This isn't quite the movie I thought it was going to be, and sadly, I don't mean that in a good way. It's unfortunate that the pure intent of this picture, the showcase of underwater life, landscapes, and exploration, is paired with recognition that some of the practices seen here were very harmful to the environment and wildlife. There's a carelessness to some events, outright thoughtlessness, or undeniable gratuitous cruelty, that's abjectly appalling and runs absolutely counter to the work Jacques Cousteau is known for. While I'm sure there are incidents of a kind in much more recent projects, none immediately come to mind, and even if there were, that hardly excuses what we witness here. I suppose it's true that even those renowned for their advocacy can make mistakes, and may come to their progressive outlook by learning how they have been wrong, but still the matter is a looming mark against the movie in the annals of both cinema and science, and dampens what this could have ideally been.
While it's not nearly so serious a fault, it's also noteworthy that for those familiar with other documentaries, especially those capturing the natural world, 'The silent world' is anything but hushed. Many scenes are emphatically staged, specifically putting on a show for the camera rather than exhibiting the oceans in their totally natural element, or the crew as they go about their daily duties. Not that we don't get those, too, mind you. Yet compared to modern conceptions of similar fare, there's a peculiar aspect of good-humored insincerity that contrasts sharply with the honest stated purpose, applying even to Yves Baudrier's original score that's often almost cartoonishly dramatic and out of place. As a frame of reference, this feels more like those loose-form docuseries on TV (Animal Planet, Discovery Channel), in which the presenters are unflaggingly enthusiastic if not downright bombastic, than earnest documentary projects like the BBC's 'Planet Earth.' It gets to the point that one is led to question, for example, if the divers really are seeing such and such a location for the first time, and the life that has taken it over, or if they're just letting us think they are. This would certainly be bad enough if not for the fact that we're led to question at other times if the crew of the Calypso really were the detached, well-meaning, water-loving scientists they proclaimed themselves to be.
Such facets are immensely, profoundly regrettable, for they severely detract from what should be an engaging, informative, awe-inspiring experience. There is, truly, some fabulous value that 'The silent world' can claim, not least of all the underwater color cinematography of Philippe Agostino. His contribution in and of itself is generally a wonder to behold, and altogether brilliant at times, nevermind its rather groundbreaking place in the history of the medium. It goes without saying that the sights the cameras give us are mostly just as terrific, primarily the visions of marine wildlife and ecosystems to which prior examples can surely scarcely hold a candle. The more innocent instances of the crew's interactions with sea life and their environs are touching or altogether heartwarming, and while the authenticity of scenes aboard the Calypso are in doubt, in theory it's interesting to see a bit of the day to day operations Cousteau and his fellows undertake between ventures below. To show the world the beauty of the oceans is an admirable endeavor, and I very much appreciate what 'The silent world' has to offer in that capacity, well exceeding any spiritual predecessors.
Would that this particular effort were characterized by more mindful care, and more heartfelt genuineness, in pursuing that goal. I don't doubt the intentions of Cousteau in the 1950s, only his methods, and unhappily, I'm of the opinion that as we see them here those methods rival those intentions, if not overshadow them. I still believe this is quite worth watching: for fans of Cousteau and what he would come to represent, for fans of co-director Louis Malle, for lovers of the oceans or the natural world, for avid moviegoers and documentary enthusiasts. It's also, however, worth watching as a teachable moment of what Cousteau and his crew did wrong in their expeditions, and maybe too of what tone to not strike with a documentary. In and of itself this feature isn't bad - only, it's so significantly weighed down by its shortcomings that as far as I'm concerned it becomes a hard sell, especially almost 70 years on when there are many other options to obtain the same value. Watch 'The silent world,' by all means, but watch it with knowledge of what it provides, both good and bad.
While it's not nearly so serious a fault, it's also noteworthy that for those familiar with other documentaries, especially those capturing the natural world, 'The silent world' is anything but hushed. Many scenes are emphatically staged, specifically putting on a show for the camera rather than exhibiting the oceans in their totally natural element, or the crew as they go about their daily duties. Not that we don't get those, too, mind you. Yet compared to modern conceptions of similar fare, there's a peculiar aspect of good-humored insincerity that contrasts sharply with the honest stated purpose, applying even to Yves Baudrier's original score that's often almost cartoonishly dramatic and out of place. As a frame of reference, this feels more like those loose-form docuseries on TV (Animal Planet, Discovery Channel), in which the presenters are unflaggingly enthusiastic if not downright bombastic, than earnest documentary projects like the BBC's 'Planet Earth.' It gets to the point that one is led to question, for example, if the divers really are seeing such and such a location for the first time, and the life that has taken it over, or if they're just letting us think they are. This would certainly be bad enough if not for the fact that we're led to question at other times if the crew of the Calypso really were the detached, well-meaning, water-loving scientists they proclaimed themselves to be.
Such facets are immensely, profoundly regrettable, for they severely detract from what should be an engaging, informative, awe-inspiring experience. There is, truly, some fabulous value that 'The silent world' can claim, not least of all the underwater color cinematography of Philippe Agostino. His contribution in and of itself is generally a wonder to behold, and altogether brilliant at times, nevermind its rather groundbreaking place in the history of the medium. It goes without saying that the sights the cameras give us are mostly just as terrific, primarily the visions of marine wildlife and ecosystems to which prior examples can surely scarcely hold a candle. The more innocent instances of the crew's interactions with sea life and their environs are touching or altogether heartwarming, and while the authenticity of scenes aboard the Calypso are in doubt, in theory it's interesting to see a bit of the day to day operations Cousteau and his fellows undertake between ventures below. To show the world the beauty of the oceans is an admirable endeavor, and I very much appreciate what 'The silent world' has to offer in that capacity, well exceeding any spiritual predecessors.
Would that this particular effort were characterized by more mindful care, and more heartfelt genuineness, in pursuing that goal. I don't doubt the intentions of Cousteau in the 1950s, only his methods, and unhappily, I'm of the opinion that as we see them here those methods rival those intentions, if not overshadow them. I still believe this is quite worth watching: for fans of Cousteau and what he would come to represent, for fans of co-director Louis Malle, for lovers of the oceans or the natural world, for avid moviegoers and documentary enthusiasts. It's also, however, worth watching as a teachable moment of what Cousteau and his crew did wrong in their expeditions, and maybe too of what tone to not strike with a documentary. In and of itself this feature isn't bad - only, it's so significantly weighed down by its shortcomings that as far as I'm concerned it becomes a hard sell, especially almost 70 years on when there are many other options to obtain the same value. Watch 'The silent world,' by all means, but watch it with knowledge of what it provides, both good and bad.