Ishavsblod - De siste selfangerne (2016)

	Also Known As: Sealers - One last hunt, Die leztzen Robbenjäger
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Trude Berge Ottersen, Gry Elisabeth Mortensen
	Actors: -
	Country: N
	Genre: Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 01.11.2017, CineStar6, NFDL2017, Norvegian with English subtitle
Synopsis: Hunting harp seals is a centuries-old tradition in Norway. In some families, generations of men have taken to the seas between Greenland and Iceland, where the animals, prized for their skins, gather on the ice. But seal hunting has long since fallen into disrepute. Public outrage, an EU ban on trade in seal products, and the withdrawal of state subsidies spelled the end. One hundred years ago, 200 ships regularly set out on the hunt; today only one remains. Rough and ready captain Bjørne won’t give up. Along with his first officer Espen, he hired a crew.
Review: I was curious to see this type of hunter, especially because they have been bullied internationally by many NGOs. On the ship there is a lot of craft work of all kinds, shoot the seal, run on the ice-shelves to get the seal, separate the fur from the meat, clean the tools, clean the ship. Even if it is not popular, traditions are part of a culture. And the hunters we see are very respectful of the animals and of the nature in general. Now there is no need to hunt seal to survive and by luck the fur is no more trendy in the western fashion. Tradition. The people in the harbours of Norway really buy and eat the seal meat. And the hunters use everything from the seal as well. Seeing hunting like in the forests of Western Europe as a mean to regulate the animal populations is not really what happens in this journey. It is rather an adventure including sailing in extreme conditions and seeing amazing landscapes of ice-shelves on the Atlantic Ocean. Rather than greed to kill there is a contemplation of nature and proud of being one of the few seeing these landscapes. The image often applied a tunnel effect to give the focus on something, especially at the beginning when we see the preparation, the departure and the first ice, the landscapes are astonishing and the image harp only on few percent of it. This disappointed me as I did not understood why to give this kind of focus.But the rest of the images are so amazing! Ice shelves moving with the waves give the impression that the Earth is shaking and ... wow!  The people working on the ship have this nice roughness of the sailor, the immense respect and few words of the Scandinavian and transmit this authenticity.  Finally the movie happens to act as a good advertisement for the sustainable seal hunting. I do not know whether the goal was this or just to present the journey. In any case, the tradition of seal hunting in these very nordic regions deserve attention like other traditions. I like the movie because it questioned the stereotypes (that I had) about the greedy seal hunter.
Rating: 6 /10