The Deepest Breath

There's much to love about free diving, but you won't find it in this film. The subjects have so much ego, are so competitive and goal-oriented that they degrade what coule be an art, or even a spiritual practice, into just another dumb extreme sport.

The only people with an iota of self-reflection or wisdom are the characters fathers, which is kind of suprising considering how free diving can be a transcendental experience.

The sea is just a backdrop for their ambitions and awards. No mention of the physiology of freediving, the the cultures in which it is tradtionally practiced, the stunning (and threatened) marine environments where they dive. It might as well be a documentary about tennis or golf.

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.

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.

Not A24's best film but it's still pretty good.

It's an interesting documentary about freediver Alessia Zecchini and Stephen Keenan on the goals, life, accomplishments and challenges they processes throughout her career with good insightful discussions and some gorgeous camerawork. Director Laura McGann does a pretty good job on capturing the career of Zecchini and maintaining the documentary's tone without feeling sloppy. The camerawork of the underwater sequences were absolutely gorgeous and beautiful. Documentaries about ocean life I always love because of the gorgeous production and shot compositions provided and The Deepest Breath does have some wonderful underwater scenes.

Throughout, there were some really good editing and emotional moments that were genuinely interesting and touching. The conversations between participants were insightful but admittedly there were a few discussion moments that felt a little dragged on. The soundtrack choices felt a little cheesy and some pacing could have improved. Overall, it's a pretty good documentary.

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.