El gran azul

I have to watch this movie once a year just to calm my nerves. One of the few films to which I have also purchased the soundtrack. This film, like the sea which is its subject, hypnotizes you, seduces you, rocks you into a state of oneness with the lush scenery. Rosanna Arquette is beautiful and sexy in an uncharacteristically understated way. Barr makes the perfect beau and embodies the spirit of the film and the ocean. I fell in love with Jean Reno in this film. Unforgettable imagery, interesting premise, good chemistry between Arquette and Barr, and Reno is a joy to watch.

Masterfully directed by Luc Besson and a film to treasure.

At it's peak The Big Blue reached the 96th highest rated movie on IMDb, and that is no small feat. Learning this I was further astounded that I hadn't already seen it.

French made by internationally renound director Luc Besson both as writer and director the Big Blue is a curious film that left me scratching my head yet oddly entertained.

It tells the story of two friends since childhood with a passion for competetive deep sea diving. One is the world champion, arrogant and relatively famous while the other is more reclusive, mysterious and with a certain innocence.

The two men compete against each other, constantly trying to one up the other while maintaining a loyalty and friendship. When a New York reporter begins to fall for one of the pair a story of love and friendship truly begins.

Here is the trouble though, the friendship was questionable and the love felt hugely one sided. One character was conceited while the other ignorant and though gripped I struggled to care about the characters quite as much as I should have.

The plot though competent is wafer thin, the love story flawed and considering this film is almost 3hrs long I felt it was remarkably shallow.

On the flipside however the cast delivered on every front, the writing was wonderful the score was hugely fitting and the cinematography was absolutely second to none. The whole movie is perfectly crafted and has some of the most incredible visuals I've ever seen!

Despite all it's glaring flaws and my inability to see this magical love story it is still a sight to behold and a triumph for Besson.

The Good:

Some stunning visuals

Very charming

Well scored

Great cast

The Bad:

Didn't feel the incredible friendship

Certainly didn't feel the love story

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I'm starting to think that the story wasn't about friendship or love, but about undiagnosed mental illness

That ending left me VERY uneasy

For me the grand bleu is something unique...i have never seen a movie were everybody has the same love for the sea,and for their sport... Even if the movie is from 1988...it is still one of a kind!!! Go and see it yourself!! When i lived in France in 1989..everybody was talking about Le Grand Bleu...I still have the music.. And a poster on the toilet..

It remindes me of the good old time.. I have also the movie version long on DVD...it is so beautiful!! You will laugh and cry during Le Grand Bleu. Find out for yourself what your impression is, and you wont be disappointed!

The Big Blue is a story mainly centred around Jacques Mayol (Jean-Marc Barr), a free diver. Free diving is a sport where people dive as deep as they can with a single breath, and no equipment other than a rope and a weighted mechanism to take them to the required depth. Although to say the story of Big Blue is just about free diving does not do it any justice. The story starts in Greece with Jacques as a child, then moves forward to "present day". In the story we also have Enzo (Jean Reno), Jacque's lifelong friend and nemesis who motivates him to free dive in competition (so he has some competition) and also gets him work in other areas of diving. During this work Jacques meets an insurance investigator Johana (Rosanna Arquette), and a romance starts (albeit mostly from her). The story continues as Jacques struggles with problems in his past, present and future.

The Big Blue is an unusual movie. There is some silly (but arguably funny) humour. Also there are some serious levels including romance, and how we deal with problems from our past, our existence, and our future. The film is also quite long (in the aptly named "version longue") at about 2 hours and 40 minutes. Fans of Jean Reno would certainly love this movie.

I really enjoyed this film. The main story is very light and thinly stretched, so to really enjoy it I feel you have to look deeper at the characters and read between the lines. I also really enjoyed the humour, which was silly but fun and was a good counterpoint to the serious scenes. Jean-Marc Barr was absolutely stunning as Jacques, bearing in mind the number of underwater sequences that were required as well. It's a real shame that we don't see Jean-Marc in more leading roles. Jean Reno was also extremely good, and although for me an irritating character Rosanna Arquette put in a reasonable performance. The cinematography is another lush element of the film, with the beautiful locations and underwater sequences (especially those with the dolphins). Eric Serra's soundtrack is pretty good also, although sounds a little dated. As mentioned, this review is based on the "version longue". 5/5

47. THE BIG BLUE (adv.-romance, 1988) Mayol (Jean-Marc Barr) is determined to dethrone current world-free diving champion Enzo (Jean Reno). Childhood friends, they share a fierce rivalry that, nonetheless, has kept their friendship alive. Both of them share an almost spiritual affinity with the sea, especially Mayol who lost his father. His love for his sport, however, is put on hold when he meets Joanna (Rosanna Arquette). But as Mayol and Enzo's competition become more fierce, Joanna slowly feels herself drifting away from Mayol, as his fascination with the sea takes on an obsessive turn.

Critique: Marvelouslly filmed underwater adventure from master-Frenchman Luc Besson, who has specialized on action films. This is his most personal work to date, thus taking on a uniquely surreal quality. The exquisite camera-work is very special, at times almost documentary in quality.

This mix of 'art' cinematography and romance made it a big money earner all over Europe but, not surprisingly, only gained critical acclaim elsewhere. Adding to its failure is a somewhat downbeat ending that, I think, complements the film's mythic storyline.

Besson's 'epic masterpiece' has yet to reach many viewers who would embrace his visionary talents.