The Odyssey (film) explained

The Odyssey
Native Name:L'Odyssée
Director:Jérôme Salle
Producer:Marc Missonnier
Olivier Delbosc
Nathalie Gastaldo
Philippe Godeau
Eric Vidart Loeb
Starring:Lambert Wilson
Pierre Niney
Audrey Tautou
Music:Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography:Matias Boucard
Editing:Stan Collet
Studio:Fidélité Films
Pan-Européenne
TF1 Films Production
Distributor:Wild Bunch
Runtime:122 minutes
Country:France
Belgium
Language:French
Budget:$22.5 million[1]
Gross:$9.8 million[2]

The Odyssey (French title: L'Odyssée) is a 2016 French-Belgian biographical adventure film directed by Jérôme Salle and written by Salle and Laurent Turner, based on the non-fiction book Capitaine de La Calypso by Albert Falco and Yves Paccalet. The film stars Lambert Wilson, Pierre Niney, and Audrey Tautou.[3] [4] [5]

Premise

The film follows Jacques-Yves Cousteau, a French ocean-going adventurer, biologist, and filmmaker. It sticks to historical events, and was based on documentation and interviews with people who worked with Cousteau.

In 1949, Cousteau, an eccentric French naval officer, with a beautiful oceanside house, who wanted to be a pilot. But he quits the Navy to explore and document the ocean. His boat, Calypso, was a 1941 minesweeper. The film is a biopic covering aquatic adventures over thirty years. Cousteau is revealed to be an adventurer but also an inventor. He designed the autonomous regulator, but also had romantic views of colonising the sea. The film documents the decline of his finances and fortunes and banks pull out as the era of 'robotics' and automation begins as a more plausible financial investment than Cousteau's ideas of civilizations living under the sea. While he was influential and ambitious, he is revealed to be disloyal to his wife Simone, who remains on the Calypso year-round while Cousteau travels extensively. He conflicts with and is reconciled with his environmentalist son, Philippe, who is also a filmmaker. A major trip to Antarctica sees him working with his son and loyal crew, to make films he has promised to his investors and producing essential revenue as his business was failing. Cousteau is then shown garnering fame and travelling the world in the late 1970s. The death of Philippe on 28 June 1979, in a PBY Catalina flying boat crash in the Tagus river near Lisbon is the low point in Cousteau's life. Cousteau is shown to be a popularizer of the hidden wonders of the sea, and the person who raised the most awareness of the ocean and the need for environmental protection for many decades. His role in brokering the moratorium on resource exploitation in Antarctica is mentioned in the closing credits.

Cast

Production

Principal photography on the film began on 7 September 2015 in Croatia, where filming took place on islands Hvar, Vis, and Biševo.[6] [7] Shooting was also done in South Africa, Antarctic, and The Bahamas, and it ended on 8 January 2016.[8] [9]

Release

In France, the film was released on 12 October 2016 by Wild Bunch.

Reception

The film was regarded by critics and audiences as lacking direction and good character development. The undersea and Antarctica scenes were deemed to be stunning, and received an award. Rotten Tomatoes gave a score of 63% based on 19 reviews.[10]

Award / Film FestivalCategoryRecipientsResult
César AwardsBest SoundMarc Engels, Fred Demolder, Sylvain Réty and Jean-Paul Hurier
Globes de Cristal AwardsBest Actor Lambert Wilson
Best ActressAudrey Tautou

Notes and References

  1. Web site: L'odyssée . JP's Box-Office.
  2. Web site: The Odyssey.
  3. Web site: Watch The Odyssey (2016) Online - Stream Full Movie. @NOWTV. en-gb. 2019-09-29.
  4. Web site: 'The Odyssey' ('L'Odyssee'): Film Review San Sebastian 2016. The Hollywood Reporter. 25 September 2016. en. 2019-09-29.
  5. News: The Odyssey review – Jacques Cousteau biopic looks good underwater but doesn't go deep. Clarke. Cath. 2017-08-18. The Guardian. 2019-09-29. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  6. News: French Film About Life of Jacques Cousteau Filming on Croatian Islands. 10 January 2016. Croatia Week. 13 September 2015. en-US.
  7. News: Biopic about legendary Jacques Cousteau, The Odyssey, filming in Croatia / News / Filming in Croatia. 10 January 2016. filmingincroatia.hr. 14 September 2015. 7 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180707172403/http://filmingincroatia.hr/en/news/biopic_about_legendary_jacques_cousteau_the_odyssey_filming_in_croatia. dead.
  8. News: Lemercier. Fabien. Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. 10 January 2016. www.cineuropa.org. 17 December 2015.
  9. News: On the Set for 1/8/16: Robert Pattinson Starts on the Feature, 'Good Time' While Michael Fassbender & Marion Cotillard Wrap 'Assassin's Creed'. 10 January 2016. SSN Insider. 8 January 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160109234920/http://www.ssninsider.com/on-the-set-for-1816-robert-pattinson-starts-on-the-feature-good-time-while-michael-fassbender-marion-cotillard-wrap-assassins-creed/. 9 January 2016. dmy-all.
  10. Web site: The Odyssey (2016). .