FIN

The basic premise probes the challenging issues of the illegal exploitation of endangered species, the routine normality of such crimes in poverty-stricken communities, and the corrosive, subsuming impact of capitalism. Navigating this narrative are a pair of multifaceted, sympathetic, but flawed journalists--Kara and Lupita--who collide together with the goal of exposing the South American shark-finning industry. Led by a local guide, they are faced with gruesome scenes of butchery. The saturation of insidious horror is offset by the emotionally charged yet genuinely philosophical debate about who the true villains and victims of the shark trade are. Through a series of twists and turns, Kara and Lupita find themselves out of their depths, betrayed by their local guide but more so by their own personal flaws. At the midpoint they face a group of local fishermen who want to silence the journalists to prevent them from ruining their only means of earning a meager income. In the final setting of the abandoned communist military dive training pool, that houses sharks for live export, a physical conflict leads to the two journalists being trapped with predators that lurk though are seldom visible beneath the algae-covered water. Meanwhile, the true threat--the fishermen--remains. In close quarters, the two women are forced to work together to escape. In the process, their true feelings for each other are exposed as they reflect upon a shared but troubled past, all while examining the central thematic question: can anyone endure the vices of capitalism and remain morally unscathed? In the midst of an escape attempt, Kara is bitten by a shark. Facing certain death if she doesn’t get help soon, a glimmer of hope surfaces as one fisherman ends up in the pool. By striking a bargain, morally ambiguous Lupita manages to gain the upper hand in parallel with the fishermen’s readiness to commit crimes to evade poverty and addiction. Will she be able to save Kara and gain their freedom? In the end, death ensues, leading to an ambiguous moment surrounding Lupita’s survival that paves the way for a possible sequel.