Films about freediving, whether documentary or fictional, have proved surprisingly popular with the viewing public in recent years. Netflix has enjoyed some rewarding viewing figures – not to mention a lawsuit.
They tend to have unimaginative names – The Deepest Breath, One Breath, No Limit, Hold Your Breath – so can easily become confused in the memory. But people seem fascinated by aquatic athletes’ single-minded bids to stretch the limits of the human body, while aware that potential tragedy lurks at the end of every downline.
Also read: 20 minutes with the world’s greatest freediver
The latest addition is about to be released on streaming platforms, but it has been much anticipated because it deals with the indisputable current king of the sport, Russian diver Alexey Molchanov.
Where freediving films typically revolve around the attempt to break a world record – and I don’t imagine the typical viewer has cared much whether that is in Variable Weight Bi-Fins or Free Immersion or any other discipline – the twist with this film is that Molchanov is aiming to hold every world depth-record going in the space of a year.
Freedivers and adherents of the sport will be well aware of whether he succeeded in his aim or not, but most viewers won’t, so it’s a nice, neat set-up.
They might not even be aware that Molchanov remains alive and well, but the tragic element is in any case baked in, and no prizes for guessing that that lies in Alexey’s relationship with his phenomenal mother. Natalya Molchanova ruled female freediving until her death in 2015 on what for her should have been a 40m fun dive.
Freediving tends to veer between the practical and the spiritual, and the set-up scene led me to fear that this production might be set on exploring the mysteries of the depths as reflected in the human psyche etc.
Nothing could be further from the truth – this is a cheerfully factual documentary designed to provide an insight into the life of an elite athlete. Molchanov faces not only the physical and mental challenges that come with the sport but also such practicalities as being blocked from performing on the world stage as a Russian because of the country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Freediver does succeed in making its star more accessible. We meet him last year, aged 36, with his head in a tank while a physiologist monitors him. She is cautious and wants him to rest, while he is determined to do more and knows he can use charm and determination to prevail. It’s the day before a record attempt in Bonaire.
We meet his wife Elena: “I’m always terrified,” she says of his job. We learn that he was a swimming prodigy from the age of four. Mother Natalia, who broke 41 world records in her time, had been his coach from the start and their bond ran as deep as it could go.
She and his father had split up long ago – it was that trauma that propelled her into freediving. Father Oleg is present to offer his views.
Alexey, who expresses his desire to perpetuate his mother’s legacy, celebrates his triumphs with cake and ice cream as he travels round the world, demonstrating his superhuman abilities again and again.
At William Trubridge’s Vertical Blue competition in the Bahamas it is the organiser’s own long-protected 102m No-Fins record that is in Molchanov’s sights.
Russian participants had not been welcome the previous year which, it is implied, had personally suited Trubridge, but now Molchanov is being allowed to participate, under a neutral flag – I would have liked to know more about what that meant. It is suggested that he wants revenge.
A dramatic moment related to this later in the film indicates that, even at the height of his powers, the fires that have driven his record-setting could be set to give way to other priorities in life.
As the director and writer Michael John Warren puts it: “The balance between mind, body and Earthly elements is the essence of freediving. Nobody understands this connection better than the experienced freediver. But sometimes, they forget.”
This is a highly accomplished documentary containing underwater footage that is beautifully shot but not allowed to take over from the human observation. With plenty of fascinating historic footage too, it brings Molchanov into sharper focus, while still somehow leaving the impression of a man isolated by his exceptional skills.
I’m sure it doesn’t tell the whole story, and it isn’t a film to shake your world to the core, but Freediver is available now on Prime Video or to buy or rent on digital.
Also on Divernet: NEW ON NETFLIX: THE DEEPEST BREATH, FREEDIVING: NETFLIX EMMY + OLYMPIC FLAME, TOUGH CONDITIONS YIELD WORLD FREEDIVING RECORD, ICE-BREAKERS: FREEDIVING RECORDS TOPPLE, PIPIN V NETFLIX: FREEDIVER’S LAWSUIT THROWN OUT
