The Last Days

A review to Last Days At Sea
Sound of the sea and impressive nature shots. Many off-screen conversations, painted by other images. In Last Days At Sea, we join director and cinematographer Venice Atienza as the young Reyboy spends his last days at sea in his isolated village before moving to the city for secondary school. From the beginning, there is a feeling of family and comfort. The villagers welcome Venice openly and warmly, so that the audience also quickly feels at home.

It is not the plot that is convincing in this film, but the observing. A feeling of summer and lightness arises. For a little over an hour, we escape from everyday city life and end up by the sea. Digging our feet into the sand, going for a swim, basking in the sun, eating Filipino cuisine and feeling the love and respect of our fellow human beings.

But it is not an easy life to depend on fishing, this is also made clear. The seas are almost emptied by commercial fishing and the fishermen have to go further and further out to sea at night, to return with only two fish. Sometimes they don't return at all. To escape this life, the children are sent far away to study.

But although they are heading for a supposedly better life, the question arises as to how much better they will actually have it. From Reyboy's stories, it is clear that many children hardly ever return to the village. Instead, they are constantly among people for whom sharing is not a matter of course. Reyboy himself is astonished when Venice tells him how different life is in the city.

Last Days At Sea tells of partings and new beginnings. About life in nature. Of the friendship between a young woman and a child who could have been siblings. The bond between the two can be felt until the last second, when they leave the island together and go their separate ways.

As the credits roll, I am unexpectedly touched. It is the last film of this year's Berlinale marathon for me and so I perceive the farewell that accompanies the film in a completely different way. It's the perfect finale for the online festival.

09.06.2021, Johanna Gosten

© Photo: Venice Atienza