All language subtitles for The.Deepest.Breath.2023.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH-en-forced

Alessia, how do you feel about death?

Honestly, I've never thought about it.

I think if someone has to die, they will.

Honestly, I don't think about death.
I'm not afraid of death.

I've never thought free diving
could lead to death.

Okay, look at me.

Alessia was born
in the afternoon, at around 20 to five.

That night, I lay awake in bed, thinking

about my wife, about my daughter.

You never forget it.

When you long for something...

you can't forget it.

This is one of Alessia's school essays.

"Do you ever think that
the people around you, your classmates,

your friends, your parents,

don't understand your dreams?"

I want to achieve my dream at all costs.

I want to become a famous free diver.

Natalia Molchanova is my greatest idol.

I want to be just like her,
a world champion.

I'm really embarrassed
about this great dream of mine.

It sounds like one of those things
you say when you're a kid

when asked what you want to be
when you grow up.

There are only a few people
who understand my dream.

My dad is one of those people.

He understands my passion
for the sea and for free diving.

I'd do anything
to make my dream come true.

If you don't have
a dream to spur you on, you won't make it.

But the price you pay

is so high.

Alessia and Steve.

Their connection was very strong.

What brought them together?

I've always believed

that nothing ever happens to us by chance.

There's always a connecting thread.

Something that leads you
down a certain road.

By the time
I was 13, I knew what I wanted to do.

It wasn't easy to find a class
when I was a kid.

They were all men.

I remember
Alessia turning up with her dad.

This little girl with blue eyes.

I remember that I didn't even hear
Alessia's voice. She just laughed.

I think I had done about 100 meters.

It took us many years
to reach those numbers.

The kid did 105 meters.

That's when
you ask yourself some questions!

How will it all end?

We went to some competitions
for free diving in the sea.

They dived from the boat
using a rock as a counterweight.

And I said,
"Let's see how deep I can go."

By holding your breath,

you get to understand
a lot more about yourself.

I managed to descend to 52 meters.

To see such a young girl

reach such depths

attracted a lot of attention.

And then the federation
releases a statement

banning under-18s
from taking part in official competitions.

In my darkest moments, I cried.

There were arguments with my father,
with my coach.

At that moment, I said,
"What am I going to do now?"

What's your name?

- Stephen?
- Yes.

- Huh. Are you Christian?
- Yes.

- In Ireland, we are...
- Protestant?

No, Catholic.

Yes?

I wanted free diving to be my life.

So even though I saw four years
as a really long time,

I said, "Okay.
Come on, let's keep doing this."

Plenty of others would have said, "Okay."

"I'll do something else."

But not her. She carried on regardless.

She continued going to the pool,

to the sea.

Then you realize
there's something that drives her.

♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

Once she turned 18...

she suddenly arrived, like a rocket.

She immediately showed her potential.

150 meters in the pool.

At first, it was, "Wow."

But Ilaria was better.

I certainly wasn't expecting this result.

Here's Alessia Zecchini.
Near the 200-meter wall.

Let's see if she turns.

No, she's coming out.

It was really tough.

I knew if I pushed more,
I wouldn't have come out well.

Go on, Ilaria!

When someone out there
is stronger than you,

it becomes another motivation.

I had to improve
so much to set an Italian record.

For me, it took watching Natalia's videos
to realize how I could get there.

My advice
is that mental relaxation

is the foundation of free diving.

If we want to be successful underwater,

we should be relaxed,
not running towards some goal.

That's good. Stop.

An amazing
224-meter performance.

Congratulations
for this new Italian title.

Yes, it's amazing. At last!

With the lads in Ethiopia.

Diving the Arch has left
a lasting impression on me.

I don't know.
Of course, it's a dream.

Really, a dream for every athlete,
I think.

But it's really difficult.

I want to improve
by a few meters.

In fact, I hope to go
well beyond 90 meters,

to then touch the three-digit number
in a couple of years.

Everybody must have a dream
and put all their effort in.

And really, everything is possible.

The deeper I'm diving,

the pressure compresses
the air in my lungs,

until my lungs are the size of my fist.

After 30 meters,
the pressure pushes me down.

It's called the free fall.

And this is, for me, the best part.

It feels like you are flying.

The silence, it's unique.

It's like being
in the last quiet place on the Earth.

Safety, keep your distances.

Come on, Alexey.

3'30, it's a very long dive time.

Andrea, you go down as well.

- Trouble.
- Yeah.

We're on
day three of training.

I'm really pleased, because
I've already beaten my personal best.

I've done 88 meters.

Excellent dive.

Can I have a message
regarding the competition?

This time,
I'm going to get the world record.

Thank you.

When I dive,

I often imagine myself swimming...

like a whale or dolphin.

Alessia Zecchini
was extraordinary.

Her dive was extremely elegant
in every respect.

Ninety-four meters.

- How many meters?
- Ninety-four.

Wow. With Zecchini, we're not gonna stop.

It was all too surreal.

I was shocked.

It was really sad
because she was so strong.

After Natalia's accident,

I began to realize
that it could be dangerous.

I was going deeper and deeper.

It's black. It's dark.
You feel locked inside.

You can see things that don't exist.

I was too scared.

I wanted to turn around and go back.

I didn't feel safe.

For you, what is success in life?

I suppose success is fulfilling
your aspirations, goals, dreams.

I'm currently living in Egypt,
where I run a free diving center.

