Renz
An Army of One
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Cast: Rosanna Arquette, Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno, Paul Shenar
Synopsis from Amazon.com: A hit in Europe but a flop in the U.S.--where it was trimmed, rescored, and given a new ending--Luc Besson's The Big Blue has endured as a minor cult classic for its gorgeous photography (both on land and underwater) and dreamy ambiance. Jean-Marc Barr is a sweet and sensitive but passive presence as Jacques, a diver with a unique connection to the sea. He has the astounding ability to slow his heartbeat and his circulation on deep dives, "a phenomenon that's only been observed in whales and dolphins… until now," remarks one scientist. Kooky New York insurance adjuster Joanna (Rosanna Arquette at her most delightfully flustered and endearingly sexy best) melts after falling into his innocent baby blues, and she follows him to Italy, where he's continuing a lifelong competition with boyhood rival Enzo (Jean Reno in a performance both comic and touching).
Besson's first English-language production looks more European than Hollywood, and it suffers from a tin ear for the language. At times it feels more like an IMAX undersea documentary than a drama about free divers, but the lush and lovely images create a fairy tale dimension to Jacques's story, a veritable Little Merman. More dolphin than man, he's so torn between earthly love and aquatic paradise that even his dreams call him to the sea (in a sequence more eloquent than any speech).
Besson has expanded the film by 50 minutes for his director's cut, which adds little story but slows the contemplative pace until it practically floats in time, and has restored Eric Serra's synthesizer-heavy score, a slice of 1980s pop that at times borders on disco kitsch. Most importantly, he has restored his original ending, which echoes the fairy tale Jacque tells Joanna earlier in the film and leaves the story floating in the inky blackness of ambiguity.
I really love the look and feeling of this film. The real star of the movie is the sea itself and the cinematography is truly breathtaking. I grew up next to the ocean so I can relate a bit to the characters as the allure of the sea draws them repeatedly back to try ever deeper and more dangerous free dives (diving without oxygen tanks).
I suppose this is one of those films that people either love or hate, but I am squarely in the "love" category. The visuals and the rivalry/friendship between Jacque and Enzo (the dialogue is not the film's strong suit) really make The Big Blue a great viewing experience.
