MOVIES, FASHION & LIFESTYLE

My Octopus Teacher – Documentary Feature Review – Five Stars

By: Aditi Shevade

It’s simply phenomenal how we human beings have a deeper connection with nature and other beings. This Oscar winning documentary, My Octopus Teacher, may initially feel like just another documentary from the stables of Discovery channel but as you start connecting with this as a life story of Craig Foster, it will make you fall in love with nature’s beauty.

Craig who was raised on the shores of South African sea finds a new passion in diving into the sea to explore wildlife beneath the water when returns to his home after burning out from working for far too long and feeling disconnected to his family. The documentary explores his journey to find and connect with an underwater octopus and learn more about her as he starts to dive in everyday for around a year.

This Octopus teaches and shares her world with a man who is patient, consistent, respectful, vulnerable to her world and open to learning. This enabled him to get the greatest insight into her existence, life and the mysteries and wonders of Mother Nature and share the same with the world.

The documentary at its core is heartwarming, revealing and emotional. Watching this amazing love story unfold with nature and human, their extraordinary relationship, combined with some magnificent cinematography and the perfectly paired yet somewhat haunting music was just mesmerizing. This is the humane story of a man who has worked too hard and suffered but also has the wisdom to recognise this and begin the process of healing himself. The amazing footage of the kelp forest and the creatures living there, the immense power of the ocean when you enter the freezing water and the body’s ability to adjust in time and the courage it takes to enter this world is beyond belief.

My Octopus Teacher truly offers a “life template” for those who long to feel revitalized and reconnected towards a purpose despite the limited time we have left on this Earth. The sincerity and honesty of this documentary will touch your soul. Truly inspiring and fascinating in every way, the documentary among other things also shows how nature has a beautiful, positive impact on our lives and the visuals will surely leave you moist eyed. Without any further ado, watch this incredible multilayered visual feast streaming now on Netflix.

Rating: Five Stars