The Big Blue

The Big Blue was a smash hit in its native France and named a “film générationnel” and in a way one can see why. That the 80s was the apogee of self-styled artiness means that this is not necessarily a good thing. Certainly there are aspects to be admired, the fine locations, the atmospheric underwater photography, some characteristically Besson visual flourishes, the handsome Jean-Marc Barr in the lead, and so on but particularly in the 168 minutes of the Director’s Cut (nearly an hour longer than the original English language release and with the original ending), it is a long-winded slog whose story, essentially a competition between two former childhood rivals to win the record for the deepest ocean dive. simply does not warrant the time allocated to it.

The film is loosely based on the experiences of Jacques Mayol, a real-life, free-diving champion who befriended the filmmaker, himself a diving buff who had to give up the activity due to an accident. Rosanna Arquette is thrown into the mix as Johanna, an American with whom Jacques falls in love, although really not as much as with the dolphins who befriend him. It’s a nice enough sentiment but Besson does nothing with it but to keep repeating its few elements and ideas to the accompaniment of era-typical soundtrack by Eric Serra until they look like self-indulgent and, ultimately empty, romanticism, something which would become increasingly part of the director's signature style, which along with the films of Jean-Jacques Beineix and Leos Carax defined the "cinéma du look" of French film of 1980s.

 

Want something different?