Jago: A life underwater is a mesmeric journey into the world of Rohani, an 80-year-old Indonesian Bajau man who still lives his life spearfishing while freediving to astounding depths. Armed with nothing but his spear gun and a pair of goggles, Rohani dives to depths of up to 36.5 metres or 120 feet on a single breath. He hunts through corral cauldrons, running on the seabed in the darkened depths amongst the spirits of the sea.
One day when I was just six years old. I went out playing beyond the graveyard. I remember seeing someone at the bottom of the sea. He was looking for something. Where did he come from? I didnβt get a chance to see. I just watched from a distance. But I couldnβt go there. I didnβt know how. It was too far. I couldnβt reach there.
They may appear as men, seeking fish with their spears. But they are spirits. Spirits of the sea.
In my heart I knew, I must go to the bottom of the sea.
They gave me the name Jago
The documentary has a minimalistic and haunting feel to it! As Rohani recounts his life story in simple terms, he explains that after diving to 20 fathoms his tribe gave him a new name, βthey call him Jago, the masterβ he explains. As we move on through the landscapes of the tropical seas, we see why he earned his name.
The cinematography in this documentary is truly stunning! We follow the story of Jago, in three stages of life with the help of the Bajau people. The children freediving at the beginning fulfil the role of his childhood persona. The footage of Bajau children playing in the coral gardens is both amazing and endearing. No more than 6 years old, the tribesβ children play chase around the barrel corral, exploring the nooks and crannies of the reef. One particular boy plays Jago, and as the old man narrates, he dives in the shallower depths, greeting the clownfish and tailing the shoals of batfish through the turquoise-shaded shallows.
As the story moves on we see a new character in that of a young tribeβs man. Again the camera work is out of this world as we see a fully accomplished Bajau spear fisherman leaping from corral spire to shell shorn sand before he dives to the darkened depths and runs along the seafloor. The sequence is all darting movement and sleek power, a dance between the currents pull and the hunter's movement, while the old man explains in simple terms the joy of such pure mastery.
As the documentary draws to a close Jago explains his mistake in life, of working on a Japanese trawler. He believes that he made the spirits of the sea angry by taking so much without respecting their world. We see nets tearing up the corral on the reefs and the emotion in Rohaniβs eyes is heartbreaking as he describes the death of his only son, who he believes the spirits took for his mistakes.
I donβt mind admitting that this brought a tear to my eye and the documentary as a whole engendered these kinds of feelings in me. Itβs hard to describe; a kind of sad yearning, an exquisite yet painful joy at the life of this man. His triumphs, tribulations and depths of despair are completely apparent through his the expressions on his face. The pathos is tangible and bittersweet.
Finally, the narrator gets up from his seat. The 80-year-old Rohani calmly picks up his spear, climbs lithely down from his hut and into his boat. Everything he does is in a slow deliberation, as a habit long formed. He pushes off and we see him paddle slowly out to sea. Now, this is where I expected it to fade out! The music continues as Jago/Rohani stops the boat, takes 4 deep breaths and plunges beneath the waves.
The following sequence is nothing short of jaw-dropping. As an avid scuba diver and an occasional (and not very effective) freediver I was astounded at the sight of an 80-year-old man moving beneath the waves with such grace and ease. Again the camera work shows how at home Jago is in the coral groves, slow but deliberate he stalks his prey until we finally see his ultimate cause realized. The pivotal moment in the razor focus of a true hunter, a man with ultimate respect for his quarry, the spear lances a large yellowtail snapper and he pulls it in from the depths.
As the music diminishes he speaks one final time!
They gave me the name Jago
My name is Rohani
A man of the sea
If you have Netflix I would highly recommend watching this wonderful documentary. Even if youβre not a marine nut like me, you will surely be astounded and mesmerized by the multi-coloured underwater world. Thank you for reading this Scuba Scribe review.
I'm looking for this documentary in Spanish and I can not find it. He is a super human that sr. good job big brother.
Hi buddy @marsella-2017 have you tried the subtitles section? Look at the screenshot picture below to find the part for subtiltes
I can not watch the documentary because I do not have netflix, I can not rent netflix because you remember that the government in Venezuela banned foreign currencies.
I do not have how to join an account.
So cool
Thanks @trixietalks I'm glad you enjoyed it π
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Yes mate, It is completely kid friendly and honestly one of the most beautiful documentaries I've seen in a while. Perfect for watching on the couch with the family. I'm a pretty new age guy, in touch with my feelings and all that jazz but beyond the emotional aspect it is just stunning camera work. Stop motion, freeze frame, HD underwater wonder @buttcoins. π
This post has received gratitude of 6.33 % from @appreciator thanks to: @raj808.
Just by watching him on these photos he is giving an impression of so powerful man... He found his real self under the sea...
