In “The Last of the Sea Women,” there is a dying way of life. The feature film of Sue Kim who is making her debut focuses on the figure of the Heaney a female diver associated primarily with the southernmost Korean territory of Jeru Island. These women dive without using any oxygen equipment and sell seafood for their living. The unique specialty is however on the verge of extinction largely due to the lack of younger women who would take over from the aging practitioners. This endearing and comic take on a fading tradition is released on Friday on Apple TV+ which also gets a limited release on the same day on one screen at Laemmle in Los Angeles.
Earning the title of “guardians of the sea,” Heaney only depended on wetsuits, flippers and goggles around the past 40 years; where they used to row to areas where they dove for fish, now they offer motorboats. However, they take on such task because of pride: otherwise they would be over operating the sea urchins, octopus, abalone, seaweed all of them are variably protected items. Because of the oxygen stored in their lungs, they are able to expedite over 100 meters and remain underwater for nearly three minutes. With the help of insulation, the shifts have increased to several hours but when they come back, processing the hauls and breaking the outer tough and spiny portion of the sea urchin takes several more hours.
They can also be identified as raucous songs, laughter and the occasional quarrel. Their profession earned them independence along with a well earning, though it was not easy in the beginning. Some of the respondents remember the not distant past when Heaney were despised for their dark skin and tough work, though many of them were the main providers of food for the families.
Across all areas this, and of course the country as a whole, remains treasured, protected even, as a part of the culture a fact acknowledged by UNESCO, and a heritage “passed on to us by our mothers and grandmothers.” Unfortunately, there are not as many, if any, young women considering themselves Heaney today. The doc does encounter two attractive molecules in their thirties who engage in similar activities, only in another island, located 150 mile away. They seem visually comfortable and distort middle class and even media savvy that one presumes initially that they are doing this for the sake of some influencer’s stance. However, during the holidays all the sponsors hope that this is the last Honeywood in Korea, their mission now is to capture and enjoy an annual Heaney festival on the shores of Wood Dol.
Although incomplete archival film provides some details, history is not a prominent focus in ‘Sea Women.’ It does not explain how the practice of diving in these coastal regions extends to as far back as A.D 5 and when it changed into a culture of mostly women participants or how economic policies have also impacted it in the recent years. The extent of difficulties Heaney encounter on their work such as their natural ones like strong currents and physical injury are now further complicated by modern day social factors. Whenever it rains, there is always the problem of pesticides and fertilizers that spoil the oceans which modify the visibility of the area. Stitching of climate change along with weather debris has made the shallow waters with marine life resources to be depleted and forced for a more in-depth dive.
After thirty minutes into watching, the film begins to utilize an activist approach in explaining the women. This is because the women have been horrified of news that water mostly radiated from the Fukushima nuclear disaster 2011 when it is finally dumped into the sea after three years. Furthermore, this is a processed that helps promote the arcs of the videos as this is a political arena and soon Deok Jang 72years of around the youngest active diver of this sea goes to the UN to issue a statement about the information.
It is also evident that social and regional dynamics as well as environmental destruction will interplay with factors to lessen the figure of the Heaney but Kim as a Heaney’s has a inbuilt sense of humor.
Although as a society they are not particularly educated or erudite, they have plenty to teach: from being self sufficient females, graceful physically active old seniors, dedicated ecology custodians, and politically active citizens. A tinge of melancholy at farewell can certainly be attached to the title but rather positive in essence is ‘Last…the tenors last and the last tenors are even more engaging, surely this will encourage some new recruits into a discipline that otherwise is in danger of dying out.
The underwater images consisting of colourful fishes silhouetted against the coral reefs, and our protagonists working in these surroundings, are certainly among the ‘best visuals’ of Turkowski’s underwater cinematography. Very good indeed is an original score by Jang Young Gyu, this time it is largely choral and percussive.
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