The Australian: David Stratton review - 4 out of 5 stars

Australian documentary Blue, by Karina Howard, is an angry protest against the pollution of the world’s oceans and the wanton destruction of marine life.

A half-dozen young people in different parts of the world point the finger at ways in which human activity is killing the planet and its wildlife. Factory fishing; the killing of sharks to fill the demand for shark fin soup; the tonnes of plastic that end up in the oceans and are ingested by seabirds — some shocking scenes here — and by larger fish; turtles dying because they’re caught in nets thrown overboard by illegal fisherman — and so on. Shark expert Valerie Taylor, now in her 80s, appears to make a passionate plea for the marine environment.

One expert believes that: “In my lifetime, half of all marine life has disappeared.”

We’re told 50 per cent of plastic produced is used once and then thrown away and that every piece of plastic produced still exists. Some scientists predict that in two decades there will be more plastic in the world’s seas than there will be fish, and inevitably the plastic finds its way into the food chain. We’re eating it. Can anything be done? Does anyone care? Howard’s angry, challenging film is probably preaching to the converted, but it’s an important reminder of the fragility of our planet’s environment.

Blue (PG)

Four stars

Limited release from Thursday