Taoism and deep-sea diving

Rating: 8/10 (22 December 2009)

Le Grand Bleu of Luc Besson is an unusual film, unique in a sense that it is devoid of any special effect of Hollywood productions. Its cinematography is beautiful but not superior by today's HD standard.
The really interesting thing about the film is its depiction of the extraordinary personality of Jacques Mayol, a renowned free diver. Built upon the theme of competition between two diving champions, with a subplot of romance, the film delved into the psycho-physical idiosyncrasy of Jacques Mayol, and painted a portrait of a man who lives in a different universe from the rest of the mankind. Jacques Mayol is not just a free diver. He is a marine animal himself who possesses a physique that could mimic the biological conditions of a dolphin. Since the day he lost his parents, he has chosen a path of life to distance himself from his human folks. Among humans, he appears gauche, naive, almost childish, lack of tact or common sense. He is not interested in competing with another human being. Nor is he interested in falling in love with a woman. He cannot feel the thrill of love or lust or hatred for another human. His awkwardness in socialising with other humans made him an eccentric, introverted and lonely person. As he finds it hard to communicate with humans, he developed an inseparable bond with fish, especially with dolphins. There is an interesting line he said, "When I went down to the bottom of the sea, I couldn't find any good reason of coming back up to the surface." This sums up his philosophical view.
By detaching himself from the mundane drudgery of earthly life, avoiding ugly competitiveness, cut-throat jealousy, greed and hatred in human society he reaches a Utopia of his own. In this sense, he is almost non-human. He is a Taoist who lives in harmony with nature, who interacts only with creatures born and bred in nature.