Too often when I watch documentaries about beloved folks, I notice that the films are not balanced at all and seem more like hero worship than a true biography. Well, fortunately, "Becoming Cousteau" is more balanced than I expected. Let me explain.... Jacques Cousteau was a wonderful person in some ways....and also a very, very flawed man in others. Surprisingly, the film shows both sides of him...the beloved explorer as well as the guy who could be a jerk when it comes to his personal life as well as what he put into his early film, "The Silent World"....where he and his crew committed some agricultural atrocities which are VERY noticeable today, as our sensibilities have changed. The only negative I would have loved to have learned about was his lawsuit against his surviving son, Jean-Michel. But otherwise, the film was very well made and complete...and leaves you admiring the man as well as realizing he was flawed as well.
Review of Becoming Cousteau
