directed by Luc Besson
As I promised yesterday, today we’re getting back to Jacques Mayol, the famous free diver. If his story seems interesting to you or you enjoyed watching the documentary about him, then I’d also recommend watching “The Big Blue”. This film is based on the life of two free divers, Jacques Mayol (Jean-Marc Barr) and Enzo Maiorca (Jean Reno). Those two gentlemen were friends and both shared the same passion. “The Big Blue” is, as they say, very much fictionalised, meaning that a lot was added to make it look good enough for the screen. That is why I would recommend watching the documentary first, because you would already know the truth. Although… if you like emotional stories, then go for “The Big Blue” first and then learn how it looked like in real life. I’ve spotted plenty of differences, but it doesn’t mean the film isn’t worth watching. It’s actually fantastic when it comes to the cinematography. I couldn’t stop staring at those beautiful shots. Besides, in the film the story is way more dramatic, there’s also a love story added, then the ending is also more spectacular (and I would say more positive than the reality, but you’d have to know the truth about Jacques to understand why I think so). From time to time I thought that the production was a bit too slow (it’s almost 3 hours long), but then I realised it had its charm. I mean, when you’re looking at open water, time is going way slower. And that’s exactly how I felt watching “The Big Blue”. So I don’t care there are some made up stories in it, that they renamed Enzo Maiorca as Enzo Molinari, that neither of the men dived as deep as they did in the film etc. Still, it’s a beautiful production, a very inspiring story (even though full of fiction), reminds us about those two incredible individuals and it’s very well-done. And if you want to know the truth, check out yesterday’s post and watch “Dolphin Man”. For the end, I’d like to leave you with my favourite quote from “The Big Blue”: “[…] The hardest thing is when you’re at the bottom. […] ‘Cause you have to find a good reason to come back up…”
My rating: 7/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 