To whom did Luc Besson dedicate “The Big Blue”, which he completed after a long struggle?

"The Big Blue" synopsis

Modeled after the legendary freediver Jacques Mayol, this film depicts the friendship between a young man who loves the deep sea and interacts with dolphins, and his best friend. A deep-sea fantasy filled with compassion for the ocean, divers, and dolphins.

In 1986, the feud with Hollywood tycoon Warren Beatty , who had offered to produce ``The Big Blue'' using the sense he had cultivated over many years as a filmmaker, was finally coming to an end. So, just as filming was about to begin, Luc Besson was faced with yet another challenge. After all, they had to use film cameras to capture images of freedivers interacting with dolphins while diving deep into the ocean and adapting to rapidly changing tides depending on weather conditions. As a reminder, it wasn't until the 1990s that digital photography was partially introduced in film production.

Index

• The preparations before cranking in should have been perfect.
• I was thrown into the rough sea and my camera and equipment all sank!
• The angel finally smiled on the 13th day!
• What does the ending credits "Dedicated to Juliet" mean?

The preparations before cranking in should have been perfect.

Fortunately, Jean-Marc Bart, who played Jacques, was originally a good swimmer and had some diving experience. Besson visits a public swimming pool with Jean-Marc and Jean Reno to check out their swimming skills, before embarking on his first underwater training at Lavandou, a resort town between the Côte d'Azur and Provence. It's a challenge to dive time and depth. In the first week, Jean-Marc was 1 minute and a half and Jean Reno was 1 minute 10 seconds. By the second week, both children will be able to dive up to 20 meters below the surface. At the same time, Besson's diving suit made from neoprene (a type of synthetic rubber), which he had specially ordered from Japan, arrived. Christian Petron, a diver and underwater photographer, was scheduled to complete Besson's order for a camera equipped with an underwater video monitor by the deadline.

"The Big Blue" © Photofest / Getty Images

Ready to go. Filming finally began in May 1987. However, another nightmare awaited him. It's hard to write about what happened from here, but I'd like to ask for your understanding.

I was thrown into the rough sea and my camera and equipment all sank!