If you don't know anything about this story, one that has failed to be made as a feature but now does get told through a feature length documentary--though one that uses recreated material almost more than real material recorded during the real events. The story is interesting and as one written account of the events explained well, this story almost doesn't sense unless you believe in ghost stories. And this film isn't interested in telling and showing the more ghostly elements and that's a failing as what's left is more routine and at a distance.

The trouble is if you search around on line a bit you'll find more complete versions of this story told in less time, both in print versions and an early shorter video version. Some of the unpleasant details need to be included and are left out here. They spend a bit too much time with pretty shots and recreation/reenactments of minor details while leaving out some admittedly horrible details that explain and give the true story real punch in it's critical moments.

The filmmakers want to respect the privacy of the tragedy, perhaps because they interview the real life people as part of the film, but this leaves out the drama in favor of a safe distance approach to these people's feelings. It doesn't challenge the people about if there is a legitimate reason the story happened at all.

There is a real question as to if Dave's quest was more to prove something to himself or really just give himself a bigger thrill, to find more worlds to conquer than it was some humanitarian effort. In bits filmed at the time Dave is shown being just a bit self aware and what soon proved to be overconfident in his own abilities. For one thing he doesn't really seem to be in very good physical shape.

Dave wore a camera on his head and eventually the film is building towards showing that point of view footage to explain and experience what his friend don says is in part a Snuff film. They end up showing so little of this footage that you are never really in Dave's shoes, Dave is trying to recover and body and the filmmakers seem intent on not showing you that body so only the murkiest parts are even shown and with very little explanation as to what's happening. Again others have done a much better job of handling the graphic and explanatory elements of Dave's mistakes and end, so it's not like an impossible task, just one this film fails to do well.

The film doesn't really come out with an answer if all this was worth it, though it suggests fairly successfully that diving is in a sense it's own reward, but in this case it's the survivors who really pay the price for that.

The center of this film is really Dave's friend Don and on that level it is at it's best.

Spoiler alert: don't read the title.

The life of scuba divers in search of depth seems more like a death wish. So why the hell tempt fate for what appears to be very little reward? That question is never really answered, yet we are introduced to several characters who unflinchingly espouse their devotion and unwavering dedication to the activity.

Boesmansgat is a deepwater submerged fresh water cave that punctures the South African Kalahari Desert. It is the monster's mouth that invites intrepid divers to test their mettle. It is where records are set. It is where people die. In 1994 twenty year old Deon Dryer perished there. A decade later Dave Shaw discovered the body at 270m. Shortly after, he enlisted friend and fellow diver Don Shirley for a recovery mission. This is the story of Deon, Dave and Don. You can't write this stuff.

As documentaries go, revealing a large part of the mystery from the get go is unusual practice, but here it works. Splicing original footage of the recovery dive, with re-enactments, director John Malak avoids the creepy sensationalism television favours, unfolding the story in a tense, beautiful and technical manner befitting the subject matter. The intricate preparation, endless logistical details and a spider web of planning is extraordinary, but when things go wrong, it is the in situ reaction of the team that ramps up the drama.

Diving down is easy, coming back up is not. Same with this movie.

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The film is interesting primarily in the first half, for getting to know, cursorily, the people and, mainly, this kind of diving. The latter part of the film, the dive itself, elevates Don, a principal driver behind the film, and also reveals just how poorly the project had actually been prepared.

Dave, ostensibly the main focus, us quickly if temporarily dismissed. Don's rescue effort of Dave is terminated with a simple comment that a "critical piece of equipment" (strapped to his wrist) "cracked under pressure" (water pressure at depth),and there's is NEVER any further explanation about how or why this was so critical, or why there was no backup, whether or not this equipment had been tested by the team or was known (was this failure shockingly unexpected?). There are several instances when processes and events could have gone better (safer) if divers & equipment had been tethered to the main line. Apparently, Dave's death is at least in part because a usual action was impeded by the wearing of a camera and helmet which he usually did NOT wear, but again, practice (rehearsal) could have revealed this danger.

Overall, though sympathetic and dramatic, and week made, the film ultimately shows how badly this project was planned, executed and managed.

It's inexcusable - and never explained - how the film from Dave's camera was leaked to the press - for an 'exclusive' - and how the press knew before members of the dive team had been notified. The leaks had to happen VERY fast, and it bears considering who would benefit from such publicity. To me, it's important who didn't participate in this part of the film, in addition to his it was just skimmed over.

It's worth viewing, but I encourage you to consider afterward what was not included, who funded this film (and the dives),who profited from the film (maybe no one; I don't know); the absence of complete review of the dive & what went wrong - how could bad outcome have been prevented; who was accountable, including Dave's motivations AND the parents of the person whose body Dave was trying to recover. Why was this SO important to risk lives of 6 or 8, or so, other divers, and involved so many other support people, resources, etc. These things are not explored, thus, despite protestations made in the film, this IS about casting these people in roles of some degree of heroism.

But, heroism doesn't really reside here. As in so many other 'passions' on many contexts, these activities (ultra deep diving) is selfish - self-directed, not in service of others or the larger good. I say this as a climber, knowing & fully acknowledging that it, too, is a selfish pursuit. So, my perspective is informed by experience in other contexts, of many other people who try to build heroic narratives that ultimately fail under the burden of reasonable skepticism that asks for clarity and completeness.

See https://youtu.be/X-6HeB1olp8 for some very helpful missing information, though I certainly don't agree that the original recovery effort of the diver long since memorialized was "noble". It was, in fact, a vainglorious waste. The number of people who could have said 'no', including the parents, is shocking. I'm sure several people who were solicited did decline - and probably counseled against the project - but we certainly don't hear anything about them.