Le Grand Bleu

Recommended by: Ms. Tymczak

Age-Rating: PG

It's the dramatized story of the friendship and sporting rivalry between two leading contemporary champion free divers in the 20th century: Jacques Mayol and Enzo Maiorca. Along with which comes Mayol's fictionalized relationship with his girlfriend Johana Baker.

“My dear, science is a cruel mistress.”

My Review

Le Grand Bleu, or The Big Blue in English, is a beautiful story that perfectly mirrors the obsessions many extreme sports fanatics face, around the world. They wish to push the boundaries and often way surpass their limits, as was portrayed by this story of the two champion free divers. The cinema offers some wonderful aspects that further helps the plot along. One of said aspects, that is my favorite, is the beautiful cinematography. Le Grand Bleu features gorgeous underwater photography and spectacular location shooting. As the New York Times stated "The film's undersea footage has a powerful otherworldly quality, much as if it were unfolding in outer space, as indeed it might be", and I completely agree. Along with which came the intensifying soundtrack. This music is a beautiful masterpiece with haunting sounds of dolphin's and lovely tones of musical compilation. Despite some graceful features of the film, I had one minor issue, which was truly personal. The movie is quite long, which doesn't work too well with my lacking attention span. However, the emotional intensity of the film made up for it. Le Grand Bleu is one that lingers in the mind long after the credits.