Review: Reefs of Riches (2006)

Directed by: Peter Hayden, Shinichi Murata | 52 minutes | documentary

“Reefs of Riches” is part four of the nature films “Equator”. This series consists of films about nature on and around the equator. Part four focuses on life near the coral reefs in Indonesia. These reefs are one of the richest in the world. The cause of this is the convergence of different sea currents between the islands of Indonesia.

“Reefs of Riches” shows us the many different animals and plants that live around the coral reefs of Raja Ampat. Raja Ampat is one of the most special corals in the world. We see many brightly colored fish, such as the clownfish, a funny little fish that settles itself in anemones. This clownfish will be known to many today from the movie “Finding Nemo”. It is nice to see how such a fish really lives, you also discover that the filmmakers of “Finding Nemo” have a very good look at the clownfish. However, the clownfish is not the only fish that is featured in the film, as we see meter-long sea snakes, a parrotfish, with a very recognizable beak and seahorses that are no longer than sixteen millimeters. In addition to attention to the fish that live in and around the coral reefs, much attention is paid to the corals themselves. By means of computer animations we get to see how these corals are formed and grow.

The documentary “Reefs of Riches” looks great. It is not without reason that the film has won many awards at various film festivals as part of the “Equator” series. So why doesn’t the film get 4 or 5 stars? When you watch this documentary, you never get the idea that this film is much more special than the many documentaries made about marine life. “Reefs of Riches” is a movie that you could easily have seen on television. The film thus fits perfectly into the picture of a nature documentary and this makes “Reefs of Riches” less spectacular than the film might have been. Even so, “Reefs of Riches” is very worthwhile, because the images are fantastic.