The beauty of diving under ice

Johanna Under The Ice – NOWNESS from NOWNESS on Vimeo.

Sounds of wind lead the opening image in the Ian Derry’s video about Finnish freediver Johanna Nordblad, in a beautifully shot film under four minutes.

I had only skimmed the summary on Vimeo before clicking play, so I had no idea what to expect: something about cold-water treatment after a bicycle accident. But as I watch, I kind of felt like gasping for air as I watched the protagonist hold her breath in ice cold water, literally.

What struck me the most about the short film, however, was the use of color or lack there of.

At the start, the viewer sees mostly wide shots with Nordblad walking on snow from a considerable distance to the camera. Everything looks black and white: dark trees contrasting bright snow.

A medium shot of her head and shoulders and a super-tight shot of her eyes briefly reveal other colors, but I feel the simple color choices accentuate the coldness the viewer will soon feel from the images.

The viewer hears Nordblad explain she almost lost her leg after an accident before starting cold-water treatment. That’s while you see her a few shots of her using a metal saw to cut into ice below her feet.

Just after 1:10 in the film, she dives into a lake, without any oxygen tanks and wearing a single large flipper that fits here two feet — sort of like a mermaid.

The underwater scenes add the blue to the film. It appears that the bright snow above the ice serves is the only source of light for the underwater camera as the viewer watches her swim while holding a single breath.

Several underwater shots are again taken at significant length away from Nordblad as the light reflect from her goggles. It makes it look like her eyes have lit up in the dark cold water.

However, my favorite moment comes when she exhales a bit releasing several bubbles that get trapped under ice.

When she returns to the surface, you again see the tan color of her face, and bits of blue appear in the sky. Among the final sounds you’ll hear are her breaths, a symbolic contrast to the wind at the start of the film.