Photo via National Geographic
Jacques Cousteau
As a boy, Jacques Cousteau was fascinated by two things—the sea and cameras. At age 13, he began making little movies, and in his 20s, worked with engineers to develop new technology for ocean diving. When his two fascinations converged, he became one of the world’s most famous people, especially after his television series, “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau,” was broadcast across the world beginning in 1967.
The documentary Becoming Cousteau tells the story from Cousteau’s perspective. American director Liz Garbus worked with the Cousteau Society, interviewed family members and assembled footage, some of it rare and much of it enabled by the underwater cameras he devised. When ABC considered signing Cousteau for “The Undersea” series, they pondered how to present him: Inventor? Scientist? Philosopher? He was all those things. However, with his rugged face turned to the wind, his eyes trained on the far horizon from under a watchman’s cap, he was cast as Explorer. The role suited him well.
Cousteau began diving as a French naval officer during the 1930s. Becoming Cousteau glosses over what he did during World War II (“We still had the sea,” he said mournfully). Postwar, the French navy lent him a ship and encouraged him to explore the depths. Venture capitalism entered the picture early on. In 1952 an American investor gave him money to purchase a U.S. surplus minesweeper. The trim seagoing vessel became the Calypso, his famed research ship. After being underwritten by Anglo-Iranian Oil (known now as BP), Cousteau struck oil on the seabed of the Persian Gulf, locating the wells that eventually fueled the rise of the United Arab Emirates.
The words of Becoming Cousteau are mostly the Explorer’s own, whether from archival interviews or recited by an actor. “I was naïve, but I didn’t have a penny,” Cousteau said of the oil money that became the means to his end. Later, with the global stage as his pulpit, he denounced environmental degradation and called for sound ecological policy. He worried about global warming long before the American media. Despite being bounced from ABC for going “too dark” (offending sponsors?), he carried on. Unlike celebrities who take up a cause, his cause, the ocean that covers most of our planet, was inseparable from his persona.
Becoming Cousteau expresses his regrets over early mistakes. Like any true explorer, he learned as the journey continued. His public impact through television was enormous, exposing the undersea world—a mysterious realm when he began his life’s work—in all its color and fascination. While NASA sent astronauts into space, his sent oceanauts (himself included) into the deep places of our world. In the ‘60s, the public was nearly as fascinated with his deep-sea adventures as it was with the lunar landing.
Becoming Cousteau opens in theaters on Friday, Oct. 22.
