Beyond life and death

Documentary about spear fishing in Indonesia

Lembata Island, Indonesia. This is where the last spear fishermen of large cetaceans live. Each morning, after a prayer in the beach chapel, these men set out in wooden boats, with a disregard towards danger that is equal to the value of their own lives. The harpoons tied to bamboo poles and thrown with the strength of the arms are the only resource available and, when necessary, the sailors jump into the sea to finish the prey by sinking the long knives into the flesh, before the animal descends into the depths of the sea and flees permanently in its natural environment. The battle is never unequal in the intense blue of the ocean that is tinged with blood; sacrifice and death are not always pointless. It is not a fight against nature for the mere taste of hunting, but a fight in nature where men are in conflict with animals in order to procure food for their own survival. Then on the beach, the catch of the day will be divided equally among the families of each crew.