The Last of the Sea Women

Sue Kim's 2024 documentary is about the haenyeo, the women of Jeju Island who dive without oxygen tanks to gather seafood. Most are over sixty; the work was done by women for generations and now there is nobody left to continue it. The documentary's second line is political: the campaign these women run against Japan's decision to release treated water from Fukushima into the ocean, taking it as far as Geneva. That keeps the film from being an account of nostalgia. The underwater photography is extraordinary. Its limit is that the breadth of the subject leaves some lines thin. Who it's for: viewers interested in cultural heritage and environmental documentary. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a deep study of a single subject, or who will find a slow pace wearing.