Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic translation of an article originally written in French. I apologise for any strange sentences and funny mistakes that may have resulted. If you read French, click on the French flag below to access the original, correct text:
Français The new feature film by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud will be released this Wednesday, January 27, 2010. I was able to see Oceans in December, well before the official release, and meet the film's team.
I love it when my professional obligations meet my personal passions!
Oceans, a hymn to the sea
Diving friends and lovers of the sea, go see Oceans. The images, made by the greatest underwater filmmakers, are to die for.
New sophisticated shooting techniques (Thetys girostabilized head, underwater torpedoes and mini-helicopter, equipped with camera) immerse you as ever in the heart of the oceans. We become fish among the fish ...
It is not really a documentary, but rather a "hymn to the sea", as my colleague Yvon Lechevestrier rightly writes in the paper I co-signed with him this Monday, January 25, 2010, in Ouest-France. Here is the PDF page, titled Perrin and Cluzaud play the hymn to the sea (or click on the image below to view the article in full size):
The madness of Sardine Run
The time given to the film (four years of filming) allowed, during the expeditions, to seize rare and fabulous moments. The sequence of the famous Sardine RunThe annual migration of millions of sardines off the eastern coast of South Africa (a giant feast that attracts birds, dolphins and sharks) is truly mind-boggling.
You have never seen birds passing under your flippers? Here is a video excerpt of my interview with François Sarano for Ouest-France. Professional diver and doctor in oceanography, former member of the Cousteau team, co-founder of the association Longitude 181, he worked as a script guide for Oceans. I love the way he tells the story of the Sardine Run :
And I add below, editing this article in January 2017, nearly seven years after the above interview, this excerpt from People of the oceansThe same spectacular scene of the birds diving under the surface, excerpt broadcast by France 2 via Twitter :
🔴 Immediately in Great Outdoors "The People of the Oceans" Dolphin sharks hunting together 🐬💕 pic.twitter.com/i8noeVudul
- France 2 (@ France2tv) January 7, 2017
I stay each time taped in front of these fascinating images ...
The trombinoscope of species
It is difficult for me, as a diver and particularly sensitive to the wonders of the underwater world, to be impartial. I loved the movie Oceans !
But another colleague of the newspaper, less fan of fish than me, found the time a little long in company of the whales. And he regretted the lack of "documentary" explanations. He would have liked to know which species were shown, where on the planet the scenes were shot, etc.
I, of course, did not have too much trouble with the identification of most of the fish and other representatives of the underwater fauna. And I must admit that I was quite proud to have personally met and photographed a certain number of them, from the mola mola, at nudibranch…
All the "documentary" information (species, location) was in fact to be discovered after or before the screening, on the website ofOceans, set up during the release, very well done (the site now returns on the Pathé page of the DVD). There are lots of videos to see, animals, the making-of ... Again, fascinating.
For the real marine biology buffs (and I know some!), there was even a trombinoscope of the species shown in the film.
Optimistic look
For my part, I really appreciate this bias of Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud, the co-directors: they offer us a real cinema film, not a large format documentary.
→ See the movie Oceans on AlloCiné
Of course, it is an "ecological" film, in the air of time. But ecology is not a fashionable phenomenon. And Perrin did not wait for the environmental vogue to pay tribute to the beauty of nature (we remember the Migrating people and of Microcosmos, for the best known films).
And above all, unlike other environmentalists who are highly publicized and sometimes preachy, the two Jacques remain optimistic. They avoid hammering a message or making us feel guilty. "The sea is sick, but there are lots of opportunities for it to be saved." concludes Jacques Perrin at the end of our interview for Ouest-France.
There is a real elegance in their vision as directors, and an immense requirement in their production choices. And as far as raising awareness about the protection of the oceans is concerned, the film is accompanied by an educational operation for children and their teachers. Another intelligent choice, I think.
In short, with this film, they decided to amaze us, letting the oceans speak for themselves... Mission accomplished!
To finish, I give you the trailer below, just to wait, until Wednesday. You will tell me your impressions.
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