AllMovie

Shot over the course of three years, director Tomoko Kana's Beautiful Islands introduces viewers to everyday people from three islands that are slowly sinking into the oceans, and speaks with the subjects at length about how that change will affect the lives of future generations. Tuvalu; Venice, Italy; and Shismaref, Alaska -- three islands with little in common save for the fact that, thanks to rising sea levels, they'll all likely be under water in 100 years. When that finally happens, entire cultures will effectively drown as any evidence of their existence is swallowed up by the rising tides. In this film, we get an intimate glimpse at each of the cultures, sharing time with the people and listening to their stories so that once the inevitable occurs, the memory of these remarkable places will live on forever.