Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 105 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Pierce Brosnan (narrator)
Description: An ecological documentary, filmed throughout the globe. Part thriller, part meditation on the vanishing wonders of the sub-aquatic world.
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
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Review: When the credits roll across the screen, you realize what a massive undertaking “Océans” filming must have been. Over a period of four years, the makers of this documentary travelled all continents and filmed around the coasts of Madagascar, New Zealand and Antarctica during no less than seventy expeditions. The end result is nothing less than impressive and sets a new standard for nature documentaries.
With “The Travelling Birds”, an Oscar-nominated documentary about migratory birds, the Frenchman Jacques Perrin, known mainly as an actor had already earned his spurs in the genre of nature documentary and is doing even more with “Océans”. With an astronomical budget of fifty million euros and the most up-to-date technological equipment at his disposal, Perrin, together with co-director Jacques Cluzaud, dived into the marine world with the intention of showing the viewer how diverse life in the ocean is.
The first hour of “Océans” is of unparalleled beauty. The overwhelming images follow each other in rapid succession to the point where you almost wish Perrin would take a step back because at some point it will be too much to process. One of the countless highlights in this part of the film is a beautiful scene on the seabed between two exotic creatures, reminiscent of a classic shoot-out from a western. But also a scene in which a sea turtle is watching a space launch from afar is, although most likely staged, considered beautiful.
What sets “Océans” apart from other nature documentaries such as “Planet Earth”, with which the film will often be compared, is the use of the voice-over. The BBC series had at its disposal the authoritarian voice of Richard Attenborough who explained everything that could be seen on screen. “Océans” does not do this. The voice-over, in the English version spoken by Pierce Brosnan, is used sparingly and serves not so much as a guide to what is happening on the screen but more as a guide that you occasionally take by the hand. “Océans” is therefore much more of a descriptive than an explanatory documentary. The film looks at his subject full of wonder and awe and tries to evoke a general feeling of surprise in the viewer rather than discussing all the details in detail.
Rating: 4 / 5
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