The Odyssey (2016) User Reviews

impressive

[pnck71 · 8/10 · 1 March 2017]

It's a very well done film. It certainly wasn't easy to squeeze half a man's life into 2 hours but I think they've kept a good balance between the beautiful under-the-sea shots and the family ups and downs and the financial challenges he faced. Obviously, they did not have much time for any in-depth analysis, mostly walked us through the main milestones of his life. But the film is shot and edited perfectly. The scenes just flow from one to another, speeding up and slowing down as needed, as kids grow, as decisions need to be made, as people leave and return. The film is not all rosy and it did not shy away from some of the less pleasant sides of the great man. But I think it was handled with good tact, they did not dwell on it but kind of just mentioned it, hey, we are all human after all. And of course, there are enough shots for you to go wow that's a fricking beautiful world down there.

A true pioneering family

[allanmichael30 · 8/10 · 20 October 2019]

This film shows his personal life and how he got funding for his expedition and family struggles. An important movie telling the true story how Jacques Cousteau help discover another world not in space but under the sea. This was an important moment in our history and as important as the moon landing,but most people just don't see it that way. He saw a hidden world and filmed it to show the word, Both him and Émile Gagnan developed the Aqua-Lung before that divers were connected through free-flowing air systems where divers were connected to the surface and lacked the freedom to film. The new method opened up the world under the oceans. Jacques and his family also pioneered marine conservation. He launched a petition campaign in 1990 to save Antarctica from mineral exploitation and the Cousteau Society continues his work today.

Household Name Growing Up - Jacques Cousteau

[jon-890-677060 · 8/10 · 16 February 2020]

Currently at the age of 57, it's fair to say that, hearing the name {Jacques Cousteau}, be it random conversation w others, catching it on the radio or perhaps, seeing him on a TV special or documentary, was as common an occurrence over the decades (before his death), as was waking up, to cartoons every Saturday morning (during that era).

For those unfamiliar w the name & legacy of Jacques Cousteau, this is an important & smart film, especially for those possessing a concentrated interest, in the historical perspective, of such a profound conservationist (so far ahead of his time).

Personal Disclosure: As an individual that does not adopt to the supposition, of anthropomorphic climate-change, it is important to note that, much of Cousteau's efforts, during the last (almost) two-decades of his explorations, were given, to legitimate environmental concerns. And, going forward, he invested his life's work, exposing & educating the world, on the ramifications of unchecked pollution, and subsequently, the needless and/or, haphazard slaughtering, of any species (to the point of extinction).

The Odyssey, did & will continue, to help generations to come, remember the life & legacy of such a special individual (and family).

beautiful

[Kirpianuscus · 9 February 2019]

Jean - Jacques Cousteau was one of heroes of my my childhood. His lovely documentaries, his explanations, his work and passion are source of precious memories. This film changes nothing. Only gives new nuances to the familiary story. The realism is the basic tool for that, as result of a coherent, correct, precise story and admirable performances. The choice and the way of a man and his family. I admire the impecable job of Lambert Wilson. I love the great work of Audrey Tautou. And the inspired cinematography. Short, a necessary film. Impecable crafted.

Beautiful movie with a bug.

[Peter-Lorentzen · 7/10 · 1 April 2018]

Please forgive my language and spelling. I'm not native English. Very good movie. Absolutely recommendable. Beautiful pictures, great cast, great story, great directing. My childhood hero. I watched M. Cousteau's brilliant movies on television with great passion as a kid, I collected stickers from a gas station with animals of the sea, to put into collectable sticker books from M. Cousteau. The movie shows the man behind the M. Cousteau I knew from the movies, the hard work, the humanity, and as every human M. Cousteau was not perfect. M. Cousteau is brilliantly played by M. Lambert Wilson, brilliant! There's a bug though. The death of M. Philippe Cousteau is not reproduced correctly. I don't know why, but it irritated me and made me give the movie 7 and not 8 stars.

More of a family story than an environmental statement, but that's fine

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 14 December 2016]

"L'odyssée", also known as "Jacques", is a French 2-hour movie from this year written and directed by Jerôme Salle, the man who wrote the original work that the Depp/Jolie movie "The Tourist" is based on. And even without major awards recognition, this film we have here is still among Salle's most known now. This is probably mostly due to the decent cast (Wilson, Niney, Tautou) and also because of the popularity of the central character here. It is about Jacques-Yves Cousteau, one of the biggest explorers, especially when it comes to sea and underwater expeditions. But this is only partially what the film is about. There is major focus in here on how he struggles in the relationship with his son Philippe and how it takes a major change in JYC's approach to his profession until he finally manages to bond with his son. We also find out about the man's relationship with women, especially his wife (played by Audrey Tautou from "Amélie"). And of course the job plays a really big role. We see how Cousteau becomes a big star in the United States and you could see this movie here almost as a biopic, even if it ends a long time before his death.

