Color of the Ocean

For the most part, Color of the Ocean comes off as a low-key yet persistently watchable piece of work that benefits substantially from its uniformly naturalistic attributes (including stellar performances and gritty visuals). The simple storyline details the impact that a refugee’s (Hubert Koundé’s Zola) arrival on the Canary Islands has on a handful of characters, including a vacationing woman (Sabine Timoteo’s Nathalie) and a tough-as-nails immigration officer (Alex González’s José). Filmmaker Maggie Peren has infused Color of the Ocean with an initial lack of context that does, at the outset, hold the viewer at arm’s length, with the relatively intriguing nature of the basic setup – Zola attempts to save the life of his young son (Dami Adeeri’s Mamadou) – ensuring the one is willing to patiently wait for the pieces to fall into place. And though Peren takes her time in fully explaining the relevance of Nathalie’s presence here, the filmmaker does a superb job of transforming both Zola and Mamadou into sympathetic figures worthy of the viewer’s ongoing interest. There inevitably does reach a point at which Nathalie’s intentions become crystal clear, and though the narrative has been sprinkled with a few needlessly melodramatic elements (eg José’s relationship with his junkie sister, etc), Color of the Ocean ultimately establishes itself as a stirring, consistently subdued drama that feels like a cinematic cousin to the films of Alejandro González Iñárritu.

*** out of ****