Adventure, Drama  •  2016  •  122 min

The Odyssey (2016)

The Odyssey poster

The Odyssey (2016)


Rating & Dimensions

Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Center
Political: Leans Left
Diversity: Low
Family Values: Mixed

Viewer Rating
6.5

Overview

This French biographical drama follows Jacques Cousteau across roughly three decades of ocean exploration, filmmaking, and environmental advocacy. Pierre Niney plays the younger Cousteau; Lambert Wilson takes the later years. The Mixed label fits because the film pulls in two directions at once. Its environmental message, framing human exploitation of the oceans as a wrong worth fighting, leans progressive. Its family portrait, a long marriage tested by ambition and infidelity, complex father-son tension, traditional casting faithful to the real historical figures, pulls toward conventional storytelling. No identity politics, no religious content, no genre-signal tropes. The film is simply a European biopic about a complicated man who happened to love the sea.


Starring Cast

Lambert Wilson  •   Pierre Niney  •   Audrey Tautou


Where to watch

Prime Video logoPrime Video
Apple TV logoApple TV
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Detailed Bias Analysis

Analyzing...
Center

Primary

Political: Leans Left
Confidence: High

The film's central narrative depicts Jacques Cousteau's evolution from an ambitious explorer to a passionate advocate for ocean conservation, highlighting humanity's destructive impact on marine ecosystems. This strong emphasis on environmental protection and the critique of exploitation aligns with left-leaning values.

Diversity: Low
Confidence: High

The movie features traditional casting, with lead roles reflecting the historical ethnicity of the real-life figures portrayed. The narrative maintains a neutral or positive framing of traditional identities, without explicit critique or central DEI themes.

Secondary

Family Values: Mixed
Confidence: Medium

The film portrays a complex and often strained family unit, depicting a long-term marriage challenged by ambition and infidelity, and complex father-son relationships. It presents these family structures and their challenges without clearly endorsing or critiquing either traditional or progressive family norms.

LGBTQ: N/A
Confidence: High

The film 'The Odyssey' does not feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes. The narrative centers on the life and career of Jacques Cousteau, his family, and his environmental work, with no depiction of queer identities or related storylines.

Trans: N/A
Confidence: High

The film is a biographical drama chronicling the life and career of Jacques Cousteau, his family, and his pioneering work in ocean exploration and environmental advocacy. The narrative does not include any identifiable transsexual characters or themes.

Female Combat: No
Confidence: High

The film is a biographical drama about Jacques Cousteau and his family's marine exploration. It does not feature any scenes of female characters engaging in or winning direct physical combat against male opponents. The narrative focuses on exploration, family dynamics, and environmental themes.

Gender Swap: No
Confidence: High

The film is a biographical drama about Jacques Cousteau. All depicted historical figures, including Cousteau, his family, and associates, are portrayed with the same gender as their real-world counterparts.

Race Swap: No
Confidence: High

The film is a biopic depicting the life of Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his family. All major historical figures portrayed, including Cousteau, his wife Simone, and his sons Philippe and Jean-Michel, are depicted by actors whose race aligns with the documented race of the real individuals.

Hinduism: N/A
Confidence: High

Not depicted in the film.


Viewer Rating Breakdown

6.5

Viewer Rating

Combines user and critic ratings from four sources

User Ratings

IMDB logo
6.6
The Movie Database logo
6.6

Critic Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes logo
6.3
Metacritic logo
N/A

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