Film ReviewsThe Breach: salmon the soul food
Feb 13, 2015 Anchorage Press
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Mark Titus grew up obsessed with fishing, for salmon in particular. The Breach, a documentary film, tells the story of Titus as he learns the history and precarious state of salmon populations in the world. Titus, a fishing guide and also the writer and director of The Breach, demonstrates a passion for the future of salmon and works with a skilled team to show the beautiful and important role that salmon play in the sustainability of the planet, in particular, the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
The documentary has a poetic element about it as it uses the anthropomorphized voice of Salmon (in a collective and timeless sense) to set up the idea that there is a contract between nature and human beings. The contract consists of taking care of the environment so that the salmon can thrive and subsequently serve as a food source for mankind and the approximate 136 other living organism that depend on it, from animals to trees and plants. The breach of contract is demonstrated by the history of salmon in parts of the world to which salmon have ceased to return because of over fishing, river obstructions, pollution and other industry related impacts.
The Breach takes a three-prong approach to storytelling. The first part familiarizes viewers with Titus and his life experience fishing and learning about salmon. The second gives viewers a brief history of the salmon populations across the world, in particular the impact of dams in the Pacific Northwest and to the Elhwa people, their livelihood and culture. The final part of the documentary focuses on Alaska, and quickly goes from the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska to Bristol Bay and the struggle against Pebble Mine.
The Breach does a great job of including community and Alaska Native people who live in the region in order to inform viewers of the breadth of significance and the importance salmon has for Bristol Bay and the ecosystem. The struggle against the mine is front and center. Unfortunately, the entities supporting Pebble Mine chose not to participate in the documentary, so they are mostly represented through secondary sources, making the contents of the documentary lean towards an anti-mine stance. However, despite the lack of direct input from Pebble Mine representatives, Titus and his team do a good job at showing the complexities that communities and voters have to undergo to understand the impacts of resource development from the local to the federal levels. The Breach offers Alaskan viewers an opportunity to learn and to appreciate the red gold in their back yard.
The Breach will screen at the Bear Tooth on Thurs., Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. A Q&A with filmmaker Mark Titus will follow.
The documentary has a poetic element about it as it uses the anthropomorphized voice of Salmon (in a collective and timeless sense) to set up the idea that there is a contract between nature and human beings. The contract consists of taking care of the environment so that the salmon can thrive and subsequently serve as a food source for mankind and the approximate 136 other living organism that depend on it, from animals to trees and plants. The breach of contract is demonstrated by the history of salmon in parts of the world to which salmon have ceased to return because of over fishing, river obstructions, pollution and other industry related impacts.
The Breach takes a three-prong approach to storytelling. The first part familiarizes viewers with Titus and his life experience fishing and learning about salmon. The second gives viewers a brief history of the salmon populations across the world, in particular the impact of dams in the Pacific Northwest and to the Elhwa people, their livelihood and culture. The final part of the documentary focuses on Alaska, and quickly goes from the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska to Bristol Bay and the struggle against Pebble Mine.
The Breach does a great job of including community and Alaska Native people who live in the region in order to inform viewers of the breadth of significance and the importance salmon has for Bristol Bay and the ecosystem. The struggle against the mine is front and center. Unfortunately, the entities supporting Pebble Mine chose not to participate in the documentary, so they are mostly represented through secondary sources, making the contents of the documentary lean towards an anti-mine stance. However, despite the lack of direct input from Pebble Mine representatives, Titus and his team do a good job at showing the complexities that communities and voters have to undergo to understand the impacts of resource development from the local to the federal levels. The Breach offers Alaskan viewers an opportunity to learn and to appreciate the red gold in their back yard.
The Breach will screen at the Bear Tooth on Thurs., Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. A Q&A with filmmaker Mark Titus will follow.