The River Must Live

A short feature produced by Shell’s accomplished film unit that attempts to identify and address the problems of water pollution. From the tiniest drip from some melting snow down to the sea, it demonstrates just how the smallest of microscopic organisms that inhabit the water are responsible for keeping it clean. Amoeba and bacteria exist in their billions to slowly dissolve the natural matter that ends up in streams and rivers, and they do it remarkably efficiently until, that is, they have to cope with the variety of sludges and toxins that enter the water supply from industrial and large-scale urban developments that merely serve to interrupt and destroy the effectiveness of these natural processes. Only by treating the water and removing the offending sources of pollution can we hope for the water to become useful again. It’s all stating the bleeding obvious in 2025, but back in 1966 when awareness was far less wide and when people were still building their way out of the Second World War, you do have to wonder whether many of our parents and grandparents ever considered just where water came from and where it went when we were finished using and abusing it. It’s a basic message this, and the production just as simple - but it delivers it’s that thrust well enough.