Culture|Television review
In Johanna Nordblad’s world – especially under the surface – it would be more than 40 minutes.
From here things that the most observant readers of Helsingin Sanomat already know have been omitted from the evaluation text, as the aim is to tell about the short documentary Under the ice – a breathtaking dive (2022) respecting the arch and surprises of the story.
Finnish freediver Johanna Nordblad (b. 1975) set the world record for ice long diving in 2015, 50 meters. In 2020, he will start practicing 81-meter diving, which would also break the men’s world record at the time.
Ian Derryn the weakest points of quality control can be found at the beginning. When Nordblad talks about aiming for a record, he is seen under the ice in a wet suit, with a wide Mermaid monopoly on his feet. In these struggles, 81 meters would be no trick for a veteran and nothing.
In fact, Nordblad’s sport is vastly more demanding: he dives in a mere swimsuit and mask, his only performance-enhancing accessory being a neck weight that counteracts the effects of buoyancy.
The first there is also an unnecessary taste in the paper during the minutes when some of Nordblad’s thoughts are heard read on the soundtrack. Luckily, we mostly go in colloquial language, Finnish and English, which folds naturally from both the master diver and his empathetic photographer-big sister. From Elina Manninen.
Of the setbacks on the trip, global ones can be mentioned: climate change is weakening the ice situation in Finland’s lakes, and plans will soon be mixed up with covid-19.
As a whole the rhythm of progress is good, and in the end the tension intensifies, but in the world of Nordblad it would be more pleasant than 40 minutes – especially below the surface.
Many will remember the strong-spirited fiction film about freedivers seeking depth records Big blue (1988), directed by Luc Besson. The freezing realm of Nordblad, where air bubbles accumulate as mirror-like plates on the underside of ice, is in many ways even more fascinating.
In addition, as a former racing swimmer, I would have really enjoyed watching in peace what kind of kicking, pulling and gliding rhythm Nordblad uses. The diving challenge can be summed up like this: if you hurry, you run out of oxygen halfway, but if you don’t move fast enough, you run out of oxygen halfway.
In itself the excruciatingly performed cut breaks the diving into pieces and thus loses the meditation of the poetry and performance of the movement.
However, there is no ambiguity left about the exceptional control of the mind in the coldness that can stop the heart.
Under the ice – a breathtaking dive, Netflix. (K7)
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