It's certainly not Free Willy

Rating: 7/10 (30 April 2004)

First, let's be clear about which version we're dealing with: if you're offered the US edition 119 minute cut with a happy ending and a Bill Conti soundtrack - walk away, quickly. If it's the 132 minute French cut with English subtitles and the original and superior Eric (I've been listening to too many Peter Gabriel albums) Sierra soundtrack. Well, that'll do nicely. However, if you like your bleu to be grand then check out the magnificent directors cut which runs to just over 160 minutes and has been well worth the wait. It's a beautifully shot film that really needs to be seen in a cinema to be fully appreciated. The sea is the star of this movie but Jean Reno, Jean-Marc Barr and Rosanna Arquette put in good supporting performances. Jean Reno's character has an adversarial relationship with the sea. He measures himself against it; he needs to prove his mastery, his superiority. Jacques' (Jean-Marc Barr's character - insert your own Cousteau joke here) relationship with the sea is far more complex: As a child his mother abandoned him to cross the sea; his father left him when he drowned in the sea. Jacques is drawn by, obsessed with and at home in the sea. Perhaps it's a surrogate womb to replace the mother that left him, or maybe it's a haven from the harsh realities of his life on land. Even as an adult Jacques is awkward and inarticulate on land but graceful and expressive in the water. Besson beautifully illustrates this relationship when Jacques realises he's falling in love with Rosanna Arquette's character. After making love he leaves her bed and spends the night in the sea, finding complete spiritual and physical satisfaction; cleansing himself of his infidelity. Part romance, part comedy, and part drama. This film takes a dark turn towards the end as the various physical and psychological relationships resolve themselves and Besson leaves us with an ending that fades into inky black ambiguity. 8.5 / 10.