The Big Blue 1988
7.5 / 10
The Big Blue
Two men answer the call of the ocean in this romantic fantasy-adventure. Jacques and Enzo are a pair of friends who have been close since childhood, and who share a passion for the dangerous sport of free diving. Professional diver Jacques opted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who died at sea when Jacques was a boy; to the bewilderment of scientists, Jacques harbors a remarkable ability to adjust his heart rate and breathing pattern in the water, so that his vital signs more closely resemble that of dolphins than men. As Enzo persuades a reluctant Jacques to compete against him in a free diving contest -- determining who can dive deeper and longer without scuba gear -- Jacques meets Johana, a beautiful insurance investigator from America, and he finds that he must choose between his love for her and his love of the sea.
Two men answer the call of the ocean in this romantic fantasy-adventure. Jacques and Enzo are a pair of friends who have been close since childhood, and who share a passion for the dangerous sport of free diving. Professional diver Jacques opted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who died at sea when Jacques was a boy; to the bewilderment of scientists, Jacques harbors a remarkable ability to adjust his heart rate and breathing pattern in the water, so that his vital signs more closely resemble that of dolphins than men. As Enzo persuades a reluctant Jacques to compete against him in a free diving contest -- determining who can dive deeper and longer without scuba gear -- Jacques meets Johana, a beautiful insurance investigator from America, and he finds that he must choose between his love for her and his love of the sea.
Videos & Photos
All 2 Videos & 32 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Jacques Mayol
... Enzo Molinari
... Johana Baker
... Dr. Laurence
... Novelli
... Uncle Louis
User reviews
See All 2 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by Andres Gomez
Introspective story with a good Jean Reno and innocent Rosanna Arquette. Sound track, for those loving Eric Sierra. Not for all tastes. A little bit too long but entartaining.
Directors:
Release Date:
May 10, 1988 (France)
Run Time:
2hr 48`
MMPA Rating:
PG-13
Original Language:
French
Production Countries:
France
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
The Big Blue - The Big Blue
Introspective story with a good Jean Reno and innocent Rosanna Arquette. Sound track, for those loving Eric Sierra. Not for all tastes. A little bit too long but entartaining.
**A film unjustly forgotten these days.** I confess that I didn't quite know what to expect from this movie. All I knew was that it was wildly successful in the decade it was released, and that nowadays hardly anyone remembers it. It is directed by Luc Besson, a French director whom I respect and consider competent. The screenplay is based on the relationship between Jacques and Enzo (I assume one will be French and the other Italian). They are childhood friends, but grow apart shortly after the accidental death of Jacques' father. Already in adult life, the two become apnea diving champions and rivals for the world title of the specialty. The story works reasonably well, but it skids a lot on the amorous subplot created around the character of Johana Baker, which feels very underwritten. The film has a strong French cast led effectively by Jean Reno, who is one of the best French actors working today, at least for me. He gives his character a dour humor and a certain sassiness that I felt was very fitting. Jean-Marc Barr also does a good job, but he lacks Reno's charisma and presence. Rosanna Arquette is beautiful, elegant, but nothing more than a pretty face for the film. The material she received is downright poor. Luc Besson likes the sea, and films where the cinematography and the soundtrack artistically dominate and absorb our senses. With this film, he gives us all that, in generous doses, thanks to the beauty of the Mediterranean Sea, magnificently filmed in superb scenes, below and above the water level, and to an excellent soundtrack, by Eric Serra. The editing was also very well directed and the film has a very pleasant pace. All of these are reasons to revisit and revalue a film that seems to me to be unfairly forgotten.
