"Die Nordsee - Unser Meer" or just "Dir Nordsee" or "Secrets of the North Sea" is a German documentary about the North Sea from 2013, so this one has its 7th anniversary this year and I was lucky enough to catch it on television yesterday again. Back then, it had a theatrical release and I remember seeing it too when it hit theaters here so many years ago and I really liked it back then and I would almost say that I liked it even more on rewatch. It did not get any worse on the small screen and I hope it will be shown many times again. The long German title is a bit misleading honestly because the longer the film goes, the more and more you will find out that the North Sea is linked to many other countries where it is close to really stunning nature landscapes. The best example is of course up there Greenland and also Scotland looks very beautiful. There are several others. Scotland I just managed to keep in mind because we see this beautiful cattle there, Scottish Highland Cows or something, and there is a small one that is too cute to be true and the grown-ups are pretty amazing as well. Anyway, first things first: There are no less than 13 directors here apparently, which makes sense because every one of them probably had one specific location where he was filming. So it is a collection of many snippets and while each snippet works convincingly on its own, the film never feels as if these parts do not fit together. So also really nice job in terms of writing and editing, even if it definitely helped that the landscapes were just mesmerizing, no matter where exactly whey were. The writer is Jörn Röver and his experience here clearly shows. Not necessarily as a writer because apparently (according to imdb), this is just his third (and most recent) writing credit. However, he worked on so many (nature) documentaries as a producer that luckily his experience is really of great use for this film here.
The narrator is Axel Prahl and many here in German will knows him mostly from Tatort, a series that I am not a big fan of, but he is decent there too (unlike Liefers, who is cringeworthy as always). Anyway, Prahl may be an actor who does not have the greatest range and versatility, but he always manages to stay memorable thanks to his recognition value and gruff charm and I would not disagree when somebody says he plays the exact same character in almost every film he is in. But it's working for him as has a career of many decades and also starred in many theatrical releases, so good for him. Also it works for this film as well. It works especially well here and Prahl's origin definitely helps the cause. The photo here on imdb is also really accurate. We find a bit out about the water (in the sense of underwater footage and the final moments when we see how wild the sea can be), we find a bit out about the land (that you see in the background) and we find out a lot about the animals, which is always the highlight for me of course. There were many beautiful scenes in here. Also some that really weren't too easy to catch on camera. We see two rivals fight until there is a lot of blood, but luckily it looks much more serious than it actually is. We see penguins in the water and Prahl is right, they really do look as if they are flying underwater. We see one animal giving birth and this was a really beautiful moment. I mean maybe not the act itself, but the idea behind it. It is also a really informative movie. The thing I remember best here is that one special shark species has a parasite in their eye, which makes them pretty much blind. It's alright though, they don't need eyesight. It also shows how much these animals are in their element. Men would have gone extinct a long time ago. But back to this film, back to sharks especially: I must say I was genuinely surprised how many different sharks are there in the North Sea, even if you will almost never find them close to the shores, especially not in areas where people are swimming on a regular basis.
I think the mix of what Prahl said and how he said it was really really nice here. Frequently very entertaining, and when it was not entertaining, then it as very effective. It's always just one or two sentences he says and then there is a long break and I liekd that a lot. I don't need a narrator who keeps talking and talking and talking and tries to get so many information in that you forget them immediately anyway, especially if the narrator's voice is reather monotonous, which is sadly frequently the case. I am generally not one who needs big famous actors to narrate, like with all these IMAX documentaries that have Streep, Depp, Winslet, DiCaprio narrate. However, if the outcome is the way it is here with Prahl, then I am all for it because obviously he is no global superstar, but in Germany almost everybody knows him. They can simply get a nice voice actor that nobody knows as well for all I care, but here I definitely support the inclusion of Prahl, not only because where he originates from. I would say he is definitely a better voice actor than actor. No offense to his range though. I like him. I was still a bit surprised about the sequence at the very end when we see (and hear, of course) him sing a little famous song and what that was all about. I mean everybody recognized his voice anyway during the narration right? So no need to also visually show us it was him. But this was just a minor thingey that confused me and I certainly hope that his words are not a lie that he will be back for more documentary narration in the future. Okay, what else can I say about this one? It runs for 1.5 hours, perfect duration really, even if I would have loved to watch at least another half hour, maybe more. The production values were just high enough for that. There were moments I was tempted to give this movie even a perfect 5 stars out of 5, but not yet. Maybe if I ever watch it again. I also liked that the film really relied on the beauty and positivity this region has to offer and did not try to make a political statement. I think Prahl mentions climate change or global warming just once and he does not go into detail and that is the perfect approach. The beauty depicted in this film speaks for itself and everybody (with a heart) who watches it knows that it needs to be preserved. No need to shove that message into our face. Aside from that, it also would not have fit if this all of a sudden would have turned into a lesson or so. Instead, it stays simple yet effective and lets the images speak for themselves. This is a watch for all ages. The 9-year-olds and the 99-year-olds and everybody in-between. A prime example on how to make a nature documentary that many can learn from and especially (nature) documentary filmmakers should see it and like I said earlier with the animal fighting scene and all the blood, they still make sure that it is not too serious, so kids can also watch and enjoy it. A bit disappointing for me that still not too many have watched it looking at the number of ratings here, but it is definitely their loss. Don't miss out. The rating here on imdb is too and it also should have received much more awards recognition than just the one lousy nomination it got for its score. Still the fact that there is an English title gives me some hope that maybe people abroad can also get access to it. I mean even Scotland is depicted in here. Why should Brits not watch it. Everybody should! Even Americans. I just hope they get a decent narrator at least half as good as Prahl. (His name is really a fact here. He has all the right to show off with his work here.) Otherwise, just mute the sound and enjoy the amazing recordings this one has to offer. Highly, highly recommended. Most likely my favorite documentary from 2013 and one of the very best too from the entire decade, maybe even there number 1 as well.
