Poslední nádech

Experienced deep-sea divers fight against raging natural elements that seem to be conspiring against them. At stake is the most valuable thing - the life of one of them. To save a colleague who is stuck hundreds of meters below the surface of the North Sea, they must keep a cool head, show an extremely strong will and, most importantly, not lose hope. All it takes is a slight hesitation or a wrong decision by one of them, and they will lose the relentless race against time. A thrilling drama based on an incredible story that really happened. When British divers Chris Lemons, Dave Yuasa and Duncan Allcock set off on another expedition in September 2012, they didn't think it was any special. It was supposed to be just another routine dive for experienced aquanauts. But the opposite was true and the news about it spread around the world. While the trio was at a depth of several hundred meters, their boat began to drift uncontrollably due to a technical failure in the control system and Chris's "umbilical cord", which provides air supply and voice communication with the surface, was severed. A life-and-death drama began. Dave and Duncan knew that their friend had only a few minutes left and that the chances of saving him were slim. But they refused to give up. “Studying a thrilling story that is original is something special in itself. Moreover, the world of saturation diving has never been featured in a feature film before, certainly not on such a scale. I was also drawn to the uniqueness of the characters and the way they work together,” says director Alex Parkinson. “I felt I had a responsibility to make the film as true to what really happened as possible, to portray the protagonists of the event honestly, because they did something incredible that night,” adds Parkinson. He had all the prerequisites for his creative commitment. In 2019, he had already participated in the documentary of the same name, which, using archive footage, audio recordings and interviews, reconstructed dramatic moments on the bridge and below the surface, and which was an international success. It was a natural fit to create a feature film based on it. Once the script was written, the filmmakers began looking for actors who could believably portray the heroism of the real-life divers. They found dedicated and courageous partners in Woody Harrelson, Sim Liu, and Finn Cole. “As soon as I saw the documentary, I knew I was in it,” Harrelson recalls, adding, “I think The Last Breath speaks for itself. People loved it. I loved it. I definitely wanted to be a part of it.” Filming began in February 2023 in the North Sea, where the surface temperature in winter is around 5 degrees, on board the ship on which the events actually took place. In March, it moved to Malta, where an experienced international team of filmmakers from Malta, England, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Australia and more than a dozen other countries was formed, and finally relocated to Scotland. The determination with which the crew decided to recreate everything as faithfully as possible - from the dark underwater shots, to the functional diving helmets and suits, to the period props, shocked even Chris Lemons, Dave Yuas and Duncan Allcock, who acted as consultants on the set.