ocean, but also deep into our souls.

What does it mean to have the deepest kind of love? This film covers it in many ways, through real characters.

For a parent who deeply loves a child, it may be to set a child free to discover his/her true passions in life.

For any person who tries to find deep meaning in life, you may feel lost many times before you find your true calling.

For those of us who have experienced deep love, we are moved by the sacrifice and selflessness that has been given to us.

Searching for our deepest love, finding it, enjoying it, losing it...this film helps us understand the triumphs and tragedies of life, and in the end, hope. Because when you see the deepest kind of love, it's a celebration of the best aspects of humanity.

Another documentary, The Rescue (2021, National Geographic), evokes similar feelings and emotions.

The whole team that participated in this documentary, including the director, editor, music as well as all the real people...thank you for making this.