I guess I'm happy in that respect.
I like what I do.

Other parts of my life
are not so successful, I guess.

Unfortunately, I'm a 38-year-old man,
and I don't have any kids.

I suppose that's, people say,
something that I haven't quite fulfilled.

Thank you. It's a major pleasure.

Yeah, maybe, sure.

We had no idea
she was after the world record.

She doesn't like to worry us,
so she wouldn't tell us.

I would like to go deeper.

I would like to do the world record.

That's my goal.

Vertical Blue.

Well done, Alexia.

- Breathe.
- Breathe.

Why the hell
are you getting angry?

You had a bad start. Chill out.

Hello. I'm making this video

to reassure everyone who cares about me
that I'm fine.

And to disprove the rumors on Facebook
that I passed out at 20 meters.

I had no problems with a lung squeeze.

The dive overall went well,
and I ask you not to write lies.

He inspired trust straightaway.

I saw in him
the only one who could coach me.

The thing
that struck me most were his eyes.

They were blue, so blue, like the sea.

His gaze was enough.

Before diving,
we would look at each other.

And this gave me strength.

Feeling his presence
made you feel safe in the darkness.

There was a
relationship that went beyond free diving.

With some people,
you have an understanding.

You don't need words or time.

I saw this connection.

Your biggest opponents
for breaking the record are the Japanese.

Do you fear them?

I certainly fear my Japanese opponents.

One hundred meters.
It was a big number.

A Japanese record.

And I was nervous.

And Stephen came and he grabbed me
by the shoulders in a very serious way.

I remember him saying,
"It's going to be okay. I've got you."

I'm okay.

It was wonderful
to hug Steve after the dive.

It was simply fantastic.

Today, I'm so happy.

I achieved the dream I've had for so long.

- Hi.
- Hi, Ale. Are you happy?

So happy!

- You were great, you know that?
- Yes, I know.

What are you thinking now?

I'm really happy.
I kick ass at Vertical Blue.

Once you start touching...

world records,

you raise the bar so high.

That's when things get worrying.

You've talked about limits.

What is Alessia Zecchini's limit?

I don't think a limit exists.

It doesn't exist until I choose to quit.

World record, 103 clean.
Fantastic.

On streaming,
you can see the whole event.

As you see her go down...

you get a flood of worries.

The sonar allows them to see

whether they've stopped.

We should see her coming out by now.

There she is!

She's no longer swallowed
by endless darkness.

I got the new world record
of 104 meters, and I'm so happy.

Thanks to all. Fantastic!
That's enough for now. Ciao!

Give a round of applause
for Alessia Zecchini!

- Hi, Alessia.
- Hi.

- Welcome.
- Thank you.

Beautiful, talented, young.
You've got it all.

So, nine world championship gold medals,
four silver,

one bronze.

The ultimate record, the most famous one,
the one you are proudest of,

so much so, you put it around your neck,

the 104-meter world record.

Any other ambitions, aims, goals?

Stephen told us he was going
to pick Alessia up at the airport.

"Look what I made."

He pulled out

an airport sign
with "Alessia" written on it.

He was really excited, really happy.

He wanted everything to be perfect
for Alessia's arrival.

I haven't told you where we are yet.

I'm in Dahab for training.

It's beautiful here.

Okay, everything is ready.

We're here at the diving center,
packing everything.

Then we'll head to the sea.
I'll show you the Blue Hole.

He seemed
more excited than I was.

And I found that quite endearing.

Okay, Alessia. On your feet.

He adored being in the desert.

The happiness we shared was amazing.

We were all together
that evening. It was our last night.

And I remember
he turned to Alessia and said,

"You'll be the first woman
to do the Arch after Natalia Molchanova."

We told Stephen,

"Look after Alessia."

And obviously, as a safety, he told me...

"Leave it with me."

We're discussing the dive
before getting in the water.

This is my coach, Steve,
and these are some other athletes.

We'll get in the water soon.

I'm preparing all the gear.

We're ready to get in the water.

The first meters,
everything seemed normal.

Until I reached the Arch.

I remember while I was swimming,
I felt it was a bit strenuous.

There was a problem.

Steve wasn't there,
but neither was the rope.

I just tried to follow the reef,

trying to see where the rope was.

But I realized I couldn't find it.

I'd made a mistake.

I suddenly saw Steve in front of me.

I remember he took my hands.

And he swam, bringing me to the surface.

I don't remember
the first seconds when I surfaced.

I only remember, after a while,

looking around
and not understanding a thing.

Maybe I could have done more.

If I had been more conscious,
I don't know.

The worst thing is
we couldn't do anything.

We couldn't save him.

He rescued me, but I couldn't rescue him.

He was a hero,
and he showed it till the end.

I would give my life.

Mine instead of his.

Everybody,
we'll just dive until we feel

we want to release our flowers

and give thanks
for such a wonderful human in our lives,

sending all the good energy

that Stephen gave to all of us.

He will always be with me.

I remember his eyes...

and try to remember
all the things he'd tell me.

To live, to be happy.

To believe in myself.

I try and remember his hugs.

He's the person who made me realize
what it really means to hug someone.

From the hug, you'd understand
how deeply he cared about you

and all the feelings
you could share together.

He gave his life

for Alessia.

A pain like this stays with you.

You go on.

But that wound is there,
and it won't heal.

He will always be in my heart.

He's going to be with me forever,

because I want him to stay with me
for the rest of my life.