Cast & Crew of
The Big Blue - The Big Blue
Directors & Credit Writers
... Director
Cast
... Jacques Mayol
... Enzo Molinari
... Johana Baker
... Dr. Laurence
... Novelli
... Uncle Louis
... Roberto
... Duffy
... Bonita
... Sally
... La Mamma
... Priest
... Alfredo
... Supervisor
... Noireuter
... Franck
... Superintendent
... Jacques' Father
... Young Jacques
... Young Enzo
Produced By
Videos & Photos of
The Big Blue - The Big Blue
Videos ( 2)
Photos ( 32 )
Related Movies To
The Big Blue - The Big Blue
Private Collections (1979)
5.3 /10
Three stories. A solitary sailor falls from his boat and washes ashore on a tropical island. While seeking rescue, he's found by a nearly naked woman who is playful and compliant. He decides to erase his signs of distress and remain on the island. What awaits? In the second, an adolescent searches for the words of a nursery rime he remembers bits of. His journey takes him into dreams, sexual awakening, and Oedipal fantasy. Third, a man of wealth in late-nineteenth century Paris hires a prostitute for the night. She's also cabaret performer and takes him to her room. He fears he's about to be robbed. What's her secret?
Run Time: 1hr 43` . MMPA: . Release: 27 Jun 1979
Director: Walerian Borowczyk , Shūji Terayama , Just Jaeckin
Producer: Pierre Braunberger
Stars: Roland Blanche , Marie-Catherine Conti , Marpessa Dawn , Laura Gemser , Jūzō Itami , Hiromi Kawai
K.O. (2025)
0 /10
A former fighter must find the missing son of an opponent he accidentally killed years ago, taking on a brutally violent crime gang in Marseille.
Run Time: 1hr 24` . MMPA: R . Release: 05 Jun 2025
Director: Brieuc Vanderswalm , Leo Bourdon , Elsa Truscello
Producer: Florian Vadelorge , Jean-Christophe Gastaudo
Stars: Cyril Gane , Alice Belaïdi , Maleaume Paquin , Foued Nabba , Mathieu Lestrade , Anne Azoulay
Freedom (2024)
0 /10
Inspired by the true events of one of France's most notorious non-violent robbers, Bruno Sulak, in the 1980s. He led multiple heists, then captured public attention for his many daring escapes from police custody...always to reunite with his beloved lover and accomplice Annie, becoming both France's Public Enemy #1 and an icon of Freedom.
Run Time: 1hr 50` . MMPA: . Release: 01 Nov 2024
Director: Edouard Azoulay , Laure Prévost , Ornella Alagna
Producer: Cécile Levraud , Damien Noguer , Alhana Demoulin
Stars: Lucas Bravo , Mélanie Laurent , Yvan Attal , Steve Tientcheu , David Ayala , Christophe Kourotchkine
Savages (2024)
0 /10
In Borneo, near the tropical forest, Kéria rescues a baby orangutang in the palm oil plantation where her father works. Kéria's cousin Selaï comes to live with them seeking refuge from the conflict between his indigenous tribe and the logging companies. Kéria, Selaï and the little orangutang, now named Oshi, will have to fight against their forest’s destruction.
Run Time: 1hr 27` . MMPA: . Release: 16 Oct 2024
Director: Emmanuelle Nicot , Claude Barras
Producer: Barbara Letellier , Hugo Deghilage , Olivier Glassey
Stars: Babette De Coster , Martin Verset , Laetitia Dosch , Benoît Poelvoorde , Pierre-Isaie Duc , Michel Vuillermoz
Last Bullet (2025)
0 /10
Car genius Lino returns to conclude his vendetta against Areski and the corrupt commander who ruined their lives in this turbo-charged trilogy finale.
Run Time: 1hr 51` . MMPA: R . Release: 06 May 2025
Director: Ludivine Doazan , Cheyenne Corre , Guillaume Pierret
Producer: Mathieu Ageron , Rémi Leautier , Monalisa Marchand
Stars: Alban Lenoir , Stéfi Celma , Nicolas Duvauchelle , Anne Serra , Gérard Lanvin , Pascale Arbillot
Bambi: A Life in the Woods (2024)
0 /10
The life of Bambi, a male roe deer, from his birth through childhood, the loss of his mother, the finding of a mate, the lessons he learns from his father, and the experience he gains about the dangers posed by human hunters in the forest.
