The Mediterranean, 1948. Jacques-Yves Cousteau lives with his wife Simone and their two sons, Philippe and Jean-Michel in a house by the sea. He and his friends invent scuba gear so they can breathe underwater, and dream of adventure and exploration. The couple decides to change their life: to finance his expeditions, Jacques-Yves finds a patron and buys an old boat that will become the Calypso. He sacrifices everything to devote his life to the ocean and its wonders, while his son Philippe, also impassioned by nature, chooses a different path.

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Who knew that Jérôme Salle, the director of Anthony Zimmer, two installments of Largo Winch and Zulu, was passionate about the ocean? Between land and sea, around the globe and over several decades, he films part of the life of the famous Captain Cousteau and his family, especially his son Philip. The movie is visually exciting, Salle’s impressive camera does the grandeur of the scenery justice, and Odyssey commands respect due to its epic scale and careful execution. Good performances by Lambert Wilson and Audrey Tautou bring strength and emotion to the film, which is a little too square to truly soar beyond the rigid framework of the biopic, but is packaged well enough so as not to disappoint those who are tempted by the journey.