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Amorgos
“You know what it takes to live among mermaids? You go down to the bottom of the sea, far away. So far away that the blue no longer exists. Where the sky is just a memory.”
Jacques Mayol (Jean-Marc Barr)
The origin of the project
Determined to strike a blow, in permanent search of recognition, the young Luc Besson intends to exploit his childhood memories while telling the story of two freedivers. It must be said that it is an environment that he knows well. Accustomed to sailing the seas with his parents during his youth, the filmmaker also worked as a diving instructor in Palinuro, Italy.
It is here that his cousin is the victim of an accident that Luc Besson will include in the scenario of The Big Blue. It is still in Palinuro that he meets Aldo Victor de Sanctis, an Italian director. The latter presents the work of the diver Jacques Mayol through his documentary, Jacques Mayol, the dolphin man.
When he met the apneist in 1983, Luc Besson had the outline of The Big Blue. He also remains close to the champion, whom he hires as a consultant when the time comes to start production.
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Shooting on a Greek island
With a comfortable budget, the director set out to find ideal locations for his ambitious story. For the first scenes, such as the one in which the young Jacques Mayol makes his debut in apnea but also the one in which Enzo dives to save an American soldier, he simply chooses to set in Amorgos, where he spent a vacation with his parents. For him, it is obvious, the island is perfect in every way. If he also relocates to the island of Ios, he shoots several scenes in Amorgos.
Of course, it was impossible for Luc Besson not to exploit the majesty of the Chozoviotissa monastery. In known territory, the filmmaker takes advantage of the warm welcome of the inhabitants.
In France, 9,195,742 spectators flocked to theaters to see the film.
Amorgos
Among the most popular Greek islands for tourists, Amorgos is one of the wonders of the Cyclades.
With an area of 121 km2, Amorgos has just under 2,000 permanent inhabitants. With the particularity of being crossed by a mountain range, whose highest point is Mount Krikellos, the island also has a rich history. Several times conquered and annexed, many times targeted by pirates, it remains popular for the monastery of Panaghia Chozoviotissa, one of the most beautiful and oldest Byzantine style buildings of the archipelago. A pristine white building, built on the side of a cliff, almost acting as an impregnable fortress.
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By Gilles Rolland
Passionné de cinéma, de rock and roll, de séries TV et de littérature. Rédacteur de presse et auteur des livres Le Heavy Metal au cinéma, Paroles de fans Guns N' Roses, Paroles de fans Rammstein et Welcome to my Jungle : 100 albums rock et autres anecdotes dépareillées. Adore également voyager à la recherche des lieux les plus emblématiques de la pop culture.