Run Time: 1hr 17` . MMPA: . Release: 16 Oct 2024
Director: Michel Fessler
Producer: Stéphane Millière , Reginald de Guillebon , Jean-Pierre Bailly
Stars: Mylène Farmer , Senta Berger , Arja Koriseva
Skin. Like. Sun. (2009)
4 /10
Real-life young couple Wim and Floor spend an afternoon in the sunwashed rooms of a crumbling home in Belgium. In a unique twist, this artistic erotic documentary is edited in nearly real-time. In the slowness, we get the build, the sweetness, and the sexiness. Forget about fingersnapping fast editing. Slow is where it’s at.
Run Time: 1hr . MMPA: NR . Release: 10 Oct 2009
Director: Murielle Scherre , Jennifer Lyon Bell
Producer: Murielle Scherre , Jennifer Lyon Bell
Stars: Wim van Damme , Floor Wyns
Carjackers (2025)
0 /10
By day, they're invisible—valets, hostesses, and bartenders at a luxury hotel. By night, they're the Carjackers, a crew of skilled drivers who track and rob wealthy clients on the road. As they plan their ultimate heist, the hotel director hires a ruthless hitman, to stop them at all costs. With danger closing in, can Nora, Zoe, Steve, and Prestance pull off their biggest score yet?
Run Time: 1hr 37` . MMPA: . Release: 27 Mar 2025
Director: Léa Vandesteene , James Canal , Stéphanie Seilhean
Producer: Marc Vade , Tristan Bergé , Rémi Cervoni
Stars: Zoé Marchal , Franck Gastambide , Bosh , Mylène Jampanoï , Alix Bénézech , Mareva Ranarivelo
Dangerous Liaisons (2022)
4.1 /10
The innocent Célène might be falling in love with popular surfer Tristan at her new school. But she has no idea that, in actuality, she’s the object of a cruel bet between Tristan and Instagram influencer Vanessa.
Run Time: 1hr 49` . MMPA: R . Release: 08 Jul 2022
Director: Rachel Suissa
Producer: Edouard de Lachomette , Nicolas Derouet , Eleonore Dailly
Stars: Paola Locatelli , Simon Rérolle , Ella Pellegrini , Héloïse Janjaud , Jin Xuan Mao , Oscar Lesage
MILF (2018)
4.8 /10
Three childhood friends - Elise, Sonia and Cecile - leave for a summer in the South of France to help clear Cecile’s holiday house before it is put up for sale. There, they soon become the prime targets of three horny young men, for whom these single forty-year-old women are much more attractive than girls their age.
Run Time: 1hr 36` . MMPA: . Release: 02 May 2018
Director: Teddy Laroutis , Julie Lupo , Natalie Engelstein
Producer: Audrey Gatimel , Thierry Perez , Emmanuelle Prévost
Stars: Virginie Ledoyen , Marie-Josée Croze , Axelle Laffont , Matthias Dandois , Victor Meutelet , Waël Sersoub
Taxi (1998)
7 /10
In Marseilles a skilled pizza delivery boy Daniel who drives a scooter finally has his dreams come true. He gets a taxi license. Caught by the police for a huge speed infraction, he will help Emilien, a loser inspector who can't drive, on the track of German bank robbers, so he doesn't lose his license and his dream job.
Run Time: 1hr 26` . MMPA: . Release: 08 Apr 1998
Director: Gerard Diefenthal , Stéphane Gluck , Bruno Resnais
Producer: Laurent Pétin , Bernard Grenet , Winny Calissoni
Stars: Samy Naceri , Frédéric Diefenthal , Marion Cotillard , Manuela Gourary , Emma Wiklund , Bernard Farcy
Arthur & Diana (2024)
7 /10
Arthur & Diana are siblings. Together with Diana's 2-year-old son, they leave Berlin for Paris for a small, relaxed trip to do the annual safety inspection of their old rusty Renault. But the journey will not be relaxed, the direction not Paris and whether the car will go along is all too questionable...
Run Time: 1hr 48` . MMPA: . Release: 26 Sep 2024
Director: Sara Summa
Producer: Lisa Roling , Cecilia Trautvetter
Stars: Lupo Piero Summa , Sara Summa , Robin Summa , Livia Maria Antonelli , Claire Loiseau , Ugo Fiore