The Netherlands under water (2022)

Directed by: Arthur de Bruin | 60 minutes | documentary | Original voice cast: Gijs Scholten van Aschat

‘The Netherlands under water’ is a film that would have been difficult to realize thirty years ago. At that time, a large part of our waterways was still polluted, turbid, desolate and species-poor. Fortunately, water quality has changed a lot for the better. And with the disappearance of many chemical and toxic substances, life also returned in many Dutch rivers, streams and pools.

‘The Netherlands under water’ is a rich and versatile portrait of our Dutch underwater nature. Director Arthur de Bruin spent many hours on, in and under the water to capture the most beautiful natural stories and scenes on film. The result is certain. The film opens with the journey of a young eel that glides elegantly through the pitch-dark water like a silver, almost transparent bolt. The fish is nearing the end of an epic journey that began in the Sargasso Sea (the place where eels instinctively migrate to spawn) and flows into the Dutch freshwaterways. This is where the eel matures before moving back to the west of the Atlantic in a few years’ time. But to reach our rivers, eels first have to overcome a few more barriers: our flood defenses. Fortunately, in more and more places there are special fish passages for the increasingly rare animals.

The journey of the eel is the prelude to a visually appealing cross-section of Dutch underwater nature. We’re introduced to some of our finest and most unusual freshwater fish, from big boys like the bindweed, perch and pike-perch to smaller, more mysterious species like the bullhead, brook lamprey (one of the oldest and most primitive fish on Earth) and the grebe. In addition, we witness the mating behavior of the alpine newt and we get to know our macro fauna up close: small and usually unseen aquatic inhabitants such as dragonfly larvae and tube damselflies that are an excellent indicator of the water quality of a stream or river. Many of these animals only survive in clean and oxygen-rich water. The water birds, an unmistakable part of the Dutch landscape, are of course also included.

What is especially striking are the beautiful close-ups. Newts barely fifteen centimeters long are so large and sharp that they almost become impressive water dragons. Even the smallest physical details can be seen of the even smaller, almost alien-looking aquatic invertebrates. People are only discussed indirectly, especially as a holiday maker who does not know what goes on under the water surface and as a co-designer of the modern Dutch landscape.

‘The Netherlands under water’ is a wonderful example of film art and absolute advertisement for the Dutch nature film. The warm narration of Gijs Scholten van Aschat provides well-dosed information that provides the film with an excellent context and also gives ‘The Netherlands under water’ the necessary educational added value. An absolute must for anyone who wants to dive into a world that we normally rarely see.