The sea, the mother of all passions and fears. On screen, she sometimes has silver reflections but rarely dances along the clear gulfs. "Finding films in which the sea is shown in a positive way is a challenge. The ocean in cinema is something frightening," says Vincent Bouat-Ferlier, curator with Laurent Mannoni of the exhibition "Objectif mer: l'océan filmé". In Paris, the Musée National de la Marine brings the Cinémathèque française on board for its inaugural exhibition. And the journey is more of a stormy odyssey than a peaceful cruise. From the origins of the seventh art (magic lanterns, optical toys, dioramas), the fascination for the deep blue and its fauna has been obvious. After painting, cinema sought to capture the movement of the waves. The brothers Lumière and Méliès film this terra incognita that only the people of the coast saw before the invention of the railway.
And, from the moment it was born, cinema dreamed of plunging under...
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