World Without Sun-Le Monde sans soleil (1964)

Directed by: Jacques-Yves Cousteau | 93 minutes | adventure, documentary

Jacques Cousteau stands alone in the field of marine biology, especially because of the beautiful, impressive film images he has delivered of underwater life in all its diversity. One of his first successful films was ‘The Silent World’ from 1956, which received a Golden Palm and an Oscar. Still, that film will surprise current viewers because of the rather disrespectful way in which different animals are treated. Sharks and whales being harpooned for fun and turtles being used as chairs or side tables. Although everything has to be seen in perspective – it was a different time – Cousteau is a bit off his pedestal here. Despite the beauty of most of that film, it leaves a bit of a bad aftertaste. Thankfully, this isn’t true of Cousteau’s other Oscar winner, “World Without Sun.”

‘World Without Sun’ offers a completely different viewing experience than ‘The Silent World’, not least because the film takes place below the water surface for the entire playing time. This can sometimes feel oppressive, but it also increases intimacy and the feeling of belonging. As a spectator you immediately get a bond with these people and the impression that you are on an adventure with them, on a magical journey of discovery. It’s a bit like witnessing Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon. The association is not difficult to make. Underwater it is as dark as in space, the divers move about as calmly and cautiously (and in similar suits) as their colleagues in space, and the underwater craft and research stations look with their rounded shapes, headlights, and gripper arms, look particularly futuristic.

The film as a whole also feels like a contemplative science fiction film. The men quietly take their time for everything, which also has to be done to conserve oxygen and keep their bodies physically and chemically in balance. Under water, different laws apply than above water, when you want to be able to walk around in the bubble within a research station. The men eat, play cards, vacuum, and get a haircut by a hairdresser in their base station, but the air has been carefully formulated, which they keep an eye on by a parrot brought along. It is more sensitive than humans and is more likely to detect irregularities. The same tactic that used to be used in the mines to monitor the oxygen level. Everything must be carried out with the utmost care, especially the journey to the (2nd) station, which is a few tens of meters deeper, and where only two men can enter. Here, the air is made up of a combination of oxygen, nitrogen, and helium (which, of course, leads to comical effects when communicating with the home base). But it’s not all “interesting”; no, it also has another function. In this way, the divers can get closer to animals, fish and plants for longer and closer than they have ever been able to do. And at any time. At night they can move among plants and rocks where unusually shaped and rarely seen fish and animals hide. They can literally be scanned here by the divers. They are wonderful images. From bouncing shells, arachnid fish, gracefully-swimming anglerfish in close-up, hammerhead sharks, squid, a school of barracuda, and a somewhat creepy creature that looks like a plant with many tentacles.

Another advantage of the undersea research center is that samples of fish or plants can now be cultured, which previously could not be preserved (in time enough). One of the magical parts of the film takes place when the men manage to capture very small, fragile creatures and film them with a special camera while they are illuminated by a strong lamp – which amounts to a kind of X-ray machine. The most wonderful life forms pass by in this small container, from a kind of slipper animals (single-celled) to silver-colored, eel-like beasts. It’s like seeing evolution in motion.

‘World Without Sun’ is an almost meditative experience. the darkness under water, in combination with the diving lights of the divers, the futuristic suits, the tight-knit group with their cautious behavior… it evokes memories of the abstract science fiction film ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. It almost detracts from the experience when the men start talking between the beautiful images. With this the film sometimes comes across as a staged play, which also affected ‘The Silent World’. But even if there isn’t really a dramatic dramatic suspense in the film, and nothing has been resolved or reached an important final destination, the journey is so impressive that this is more than enough. A journey that every viewer should experience once.