Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Directors: Jean-Jacques Mantello, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Defiant Screen Entertainment.
Stars: Jean-Michel Cousteau, Céline Cousteau, Fabien Cousteau,
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever,” said Jacques Yves Cousteau, French undersea explorer, researcher, photographer and documentary host who invented diving and scuba devices. Now descendants of the eminent undersea explorer/filmmaker travel the world to capture on film the beauty and fragility of the planet’s intricate ocean ecosystems.
Jacques also pointed out: “A lot of people attack the sea, I make love to it”. It’s that fondness, together with the study of the sea and all forms of life in water, which has been inherited by his son Jean-Michel Cousteau, an oceanographic explorer, environmentalist, educator and film producer. This heredity trait has also been passed on to the third generation with his children, Fabien and Céline.
Co-director Jean-Michel Cousteau says, “every breath we take is a gift from the ocean” … and narrator, producer and environmentalist Arnold Schwarzenegger adds, “Wonders of the Sea is a visual feast with an important message”.
On a conservation and educational mission, it forms an important component of this film, which is highlighted throughout, in a finely drawn and non-aggressive manner.
It’s not just entertaining, but comes with an environmental point of view:
“let’s keep our ocean clean, and let’s keep our world clean”. If you really want to have a feeling like you are with the fish or any other creature you see in the ocean around you, then that’s the feeling you get when watching it in 3D!
Thanks to these new break-through filming techniques — shooting in slow motion, close-up, macro and with motion control —we get a chance to literally dive into a new and virtually unknown underwater world without ever getting wet!
Filmed in Bimini Islands in The Bahamas, Fiji Islands, Sea of Cortez, Mexico, Catalina Island, California, U.S.A. and the Mediterranean Sea in France, this is a spectacular collaborative effort.
Jean-Michel, Celine and Fabien embark on a voyage to discover the ocean as never seen before and learn more about the threats that put it at risk. This film will inspire, fascinate, educate and entertain viewers of all ages.
Name the grandchildren of Jacques Yves Cousteau. If your answer is correct, then you could win one of three DVDs of the complete series of Wonders of the Sea. Entries should be sent to [email protected] by Monday, 29 June 2020. Names of the winners will be announced in Frank Cassidy’s PS-sssst…! column on
30 June 2020.
