Mechanics of eternal life in Oleg Bozok film

Does anybody know where is the Celebes sea? It is unlikely.

Now, each of viewers has possibility not only to fill up the gap in his (or her) education, but also to see the unique coral world, to amaze at tropic fauna and to shed a tear, looking at newborn turtles.

"Sipadan - The island of turtles" proceeds from scientifically -popular film traditions. It's the second film of Russian Underwater Expeditions. Sipadan - is a romantic dream, made into a movie. It's day-dreams about diving with big green turtles, which came true in this film.

There is also paid much attention to our russian underwater operators-divers. The basic idea of this film is easy and ingenious at the same time. This film is not ordinary. It absolutely differs from famouse "Odyssey of Custo". It's some kind of film-report. There is no any strained scene.

Captious critic can find there some disadvantages. For example, so called "speaking heads" - Moscow interview with participants of the expedition - Andrey Gorodisskiy, Alexei Gorodisskiy and Leonid Kiryakov. But it's so just for captious critic, not for talented viewer. "Busts" are quite appropriate here. The heros of the interview are nice, educated persons, with open hearts and perfect sense of humour.

It's unusual practice to use studio recordings in scientifically-popular films. The operator is a "sharp eye", helping us to see all details. Bozok has took risks and enlarged creative area. We have possibility not only to see details, but to watch and to hear (that's much more important) the operators themself.

It being known that the interview was made like some kind of visual notebook to be source of information. One way or another, Bozok looked through the recording and decided that "these fellows were too good in action". The nice material droped into his lap itself. Different fragments of this recording were put together. The result is very organic.

This vivid emotional description salts the film with some interesting details and gives the explanation of some film's moments. For example, the fight between two Malaysian dragons, commented by Leonid Kiryakov, the senior operator. Or the moment of barracuda's "invasion", which is explained by Andrey Gorodisskiy, the photo-painter. Besides, the participation of photographer in expedition is almost a rule. The necessity of this post is dictated by the circumstances, to be more exact, by the main idea of the film.

Having put out to sea, the fellows got a task to document all details of turtles life. It was necessary to catch the moment of egg laying, and than the moment of little turtle's birth and its sea "communion'; sea "family life" and the shore , and egg laying again. Local rangers didn't share the producer's opinion and prohibited to take a picture of turtles. They told such irradiation could harm the turtle-layer. But our operators resorted to cunning. Andrey Gorodisskiy managed to take some photos of "turtle lying-in" at night with his photocamera.

So, the fellows had got out of this difficulty. All necessary details of turtle's life were gathered together. But the main object of divers' pride is frames of "pasture". It's a large many-coloured glade, overgrown with seaweed - the favorite dinner place of various turtles .

"Sipadan - the island of turtles" is not just detailed story about wanderings of magnificent turtles. There are so many amazing moments, concerning the private life of islanders, local geography and peculiarities of environment. The author furnished the film with many vivid details, both the surface and underwater worlds. Many-colored angelfishes are biting round the reef. It is morning. Than, you can watch homely native, carrying two huge silvery fishes directly to the cook-house. Everything is changeable on Sipadan, even warm tropic currents.

One of the most vivid subject in Sipadan story - is a rainy season...You can watch it without music accompaniment - wet bananas; streams of water are flowing down from bamboo roofs; clay pots, left on the terrace. That is the easy truth of nature. The artist underlines it very tactfully and carefully: vivid scenes from outside life, somewhere near the Celebes sea. And it is also raining there. As well as it can be raining in our country. The sun is shining onthe screen. Than, the next frame is 10 little turtles in the bucket. Oh! The little turtles are runing to the ocean with "non-turtles" speed.

It's some kind of confrontation or comparison between new little life and boundless expanses of the ocean. Bozok tries to explain the eternal Circle of life - so called mechanics of eternal life- with the help of nature: people and animals, plants and ocean. May be it sounds banal, but it is the main item of all documentary films about environment. Everybody want to live - to live forever.

By Olga Kazak