The Odyssey

2016 2h 2m FR

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 440

AdventureDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The aquatic adventure of the highly influential and fearlessly ambitious pioneer, innovator, filmmaker, researcher, and conservationist, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, covers roughly thirty years of an inarguably rich in achievements life.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Lambert Wilson
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Pierre Niney
Philippe Cousteau
Audrey Tautou
Simone Melchior Cousteau
Laurent Lucas
Philippe Tailliez
Benjamin Lavernhe
Jean-Michel Cousteau
Vincent Heneine
Albert 'Bébert' Falco
Thibault de Montalembert
Etienne Deshaies
Roger Van Hool
Daniel Cousteau dit Daddy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jérôme Salle
Writers: Jérôme Salle, Laurent Turner, Jérôme Salle
Languages: Italian, French, English
Countries: France, Belgium

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 49% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 10 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Italian, French, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Belgium.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jérôme Salle, shot by Matias Boucard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alexandre Desplat. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Lambert Wilson and Pierre Niney and Audrey Tautou carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1659619 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jérôme Salle directs. Matias Boucard behind the camera. Alexandre Desplat scores. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in France, Belgium. Dialogue in Italian, French, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 49% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 10 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Italian, French, English.
4International production across 2 countries: France, Belgium.
5Directed by Jérôme Salle, shot by Matias Boucard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Alexandre Desplat. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Lambert Wilson and Pierre Niney and Audrey Tautou carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt1659619 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Matias Boucard
Original score: Alexandre Desplat
Production design: Laurent Ott
Costume design: Carine Sarfati
Makeup / hair: Martina Byrne
Sound: Detlef Halaski
Runtime: 122 min · 2h 2m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $9,722,918
Return: 49% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): 6
IMDB: The Odyssey (2016)

Also by

Jérôme Salle

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-05-15
★ 6/10
Lambert Wilson is the innovative underwater explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau in this rather unremarkable depiction of his life and career. He is married to Simone (Audrey Tautou) but has a bit of a wandering eye so they become maritally estranged, even though they continue to live and workout on their converted WWII minesweeper "Calypso". Needless to say, this puts some strain on the rest of the family, not least upon his relationship with his publicity magnet, heart-throb, eldest Philippe (Pierre Niney). The latter man's character is used as a barometer a little here to measure the actions of his father. The exploration activities must face stark realities. Money is needed to buy the 1½ tons of fuel the ship needs each trip, and that's before wages and other costs associated with their more scientific endeavours have to be paid. This leads to Cousteau becoming more of a businessman with almost corporate responsibilities. It's those activities that see a split between father and son that lasts until a trip to the Antarctic that sees a well documented tragedy hit the family. For the most part this is a soap opera of a film with nowhere near enough focus on what made the man famous in the first place. There is some underwater photography to liven things up, and a sequence with an expanding group of sharks that's quite menacingly filmed, but there's not really enough of that to compensate for the listless melodrama that's played out. The camera does love Niney and Tautou, and Wilson is competent enough in what is essentially a light-weight and slightly adulatory tale of a man who was clearly much more interesting, flawed and charismatic than we see here.

Production companies