Becoming Cousteau

Becoming Cousteau is no hagiography, but greater distance might have also allowed Garbus to reflect more on the man's environmental legacy.

A nuanced portrait of an oceanographer whose warnings are more prescient than ever.

He appears to have been a remarkable man, and Becoming Costeau, this detailed portrait of him, does him full justice.

It's a very traditional documentary in many ways, but if you are fascinated by this man and his life... I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

No wonder entire generations were captivated by this stuff. It wasn't just the subject matter; it was the filmmaking itself. Garbus conveys that beautifully while briskly threading Cousteau's biography and emotional journey throughout.

The director Liz Garbus does a workman-like job of telling this part of his story, with hints about the darker side. Cousteau was a complex and driven man, whose views about the world changed markedly.

BECOMING COUSTEAU is a biography of Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Caveat: The subtitles for French-speakers are very badly done, with white-on-white making them hard to read.

A "simple" account of [Cousteau's] life and work... that brings forth the weighty and uncomfortable central idea: Was Cousteau the first marine environmentalist of consequence? [Full review in Spanish]

Getting access to the Cousteau archives provided Garbus the chance to create a celebrity-oriented doc that didn't have to rely on familiar footage or a parade of talking heads, and that alone helps to make "Becoming Cousteau" stand apart from the pack.

Cousteau disliked his films being called documentaries, which he described as a lecture from someone who knows more than you. Being Cousteau might be conventional in its storytelling at times, but captures enough to do the great man justice.