Rated: M
Directed by: Liz Garbus
Produced by: Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan, Mridu Chandra, Evan Hayes
Written by: Mark Monroe & Pax Wasserman
Executive Producers: Julie Gaither, Carolyn Bernstein, Ryan Harrington.
Becoming Cousteau is an inspiring documentary about the man who showed the world what lies below the surface of the sea.
With eyes staring through goggles, Captain Cousteau is quoted, ‘Diving under water is the greatest distraction.’
On land we’re constantly fighting gravity.
When asked what it’s like under the surface, he replies, ‘It’s fantastic. Imagine having no weight.’
In the beginning it was his curiosity that led him to dive deeper under water, to a place where he could dream.
When Germany invaded France in WWII he was able to forget what was happening on land. He was able to escape into another world. Where, for a time, he envisaged people living under the water.
The documentary is a linear biography of Cousteau’s life, from 1935 as a pilot for the Navy, to the end of his life in 1997. His life an evolution from an underwater explorer to inventor, film maker, philosopher, husband and father to environmentalist.
Universally respected as a scientist and explorer, his voice opened people’s eyes to the beauty of the underwater world, and the danger of losing it.
Through newspaper articles and interviews, footage from Cousteau’s many films, including Oscar Best Documentary winner and winner of the Palme d’Or award, The Silent World (1956), Cousteau showed the world life under the sea and even made an impression on Picasso who was amazed by the unexpected colours and held onto a piece of coral given to him by Cousteau until he died.
Thoughts written in journals are read of Cousteau’s experiences while sailing the seas on the explorer vessel, The Calypso.
Cousteau invents the Aqualung out of necessity, technology that allows him to dive deeper into the depths. And seeing more, discovering more he wants to take a camera with him so invents a case, so he can film underwater.
Inventor turned film maker, he created 52 TV shows as he satisfied his curiosity to explore the ocean.
His notebook was his camera.
The documentary paints a picture of a truly amazing and brave man. Yet there’s balance in the telling with the risk of diving further than before requiring, ‘a strong head and cold heart.’
He admits his curiosity ruling his life while he neglected his family.
And with the discovery of the sea in distress from all the pollution, there’re years of pessimism and grief for the passing of his son, Philippe.
Like the black and white film made bright with splashes of fluorescent colour, the film brightens with hope – The Cousteau Society still strong today in its efforts to conserve the environment.
But I don’t think the intention of the documentary is to share a message of conservation, although this was important to Cousteau in the later years of his life. The feeling is more a biography of a man whose curiosity led to fascination to then love and the want to protect.