And still, this film is almost as much about the character played by Pierre Niney (one of France's rising stars right now), namely Cousteau's son. We see him in his very early years, but also later on as an adult and how his approach to environment and science is fundamentally different compared to his father's idea. The professional life of Commandant Cousteau constantly seems to get in the way between the two. Anyway, overall, I enjoyed the watch here. Maybe it was a good decision by Salle to focus more on the conflicts between the characters and keep the environmental message in the background for almost the entire film, but then I'd also have hoped for a different ending as these last words shown on the screen sound almost as if this was the core message of the film, which it definitely wasn't. So it is not a perfect watch, but still a fairly good one and I learned many new things about Cousteau, his life and his family. The real life characters make it an even more exciting watch. And lets be honest, there is some major irony to Cousteau Jr.'s death caused by technology and he still ends up dead in the water, a reference that shows how these two worlds simply do not fit together in terms of what nature may have in mind for us. I liked all of the acting in here and while there was an occasional weakness in the story, I certainly give this film a thumbs-up. This film has probably the best trailer I have seen all year, so maybe my expectations were simply too high. In any case, it was a satisfying watch and I think that you should check it out if you get a chance to see it. It also never drags, which is a great achievement for a film with this runtime.

Work of art

[esmerrydomingo · 10/10 · 9 May 2017]

This film is magical. The cinematography is mesmerizing and the shots under water and in Antarctica are especially powerful. The actors are excellent and the story is made more human by showing Jacques as a man with flaws, not just the celebrated hero the world made him out to be. It is a beautiful art film with an important message about conservation, so don't bother going if you're looking for Fast and the Furious. Worth watching if you aren't!

A beautiful and important film not to miss

[debeggerch · 10/10 · 1 January 2017]

This is a beautiful, poignant film, which artfully uses a (true) family story to magnify a larger global tragedy, of which we are all a part. The audience of which I was a part, was moved to silence and stillness at the end of the film. I left the movie house changed for the better and in deep introspection.

Unfortunately, the film is only available in French, as far as I know, which limits its exposure. The film provides much food for thought and reflection as well as impressive images of our beautiful and precious world, which we so ashamedly, if without malice, neglect. As you can tell, I highly recommend this film.

its pretty biographical

[ops-52535 · 9/10 · 2 March 2020]

So if you dont like that genre, just skip it.

but if you like to dive in the ocean and enjoy the silence beneath the sea surface, accompanied with a great and soothing score, a very good story will give you a relentless pleasure and a moment of cinematic glory you wont forget so easy. the kåstå films where part of my childhood, and i know several friends that have become divers because of the inspiration by those films. i tried too ,when in the service, but i was a weak runner and couldnt pass the test, even though i was the fastest swimmer on the trials. so this is history, my friends, the story about one of them that didnt get the divers bends, and embraced the ocean without any frontiers.

its a good production, nice actors, and underwater images, it could have a better timelineinfo, but all in all its a gripping story after all, and that makes a grumpy old man pretty stunned, therefore a recommend

Family story more than the journey of the man

[hichamhfilms · 27 December 2017]

During the entire movie, which was beautifully shot, I felt it was written by his wife with jealousy rather than telling a story of the great man he was and the discovery. For me it's a family story. Too bad

Jaques, the Explorer

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 25 May 2019]

If like me you were just periphically aware of Jaques Cousteau, this movie will you an insight. To the man, to the dreams and to his accomplishments, against all odds and all that. I mean some of the dialog (which may or may not be exaggerated) with film producers is just (comedy) gold. But you can see why they only had profit in their mind and he was out there for a different purpose. Now he was able to move his goals/dreams or make them bigger, by thinking outisde the box (no pun intended).

The movie is in french but there are quite a few scenes that are also in english. The main thing is, we get an insight into how he became who many got to know or read upon later on. Also an "influencer" as some might call him nowadays. An inspiring movie, that tells us to reach for the stars or the bottom of the sea - whichever is closer to your heart!

This film really touched my heart.

[heidibrideofchrist · 10/10 · 25 June 2021]

I have had a song stuck in my head for a week. I turned this movie on for the first time today. This films' theme song was the same as the song stuck in my head for a week. We loved watching Jaque Cousteau on T. V. when we were children. We also lived on the waterfront, and played on the beach all the time, so it all worked together to create interest in our oceans. Mr. Cousteau's idea about people living under the sea with breathing devices is ahead of his time. Just like other explorers, like the Wright brothers and their flying machine, it's a very extreme idea. Extreme ideas tend to frighten people. I don't think most people are going to pay money to live underwater with a breathing device installed in their body. It's just way too extreme. It does not sound like something the bankers are going to back with lots of cash. Perhaps some day this idea will take hold. However, I really appreciate the director including this information in the film. Mr. Cousteau had so much faith in the unlimited potential of the human race. That is inspiring and heartwarming. It seems more practical to build Seattle Aquarium style housing that have air pumped in through an HVAC. I think people would pay money to live in that. Or, perhaps we could build giant house-boat style apartments to make use of the space on top of the water. I really appreciate Cousteau's enthusiasm for turning the oceans into people-friendly places. The oceans are a vast resource. We aren't making good use of most of it. The main problem is that we keep killing the animals, the fish and each other. We are faithless. We have lost hope in the future. This planet has the potential to last for eternity, but it is up to us to farm it, care for the animals instead of killing them, and to keep up our faith in eternal life. I think salt-water water parks would work to create income from the sea. Lots of people are afraid of the water. They don't understand the oceans. I think if Cousteau could convince governments to build easy-access water parks, and he gave lectures to inform the public, that would make money. The parks would have to be easy to get to, relatively in-expensive, and he should hold short duration lectures. Otherwise, people will loose interest. The lectures need to dispell myths about the ocean. If he held lectures to teach people how to be safe in and around the water, that would help create trust.