This is a film that will hold you enthralled even though it involves only two characters over the course of one year. Craig Foster has left his stressful job and returned to a place of his childhood by the sea to recover. Like a contemplative with prayer, he learnt how to hold his breath for long periods and so can spend more time in the kelp forest under water. There he meets an octopus and she reveals how beautiful and intelligent she is. The photography is exquisite and the sound track gently unobtrusive. Remarkably, there is no evidence of litter or plastic but this world is not without its predatorial dangers. Craig tells the story of his friendship with the octopus quietly in his own words. In growing intimacy with the world of the octopus he becomes, it seems to me, a mystic of the natural world, immersed body and soul with that environment and all its creatures. This encounter also changes his relationship with his son. After meeting his underwater friend, I will not look at a baby octopus or squid dish in the same way again. You can watch this film now on Netflix.

Iain Radvan sj