Does anyone remember the days when Luc Besson's name was attached to interesting, unconventional projects? While modern audiences are most likely familiar with him in regards to low-budget action flicks starring the likes of Jason Statham and Jet Li, there was a time when the producer-director was involved in projects with a little more integrity. The Big Blue is one such project, an ambitious, beautifully shot tale of two rival free divers determined to outperform one another at the World Diving Championships. Loosely based on the live of two real-life free divers, Jacques Mayol (played by Jean-Marc Barr) and Enzo Maiorca (played by Jean Reno, with the character's name changed to Enzo Molinari), Besson makes the most of the ocean setting - both above and below the surface - lending it an otherworldly feel. While it is perhaps overlong (particularly the expanded version released by Besson back in 1998), The Big Blue is the kind of movie that doesn't get made very often, with a number of mesmerizing scenes throughout. Despite being shot in English language it was unsuccessful in America, but its huge popularity across Europe has guaranteed its place as something of a minor classic, particularly - and unsurprisingly - amongst the diving community.
