By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.8 cats
Director: Sally Aitken
Country: australia
Year: 2021
Running time: 95
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11226258/reference
Michael says: “This fascinating Australian documentary illuminated for me that fascinating and inspiring life of Valerie Taylor. Today, Valerie is 85, and she is still fighting battles on behalf of the underwater world, a staunch marine conservationist with a most intriguing background. Born in 1935, Valerie began diving as a teen, and went on to be one of the few women to compete as a spear fisherman. She got to know a lot of male, champion divers and during her time competing, she found herself drawn into larger and more spectacular spear fishing scenarios, which culminated in her killing a shark with her spear. The moment changed her organically into a marine conservationist, a role solidified by the work she did as an underwater photographer with her husband. As one of the world’s foremost experts on sharks, she worked on a couple of ground-breaking films, the first, a 1971 documentary focused on Great White Sharks, BLUE WATER, WHITE DEATH. From there she and her husband found themselves working on Steven Spielberg’s JAWS, the resulting mania around sharks that developed, stunning them both and inspiring them to redouble their efforts to find government protection for these great, majestic beasts that had been maligned by a work of fiction, and had become the victims of a shark-killing mania that swept the seas. Valerie and her husband, being underwater photographers, use themselves as subjects to show the world just how misunderstood sharks were. Valerie, an attractive blonde in a diving suit, is seen on video hand feeding enormous great white sharks, stroking them and petting them on the nose as if they were huge dogs.
“Sally Aitken does a remarkable job giving us such insight into this woman’s life, documenting decades of work in a way that never felt rushed, or incomplete. By focusing on her work with sharks (she had many other underwater passions as well) Sally is able to show both the horror and the glamor the Sally was surrounded by. The underwater footage is jaw-dropping, much of it belonging to the Taylors, some of it shot for this film. PLAYING WITH SHARKS was riveting, and felt very important and educational at the same time. 4.5 cats
Screened at the Provincetown International Film Festival”
Julie responds: “Very well done and fascinating documentary of pioneering scuba diver Valerie Taylor, who has dedicated her life to exposing the myth surrounding our fear of sharks. There is footage spanning many decades plus interviews and current footage of Valerie which makes this a winner. Valerie is just delightful and there is some incredible underwater footage of Valerie and her ‘pet-like’ sharks. Well worth seeing. Valerie be 86 in November and still getting out there! I love this woman! 4.75 cats
“Screened at the Provincetown International Film Festival”
Chris says: “After achieving fame as a champion spearfisher, Australian diver Valerie Taylor and her husband Ron pivoted into making documentaries about sharks, which led to working on the set of JAWS to ultimately becoming conservationists, striving to change public perception of these creatures, of whom only a small percentage of breeds are actually dangerous to humans. Now in her 80s and with Ron recently deceased, Taylor remains active and passionate in her advocacy. Beautifully shot and conceived, this documentary is an expansive overview. Taylor has a compelling presence (Jacki Weaver could easily play her in her later years in a biopic) and it’s a thrill to see her in footage going back six decades, herself going to where few people would tread in order to understand an animal that in much of pop culture has something of a bad rap. 4 cats
“Screened at the Provincetown International Film Festival”
Beth C. says: “Directed by Sally Aitken, this documentary film shows the life’s work of scuba diver Valerie Taylor, who loved sharks. She was initially involved in shark killing expeditions, but came to love the animals and rejected the socially driven fear of sharks. She then became one of the world’s greatest marine life photographers. Excellent content about an interesting person. The film was not well made, however. It was unfortunately a fairly low-level amateurish documentary, in terms of direction. 2 cats
“Screened at the Provincetown International Film Festival”