Atlantis

My first inclination was to assume Atlantis was done with CGI. But then I came across the year it was made and realized that the technology didn't yet exist in 1991. We were still at the level of "The Mind's Eye" then, an experimental cartoonish attempt at computer animation in a video set to techno and released at Radio Shack if you remember. No, this is real footage, and it is perfect and amazing. It certainly isn't something I could sit through at a theater, but is suitable for meditation and falling asleep. There is no dialog, putting the movie in the same genre as "Samsara" and "Baraka", but a completely underwater experience. The symphonic and ambient music is very easy to listen to, but if it isn't your thing you can always just turn the volume off and play your own music. It's an incredible accomplishment in cinematography and something you can keep around to play at bed time.

I picked up this DVD, never having heard of it before. In my 34 years of diving I don't remember a more beautiful underwater film. There is no bothersome narration to get in the way (some appears just in the opening). The manta ray scene set to Maria Callas opera is so powerful that applause appears at the end of it! The Atlantic spotted dolphins are in a ballet that seems perfectly choreographed. I will treasure this DVD and show it to all my dinner guests -- all of whom are divers!

The photography was spectacular. This is much better seen on a large screen. The mating scenes between seals reminded me of humans, and dugongs eating a cabbage like substance was remarkably human-like too. A turtle swimming underwater looks like a bird flying through air, and the camera angles circling animals are great. Shark frenzies and teeth are shown close up. Unlike the other viewers, I thought perhaps this was not long enough, though near the beginning I had several concentration lapses (even the second time I watched it). The camera technique is better than David Attenborough's shows, and the last two scenes are some of the best in the film. Some scenes are slow-motion (the waves) and some are sped up (the seal family) but it seems to suit the atmosphere and it's hard to tell.

The panning over coral (the Great Barrier Reef) really reminds me of Koyaanisqatsi, and overall it's great and better than Microcosmos. A 10 just for photography.

In the mid-1980's I spent my youth at the Palace of dreams, Valhalla. A classic art deco independent cinema in the suburb of Glebe, Sydney Australia. The doors close in late February 1999, so I decided to pay my respects and dragged the children to see this underwater visual delight. A homage to the sea creatures of the universe with no occurring theme, only stunning images and a few humorous moments from the cheeky Besson. Serra's music works a treat here. Maybe twenty minutes too long.

I'll admit to the fact that I never tire of watching films like Winged Migration and March of the Penguins. The wonders of nature captivate me.

Nothing captivates like the world under the sea. There is so much beauty that no explanations are needed. It's just sit back and enjoy. That is what Luc Besson has given us in this film. A hour and a half view of nature's wonders with musical accompaniment. Just a little dialog in the beginning, and we are free to watch and fantasize.

It is easy to see that this film was done by a true lover of the sea. Besson was a diver and wanted to be a marine biologist before an accident caused him to turn to film making.

Don't get me wrong. I am glad that he became a writer and director and gave us such films as Leon: The Professional, Transporter, and Taken. But, I am also glad that he never lost his love of the sea and gave us this film.