The vaquita porpoise, as seen in Sea of Shadows (National Geographic)

 The insatiable human being strikes again in this eye-opening documentary.

The totoaba is a rare marine species that is only found in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. Once abundant in its habitat, it’s now facing extinction; the population is estimated as fewer than two dozen. An ancient Chinese belief about the totoaba’s swim bladder being a treatment for fertility and circulatory and skin problems (which has been proven to be erroneous) has led its meat to become a constant demand as a Chinese delicacy, fueled by an aquatic cartel between the Hong Kong mafia and Mexican drug dealers. The poor creature is killed, sold, and basically treated like the “cocaine of the sea.” This in turn threatens all marine life in the region, including the most elusive and endangered marine mammal on earth, the vaquita porpoise.

Winner of an Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, Sea of Shadows is a multi-perspective investigative piece that follows a team of scientists as they put their lives on the line, trying to save the last remaining vaquitas. At its core, the film is driven by a passionate Mexican journalist, Carlos Loret de Mola, who is strongly determined to bare the dark truth covered up by the Mexican Navy and bring the vicious international crime syndicate to justice.

Director Richard Ladkani unleashes a thought-provoking ticking bomb of an exposé. This rich and urgent sad tale has it all: controversial characters in unexpected settings, like the Sinaloa drug cartel’s Oscar Parra as one of the leading suspects; globe-trotting scenes that perfectly encapsulate the unlimited dimensions of human greed; and a heart-breaking reminder of the corruption that permeates so-called authority. The story has more than enough potential for a trilogy of feature-length dramatic films.

Ladkani—and executive producer Leonardo DiCaprio—makes a powerful and exhaustive case of the extreme lengths to which men will go to make a profit and destroy their own planet. The fact that the swim bladder smuggling trade thrives is both mind-blowing and disturbing. What truly works here is that the movie appears to be yet another conscience-raising documentary while simultaneously serving as a profound meditation on modern capitalism. The water itself serves as a metaphoric symbol.

This vast place of grotesque deeds and unanswered mysteries that continue to educate, shock, and raise questions is indeed a Sea of Shadows.