The Big Blue

I like movies that look like their storyboards, I like Cinéma du look, I like the sea and Jean Reno. By contrast, however, I find sports in general to be eminently moronic performances, and watching overgrown kids measure their depths then makes it impossible to accept this great, fatal, fateful plane rising above the rules of civilization. (14/08/2021)

The Big Blue is a beautiful film in terms of its depth of thought and the poetics of its story. I’m willing to forgive it for its wild mixing of drama and comedy; after all, it’s French. What I can’t forgive, however, is the stark visual concept, which takes it off the movie screen and puts it on a television screen. I expect visual appeal from the creator of The Professional, La Femme Nikita and Atlantis. (21/05/2002)

For two years, The Big Blue has been taking up space on my hard drive without any use and all this time I didn't have the desire or courage to watch it, anticipating that I would significantly dislike this effort from Luc Besson. The time when it had something to offer me is long gone, very long gone. I was not mistaken and when I think about it, I get the impression that my 2 stars are quite a decent expression of my conformity with 84% satisfaction on FilmBooster and enthusiastic comments from many users. What Besson offers me, i.e., music and underwater shots, can be offered to me in a more attractive package by any nature documentary. I don't like its Hollywood sloppiness, it is empty in content and besides, I increasingly mind films that pretend to have greater depth and profound messages where all I see is more posing. Overall impression: 40%. (02/12/2014)

This avid diver and amateur oceanologist made himself and me happy. His film revels in the sun, in various shades of blue, and makes you want to put on a swimsuit and jump into the sea. And even though the plot itself is not very optimistic, it breathes comfort and Besson's love for the sea. And Eric Serra? He’s superb here! He applied his penchant for synthetic sounds, which he transformed into ambient surfaces that are beautiful to listen to. I own the soundtrack, it's a very relaxing album, totally different from his sound cacophony in The Fifth Element. (24/08/2003)

I was a bit surprised by how long the film is, and I almost feel that if it were shortened by an hour, the viewer wouldn't actually miss out on anything significant, although this way viewers managed to connect with the characters and understand what happened at the end and what it meant for the main character. But it is the finale that shows the beauty of the love of life and dreams, even though it may appear otherwise. (10/08/2017)