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.

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.

I was a fan of Luc Besson since 1997, when I saw "Léon". And since I saw that movie, I scoured every video store looking for his films. Some were easy to find (The Fifth Element and Nikita were broadcasted), some weren't ("Subway" and "The Big Blue" had to be imported). Atlantis was the kind of movie I never expected to get my hands on. So you can see what I looked like when a German site had the video on stock. I waited two long months, expecting to see that movie I always wanted to see. When the movie finally arrived, I turned off all the lights, covered the led of the video, covered the little light of the TV and sat in my room with the stereo real loud. And the movie was a child-like dream. I heard many people saying it was a failure, I heard many people saying it was boring... It's all lies. I can't describe the movie by writing what I thought of it. It's difficult to talk about a movie which doesn't talk to the ears but directly to the heart. Here we have the impression that there is another planet... down there. Like in the snake scene. She moves like the snakes do, but the water is so clear that it seems like she and the others around her are floating in a aetherium. And the impression I got during the movie was that sometimes we just have to open ourselves to the sheer experiences of life and let go. This movie plays in our minds like a beautiful dream, and there are few movies that can do it. The love of the director by the ocean has never been so clear. And by making this movie, he somewhat passes on his message and makes us love the ocean also. Full praise to this work of art! Besson never stopped amazing...

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.