Impressionen unter Wasser (Underwater Impressions aka Impressions of the deep) is a documentary film released in 2002. It was directed by Leni Riefenstahl

Leni Riefenstahl

Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens , a propaganda film made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party...

.

After the premiere of her film Tiefland

Tiefland (film)

Tiefland is a 1954 film that Leni Riefenstahl scripted, directed, acted in, and edited. It was produced by Leni Riefenstahl and Josef Plesner. It is based on the opera Tiefland and the original play Terra baixa by Àngel Guimerà...

in 1954, for decades it was generally thought this would be Riefenstahl's last film. However, a few days before her 100th birthday, saw the release of Impressionen unter Wasser (45 minutes, with an introduction by Riefenstahl) premiered in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 48 years after Tiefland.

Production history

Impressionen unter Wasser is the final result of 30 years of underwater cinematography. In 1983 she described her intentions for the eventual film; "Underwater films are either scientific, like Jacques Cousteau's, or sensational, like the Hollywood shark films. But there are none like this one we plan."

Segments of her extensive marine footage were first shown to the public in the 1993 documentary, The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl

The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl

The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl is a 1993 German documentary film about the life of German film director Leni Riefenstahl, directed by Ray Müller.-Production background:...

which followed her recent expedition.

Release

Impressionen unter Wasser had its premiere at Delphi am Zoo, Berlin on 14 August 2002, a week before the celebrations for Leni's centenary birthday. It was broadcast the following day on the German Arte

Arte

Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...

channel, together with an interview with Riefenstahl and an airing of the
original 1932 version of Riefenstahl's Das Blaue Licht

Das Blaue Licht

Das Blaue Licht is a black-and-white 1932 film written and directed by Leni Riefenstahl and Béla Balázs, with uncredited scripting by Carl Mayer. In Riefenstahl's film version, the witch, Junta, played by Riefenstahl, is intended to be a sympathetic character...

. It was also featured at the 2003 Maui Independent Film Festival and the 2004 Oporto International Film Festival (Fantasporto). The film was released on DVD in April 2003.

Synopsis

The marine-based documentary was mainly shot around Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

, and is a collection of footage directed by Riefenstahl between the 1970s and 2000. Other film locations included the Maldive Islands the Seychelles

Seychelles

Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....

, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

, Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

, the Cocos Islands (Pacific) and the Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

 (Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

). Riefenstahl dismissed claims that the film was a comeback; "Impressionen Unterwasser certainly isn't a 'comeback'. I was always active and continue to be so. My film shows the beauty of the underwater world. I hope it will touch the viewer's conscience as it illustrates just what the world will lose when nothing is done to stop the destruction of our oceans. I once said that I am fascinated by the beautiful and the living. I seek harmony and, under water, I have found it."

Riefenstahl also contributed an introduction, discussing the work and her marine journeys.

Reception

The film attracted a mixed response from critics. The Tagesspiegel Daily wrote of the candy-coloured images and Riefenstahl's flowing blonde hair; "It's as if a pop artist on LSD painted it". Time Out magazine held a neutral view point, puzzled by the lack of commentary, as is characteristic of Riefenstahl films but was displeased by the Moroder-Walker score. Other critics compared the film to her famous 1938 film Olympia

Olympia (1938 film)

Olympia is a 1938 Nazi propaganda film by Leni Riefenstahl documenting the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. The film was released in two parts: Olympia 1. Teil — Fest der Völker and Olympia 2. Teil — Fest der Schönheit . It was the first documentary feature...

in that it reflects her ultimate pursuit of beauty. Contributing to the book 501 Directors, Dr. Ernest Mathijs, writer and film scholar cited the documentary as-