The Big Blue

UK Release Date. 24 February 1989
Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 48 mins
Director. Luc Besson
Cast. Rosanna Arquette, Jean-Marc Barr, Griffin Dunne, Marc Duret, Jean Reno.
Rating. 80%

Review.

Later this month marks the 35th anniversary of the UK release of The Big Blue. Following the critically acclaimed Subway - a notable addition to the Cinéma du look movement - Luc Besson's first film in English is perhaps his most personal. Both of Besson's parents were scuba-diving instructors and he, himself, harboured early ambitions of becoming a marine biologist. 

The Big Blue tells the story of two rival divers - Jacques Mayol (Jean-Marc Barr) and Enzo Molinari (Jean Reno) who obsessively compete against each other (primarily), to determine which one of them can plunge deeper into the depths of the ocean without an oxygen tank. 

The main characters are based on real-life individuals - Jacques Mayol and Enzo Maiorca (renamed Enzo Molinari in the film) were free divers from France and Italy, respectively. Jacques descended to 344 feet at the age of 56 and Enzo set his final record at the age of 57, descending to 331 feet.

In The Big Blue, Jacques Mayol is portrayed by Jean-Marc Barr, a relative newcomer who for the entire film appears beautifully framed against the sparkling cobalt blue waters of the Mediterranean. Equally, Jean Reno is absurdly well cast as Molinari, a raffish Italian would-be womaniser (were it not for his Mamma). There is an innocent pleasure in watching the camaraderie develop as Jacques and Enzo constantly attempt to outdo each other.

Even for an early Luc Besson film, The Big Blue has a handsome, expensive look and a charmingly inscrutable manner. The Mediterranean scenery is glorious and Besson routinely uses spectacular aerial shots that bracingly speed across the surface of the water to great effect.

To this day, The Big Blue remains one of the highest-grossing French-made films in France - more successful than the likes of Amélie, Jean De Florette and Manon Des Sources. I rewatched and reviewed the Director's Cut - there are a total of four alternate versions available. The Director's Cut has a run time of 2 hours and 48 minutes and an imposing synthesiser and saxophone score by long-time Luc Besson collaborator, Éric Serra.

In the dramatic conclusion, Enzo tells Jacques, "It's much better down there." With that proclamation, Jacques recognises the need to shrug off the immediate and experience his true identity. Only then will he be free. Sitting on a metal deck, he grasps a weight that will take him down to the depths of the ocean, where he believes he can truly discover who he is. In a heartbreakingly symbolic gesture, Jacques hands Johanna (Rosanna Arquette) a cord that will release the weight he is holding and pull him under. Knowing this is the only way Jacques will truly have peace, Johanna pulls the cord, "Go. Go and see, my love."

The Big Blue reflects a childhood love of the ocean and produces an epic tale of obsession. An obsession in the characters, and perhaps in Besson himself.