Atlantis (1991)
Directed by Luc Besson

Film Review

Luc Besson's ode to the beauty of the marine world is as captivating and poetic as anything produced by the famous marine explorer Jacques Cousteau.  Although the film does resort occasionally to using captions to assign meaning to its various segments (probably a mistake), this is not a straight-forward documentary.  Its non-didactic, free-flowing form is both alluring and pleasurable to watch, albeit a little too self-conscious.

Since his early childhood, Besson has nurtured a passion for the sea and marine life.  This is something he was able to draw on in his earlier film, Le Grand Bleu, but it is only in Atlantis that you begin to appreciate his love for the sea.   With some beautiful photography, this is a film that manages to capture the uncompromising beauty of a world which we mere humans can only marvel at.

Film Synopsis

Contrary to the legend, Atlantis was not destroyed centuries ago but continues to exist, a vast and fabulous kingdom beneath the waves inhabited by fantastic creatures of all shapes and sizes.  In the seas around the Bahamas, the Galapagos Islands, the western seaboard of Canada and Tahiti the diversity and abundance of life is of mind-blowing proportions.  From sharks and dolphins, performing their exotic dances far from human eyes, to sea cows, octopuses and brightly coloured snakes, the variety of sea life is a thing to marvel at.  Nowhere on earth is there such a mesmerising exhibition of life as varied and as wonderful as this.  Welcome to the magical world of Atlantis, the lost world beneath the sea...