Ama Girls

Oscar winning documentary short from 1958

This isn't really about the "Ama" girls, more a review of a Japanese maritime community in the 1950s. With a slightly sarcastic and borderline condescending commentary from Winston Hibler, we spend a day with the villagers whose lives have hardly changed in centuries. The employ a myriad of techniques - some quite innovative - as they plunder the sea and the beach for anything edible or sellable to a nation that values freshness over everything. We do see a little of these renowned ladies. They dive deep into the rocky crevices in the chilly waters looking for rare seaweed or maybe the odd pearl. The arrival of the sardine boat means it's all hands to the pump to get this huge, but never sufficient, cargo unloaded and despatched to market and by the end of the day, everyone is in need of a rest and a good - if really quite sparing - meal. This is an ancient and proud culture that mucks in together to ensure that everyone is taken care of - they even have a stock of fresh fish kept alive in a basket in a pond for emergencies, and their flat-bottomed boats and intricate fishing contraptions are quite remarkably inventive.