Absolutely @kriptonoob. Some people might watch this documentary and be thinking, what is this Scuba Scribe fella talking about its just pretty pictures. But for me I completely relate to this fella, I'm so into my scuba diving that I would gladly swap my life for his, in a heartbeat. It's a great watch, even if your not that into underwater things. Cheers for stopping by buddy π
My brother is big time scuba and breath diver whole his life... I was always the one that was staying on the boat and drinking something :) The Adriatic Sea has really great places to take a dive and maybe catch some nice fish for dinner so if you find yourself in the neighborhood let me know to show you some magic under sea places...
I fir sure will be watching this
Good stuff @tattoodjay, it is an absolute belter of a documentary. The way it is narrated is really simple and crisp as it's in the words of Jago, but the filmography which accompanies his words, well it blew me away. Thanks for your visit and comment, I'm glad you enjoyed the review and it inspired you to check out the documentary π
Have it added to my watch list so thanks again
wow this is so cool., thanks for sharing..
Your most welcome @g10a, I just listened to your open mic entry and upvoted it. I play guitar to but I don't sing so well, keep on strumming my friend π I'm glad you enjoyed the review Jago - A Life Underwater is the thing I most enjoyed watching all this week π π
great article
Thanks a lot @vijaynag6. I am glad you enjoyed the review π
Nice post buddy.
Thanks a lot @amarbir. I am glad you enjoyed the review π
The topic and images are attention grabbing to anyone who loves the sea. Then your review brings it all to life. Thanks for the good read and Netflix recommendation to begin my day. :)
Thanks @inalittlewhile, I tried to paint a picture with my words without giving too much away. I'm glad I inspired you to watch Jago, when you see it you'll realize how little my words do it justice. I love anything to do with the sea and diving in general. Thanks for your visit, I have checked out your page and followed you π
Thanks @raj808. I hit the follow button too. :)
lovely story @raj808. Underwater is a whole different wonderful world!
Many thanks @claudiaz, this is what I aim for with all of my scuba scribe posts - to give people a glimpse into the underwater world I love so much. I'm glad you enjoyed the review and the documentary πππ
thanks for sharing, I love it too, have only done snorkeling in Mexico but that in itself was astounding!
Yeah! I wrote a post about snorkeling with whale sharks in Mexico a week or 10 days ago I think. It included a video of the experience. I was travelling the Yucatan peninsula, backpacking and went scuba diving in Cozumel also. Loved Mexico :)
me too, saw baracuda, that was scary! I will go back there one, Cozumel is stunning!
What a wonderful review. I will find it on Netflix. I love nothing more than being at the bottom of the sea!
#steemitbloggers
Hi @melinda010100, I am a scuba diving enthusiast and run a channel on steemit.chat called #scubadiving come and check it out if you'd like. I'm not sure if you meant that you also dive but I thought i'd let you know in case you do. It is a place to chat scuba, promote scuba/marine life related posts and network. The room is relatively new and quiet but I am hoping this will change as more of the steemit community who are interested in diving and marine conservation etc join in. In the mean time it is a good place to drop scuba related posts for a few extra upvotes π ππ
I did do some diving in the distant past and love that I was able to dive in Bonaire and see the beauty of the reef and all of the sea life. Health concerns keep me close to home these days, but I love the wonderful memories! Good luck gathering divers on your channel! I'll resteemed your post!
Fantastic... am in total awe of this man and the lives of people who can perform such feats. Also such a great and profound respect for the ocean and the aquatic life. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks @drwillwho, yes you are so right. It struck me as well the level of respect and understanding for the ocean that Ruhani/Jago has is profound. With the bleaching of coral world wide this is a world that many in the future may not see if things continue as they are, which is a tragedy IMO. This is why I scuba dive as much as I can before it potentially disappears. I would truly love to still be diving when I am 80 years old but I just can't see it. Anyway, rant over lol I I'm glad you enjoyed the review and the documentary πππ
Letβs go swimming! Great post Rowan... one of my favourite. As a keen swimmer it pulls at me and calls me to a poolside.
Thanks @jayiddon. Next time I'm over we should definitely take the boys swimming!
I'm an underwater activist! Give me a follow :) I love your post here about your underwater journeying. Keep it comin'!
Hi @ πunderwaterwoman. I just had a quick look at your profile and left a rather long message on your intro post. Welcome to steemit. I also wanted to let you know that I have created a chat room (on steemit.chat) #scubadiving for scuba diving and all associated subjects, free diving, snorkeling, marine conservation etc. It is still a little quiet as it's early days but there are a few members and it is a good place to drop diving/ocean/marine life posts for promotion or to talk diving. π I also write scuba dive reports and poems under a series name of Scuba Scribe if you wanna give them a look on my wall. I have followed you and will be looking out for your marine conservation art/photography/videos as I love anything to do with diving and the underwater world. π π‘
Awesome! Thank you so much and I'm glad we're connected now :) I'll give Scuba Scribe and the chat room a look for sure. Cheers!