(EFE).- The 64th San Sebastian (Spain) Filmfest raised its anchor on Saturday with a seafaring film, “The Odyssey”, a film written and directed by Jérôme Salle covering the life of pioneering underwater explorer and cinematographer Jacques Cousteau (1910-1997).

Based on Cousteau’s biography and focusing on the relationship with his son Philippe, Salle explained to EFE that he has woven “a history of the 20th century and the evolution in the relationship between Mankind and Nature”.

“The Odyssey” is starred by Lambert Wilson, Audrey Tatou and Pierre Niney, and seeks to pay homage to Cousteau but also avoids the myth.

Salle (Paris, 1971) belongs to a generation of children who grew up dreaming with the maritime adventures of the commander with the red skull cap.

“We wanted to be on board, he inspired in me a sense of freedom, of curiosity and a taste for adventure” he points out.

One day, talking with his four children, Salle was surprised to find out that none of them had a clue of who was Cousteau.

“It didn´t even ring a bell, nowadays in France, anyone under 25 has never heard of him, even more so in the case of kids. So I began telling them his story and as my research went on, I unveiled a very complex personality” he explains.

On board the iconic “Calypso” Cousteau traveled the world and its underwater depths. The co-inventor of the aqua-lung produced dozens of TV documentaries; one of them “The Silent World” won a Oscar in 1956, and “World without Sun” did so in 1964.

However this film, also shows a darker side.

“He was human, he did great things but he was also selfish and pig-headed” adds the director of “The Tourist”.

It may surprise that, to finance his first expeditions, Cousteau agreed to seek underwater oil fields on behalf of the oil cartel, a decision that Salle explains within its context.

“Cousteau was born in 1910. Electricity did not arrive to his home until he was four or five years old. You must understand what that meant for a child back then. It was a generation that marveled with all the technology, it was the future and it took them time to understand that you must also handle it carefully”.

The film narrates this evolution, from conqueror to savior, as in the last years of his life he became a great defender of the environment and it is that conversion where the relationship with his son becomes crucial.

For both Wilson and Niney one of the biggest highlights of working in this film was learning how to scuba-dive.

“The Odyssey” closes this year’s Festival edition, in company of Richard Gere who also premieres his film “Invisibles” based on the life of the homeless. EFE