In a world where story lines, and plot are readily sacrificed for explosions and stunts galore, sometimes the marriage of the two is quite a rarity. But in Luc Besson, we have a director who is well known for his serene, breathtaking cinematography, and thought-provoking story lines, and this film is no exception. However, there are no explosions in this film, the basic premise being 'how low can you go'?
Arguably shot 30% on land and 70% in the water, this film reaches the depths other filmmakers can only dream of (aquatically speaking of course). The story is primarily about a diving competition, and goes into some background detail of the two main rivals Jacques Mayol and Enzo Molinari; played by the excellent actors, Jean-Marc Barr and Jean Reno, who was to later make his mainstream debut in another Besson film, 'Leon'.
There are three moods to the film; the exhilaration, tension, and fierce competition involved with the diving, the romantic interest between Jean-Marc Barr and Rosanna Arquette, and the tongue-in cheek humour and wonderful chemistry supplied by Reno and his character's brother Roberto, played by Marc Duret. But the film's main star is the water, and from the beginning of the film where Jacques' father drowns, to the very end of the film, the water is very influential and plays a part in the four varying locations that the film is shot. In their native land of France, In Sicily, In Greenland , and in Spain where the competition takes place.
What makes this film tense is the rivalry between the two friends, which surpasses boundaries set by safety regulations, which adds a high sense of danger to the competition. As Jacques and Enzo progress through the film, the two divers realise that they feel more a part of the water than a part of the land, which strains relationships they have on the terra firmae.
The one thing I felt with this film was that there were certain points in the film where I expected the end credits to roll on to the screen. It didn't happen. This does not suggest that the film is tedious, nor does it suggest that it is necessarily a bad thing. What it does illustrate is that the film does not have a straight forward conventional story line, and you may not see everyone living happily ever after at the end.
Nevertheless, for the ambience generated alone, this is definitely a film I could recommend to watch, as it certainly got me more interested in watching Luc Besson films!
Craig Aston
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