Luzzu is a 2021 Maltese film written and directed by Alex Camilleri.
Jesmark (Jesmark Scicluna) is a struggling Maltese fisher whose bad luck with catching fish gets compounded by his old luzzu
, passed down among the men of his family for generations, springing a leak. As it gets repaired, he goes on equally non-lucrative fishing jobs with his brother David (David Scicluna) while also doing various freelancing jobs. The financial burden leads to tension with his wife Denise (Michela Farrugia), who worries how they'll afford to care for their sickly infant son Aiden. Upon discovering how much money a local black market fishing operation makes, Jesmark starts to question if it's worth sticking with his more traditional fishing methods.
Tropes:
- Affably Evil: The black market fishers do all sorts of blatantly illegal things to get ahead, such as nighttime fishing for out-of-season species and sabotaging the materials of rival fishers. But they're surprisingly honorable and supportive towards those who work for them like Jesmark, with Uday in particular getting quite chummy with him.
- Every Man Has His Price: The leader of the black market fishers is seen bribing the local fishing inspector who had been inspecting Jesmark and David's ship earlier — said inspector even shoots a sheepish look at Jesmark upon recognizing the latter during the transaction. Later, Jesmark helps deliver bribe money (hidden in a package full of fish) to local politicians. This all explains why the black market fishers never run into any legal trouble that we see.
- Good Shepherd: He doesn't get a major role in the story, but the kindly local priest (Reece Vella) who sprinkles holy water on the luzzus and later baptizes Jesmark and Denise's son seems to be well-liked by everyone.
- Honor Before Reason: Jesmark and David accidentally catch a swordfish, an expensive but out-of-season fish. Jesmark insists that they try to sell it anyway, but David refuses to do anything illegal like that. Even when Jesmark notes that the swordfish has already died after being pulled into the boat, David calls the authorities to explain the situation and tosses the dead fish back in the water. The fact that Jesmark sees the black market fishers sneaking a swordfish into a fishery for sale reinforces his conviction that this was a bad decision.
- Theseus' Ship Paradox: Jesmark tells a version of the trope-naming tale to his infant son, about a famed but decrepit ship that eventually had all its parts replaced. Given that Jesmark had spent most of the movie trying to get his old luzzu repaired after it started leaking, it's obviously a way for him to think aloud about whether or not his old boat and the way of life it represents is worth preserving.
