Jago: A life underwater is a mesmeric journey into the world of Rohani, an 80-year-old Indonesian Bajau man who still lives his life spearfishing while freediving to astounding depths. Armed with nothing but his spear gun and a pair of goggles, Rohani dives to depths of up to 36.5 metres or 120 feet on a single breath. He hunts through corral cauldrons, running on the seabed in the darkened depths amongst the spirits of the sea.
One day when I was just six years old. I went out playing beyond the graveyard. I remember seeing someone at the bottom of the sea. He was looking for something. Where did he come from? I didnāt get a chance to see. I just watched from a distance. But I couldnāt go there. I didnāt know how. It was too far. I couldnāt reach there.
They may appear as men, seeking fish with their spears. But they are spirits. Spirits of the sea.
In my heart I knew, I must go to the bottom of the sea.
They gave me the name Jago
The documentary has a minimalistic and haunting feel to it! As Rohani recounts his life story in simple terms, he explains that after diving to 20 fathoms his tribe gave him a new name, āthey call him Jago, the masterā he explains. As we move on through the landscapes of the tropical seas, we see why he earned his name.
The cinematography in this documentary is truly stunning! We follow the story of Jago, in three stages of life with the help of the Bajau people. The children freediving at the beginning fulfil the role of his childhood persona. The footage of Bajau children playing in the coral gardens is both amazing and endearing. No more than 6 years old, the tribesā children play chase around the barrel corral, exploring the nooks and crannies of the reef. One particular boy plays Jago, and as the old man narrates, he dives in the shallower depths, greeting the clownfish and tailing the shoals of batfish through the turquoise-shaded shallows.
As the story moves on we see a new character in that of a young tribeās man. Again the camera work is out of this world as we see a fully accomplished Bajau spear fisherman leaping from corral spire to shell shorn sand before he dives to the darkened depths and runs along the seafloor. The sequence is all darting movement and sleek power, a dance between the currents pull and the hunter's movement, while the old man explains in simple terms the joy of such pure mastery.
As the documentary draws to a close Jago explains his mistake in life, of working on a Japanese trawler. He believes that he made the spirits of the sea angry by taking so much without respecting their world. We see nets tearing up the corral on the reefs and the emotion in Rohaniās eyes is heartbreaking as he describes the death of his only son, who he believes the spirits took for his mistakes.
I donāt mind admitting that this brought a tear to my eye and the documentary as a whole engendered these kinds of feelings in me. Itās hard to describe; a kind of sad yearning, an exquisite yet painful joy at the life of this man. His triumphs, tribulations and depths of despair are completely apparent through his the expressions on his face. The pathos is tangible and bittersweet.
Finally, the narrator gets up from his seat. The 80-year-old Rohani calmly picks up his spear, climbs lithely down from his hut and into his boat. Everything he does is in a slow deliberation, as a habit long formed. He pushes off and we see him paddle slowly out to sea. Now, this is where I expected it to fade out! The music continues as Jago/Rohani stops the boat, takes 4 deep breaths and plunges beneath the waves.
The following sequence is nothing short of jaw-dropping. As an avid scuba diver and an occasional (and not very effective) freediver I was astounded at the sight of an 80-year-old man moving beneath the waves with such grace and ease. Again the camera work shows how at home Jago is in the coral groves, slow but deliberate he stalks his prey until we finally see his ultimate cause realized. The pivotal moment in the razor focus of a true hunter, a man with ultimate respect for his quarry, the spear lances a large yellowtail snapper and he pulls it in from the depths.
As the music diminishes he speaks one final time!
They gave me the name Jago
My name is Rohani
A man of the sea
If you have Netflix I would highly recommend watching this wonderful documentary. Even if youāre not a marine nut like me, you will surely be astounded and mesmerized by the multi-coloured underwater world. Thank you for reading this Scuba Scribe review.