The narrator is Axel Prahl and many here in German will knows him mostly from Tatort, a series that I am not a big fan of, but he is decent there too (unlike Liefers, who is cringeworthy as always). Anyway, Prahl may be an actor who does not have the greatest range and versatility, but he always manages to stay memorable thanks to his recognition value and gruff charm and I would not disagree when somebody says he plays the exact same character in almost every film he is in. But it's working for him as has a career of many decades and also starred in many theatrical releases, so good for him. Also it works for this film as well. It works especially well here and Prahl's origin definitely helps the cause. The photo here on imdb is also really accurate. We find a bit out about the water (in the sense of underwater footage and the final moments when we see how wild the sea can be), we find a bit out about the land (that you see in the background) and we find out a lot about the animals, which is always the highlight for me of course. There were many beautiful scenes in here. Also some that really weren't too easy to catch on camera. We see two rivals fight until there is a lot of blood, but luckily it looks much more serious than it actually is. We see penguins in the water and Prahl is right, they really do look as if they are flying underwater. We see one animal giving birth and this was a really beautiful moment. I mean maybe not the act itself, but the idea behind it. It is also a really informative movie. The thing I remember best here is that one special shark species has a parasite in their eye, which makes them pretty much blind. It's alright though, they don't need eyesight. It also shows how much these animals are in their element. Men would have gone extinct a long time ago. But back to this film, back to sharks especially: I must say I was genuinely surprised how many different sharks are there in the North Sea, even if you will almost never find them close to the shores, especially not in areas where people are swimming on a regular basis.
I think the mix of what Prahl said and how he said it was really really nice here. Frequently very entertaining, and when it was not entertaining, then it as very effective. It's always just one or two sentences he says and then there is a long break and I liekd that a lot. I don't need a narrator who keeps talking and talking and talking and tries to get so many information in that you forget them immediately anyway, especially if the narrator's voice is reather monotonous, which is sadly frequently the case. I am generally not one who needs big famous actors to narrate, like with all these IMAX documentaries that have Streep, Depp, Winslet, DiCaprio narrate. However, if the outcome is the way it is here with Prahl, then I am all for it because obviously he is no global superstar, but in Germany almost everybody knows him. They can simply get a nice voice actor that nobody knows as well for all I care, but here I definitely support the inclusion of Prahl, not only because where he originates from. I would say he is definitely a better voice actor than actor. No offense to his range though. I like him. I was still a bit surprised about the sequence at the very end when we see (and hear, of course) him sing a little famous song and what that was all about. I mean everybody recognized his voice anyway during the narration right? So no need to also visually show us it was him. But this was just a minor thingey that confused me and I certainly hope that his words are not a lie that he will be back for more documentary narration in the future. Okay, what else can I say about this one? It runs for 1.5 hours, perfect duration really, even if I would have loved to watch at least another half hour, maybe more. The production values were just high enough for that. There were moments I was tempted to give this movie even a perfect 5 stars out of 5, but not yet. Maybe if I ever watch it again. I also liked that the film really relied on the beauty and positivity this region has to offer and did not try to make a political statement. I think Prahl mentions climate change or global warming just once and he does not go into detail and that is the perfect approach. The beauty depicted in this film speaks for itself and everybody (with a heart) who watches it knows that it needs to be preserved. No need to shove that message into our face. Aside from that, it also would not have fit if this all of a sudden would have turned into a lesson or so. Instead, it stays simple yet effective and lets the images speak for themselves. This is a watch for all ages. The 9-year-olds and the 99-year-olds and everybody in-between. A prime example on how to make a nature documentary that many can learn from and especially (nature) documentary filmmakers should see it and like I said earlier with the animal fighting scene and all the blood, they still make sure that it is not too serious, so kids can also watch and enjoy it. A bit disappointing for me that still not too many have watched it looking at the number of ratings here, but it is definitely their loss. Don't miss out. The rating here on imdb is too and it also should have received much more awards recognition than just the one lousy nomination it got for its score. Still the fact that there is an English title gives me some hope that maybe people abroad can also get access to it. I mean even Scotland is depicted in here. Why should Brits not watch it. Everybody should! Even Americans. I just hope they get a decent narrator at least half as good as Prahl. (His name is really a fact here. He has all the right to show off with his work here.) Otherwise, just mute the sound and enjoy the amazing recordings this one has to offer. Highly, highly recommended. Most likely my favorite documentary from 2013 and one of the very best too from the entire decade, maybe even there number 1 as well.
