Turtle - The Movie

As you know, its been a slow turtle nesting season down here in our neck of the beach.  We had one nest, which although it was predated, produced 97 live hatchlings.  The walks still continue, but truthfully none of us really expect any more crawls or nests; although we'll keep our fingers crossed til the last day of nesting season.

Today we went to see a movie at the lovely Tropic Theatre in Key West, called "Turtle, The Incredible Journey."  The story traces the life of a female loggerhead from hatchling to full grown adult.  The cinematography was truly breathtaking. There's some animatronics in the movie, but you'd never know that unless you're told ahead of time.  Whatever portions they animated were seamlessly blended with the actual footage, it was gorgeous.

As I munched on my popcorn (seasoned with Spike and nutritional yeast, hooray for the Tropic snack bar!) eyes fixated on the screen, I kept thinking over and over of the saga of so many turtles that begins on the beach where I live.  I watched the tiny loggerheads spring forth from the sand (although the movie showed this happening in daytime it really almost always occurs at night, one of the only things I found kind of inaccurate) I was on the edge of my seat.  There they were, showing the reality of the plight of the turtle.  She entered the world, had to get to sea, but between her sea and the sand were predators like ghost crabs and birds.  Then when she got to sea, they showed how the hatchlings can end up as "washbacks" still at the mercy of the predators.  All through the movie, they touched on real life for the turtle.  The beauty of the sea they inhabit, along with the mayhem that humankind brings to it with issues like pollution, contamination, overfishing and more.  They also showed an act of mercy and kindness (although it had to do with long lining, which should be banned).

By the end of the movie, I found myself crying as the turtle hauled out of the sea to the beach she was born on, wanting to lay eggs, only to find a vastly different land, one full of shoreline hardening and light filled condos and offices beaming forth their "artificial stars."

Despite all the obstacles, the message of this movie remains one of hope for the turtles.  Can't argue with that.

I read some reviewers felt the musical score is overly dramatic, and the narration at times the same.  The reviewers obviously have never been to a nest excavation, seen a turtle lay her eggs, or found themselves involved in a sea turtle rescue.  For, if they had done any of those things, they would have thought that the movie is very pointed in the realities of the plight of the turtle.

If you get a chance, go see "Turtle, The Incredible Journey."  It was a great way to spend a slice of my afternoon.