So the folks at Captain Morgan bankrolled a treasure-finding expedition somewhere near Panama in hopes their bounty was one of their namesake’s sunken ships, the Satisfaction. The film follows divers as they explore a shipwreck with a possible connection to Morgan since he captured Panama City in 1671. The result is captured in Michael Haussman’s short documentary along with speculations of what Henry Morgan, admiral, privateer and infamous pirate, must have been like in real life. The Unsinkable Henry Morgan is light and funny with some of the best moments in the form of Panamanians evoking the legend surrounding Morgan and his crew. The film also brushes on questions of how we view those early pirates today: 17th century rock stars or brutal criminals who wore fanny packs? The documentary felt more like a trailer for a movie at only 30 minutes rather than an entire film, and I was hoping it would fill in more of the blanks (or should I say planks?). I didn’t learn a lot about Henry Morgan, just enough to whet my curiosity.
The Unsinkable Henry Morgan will air on the Sundance Channel, January 20th at 9:35 p.m. ET.
