Did you know that Jacques Cousteau was very prickly about the terminology used to describe his聽ocean films? 鈥淚 become furious when they label my films with the word documentary. It means 鈥榣ecture from a guy who knows more than you,鈥欌€� he says in a clip from the new film Becoming Cousteau. 鈥淥ur films are not documentaries. They are true adventure films.鈥� Unfortunately for Cousteau, we must crudely categorize his latest biopic聽as an exciting new documentary鈥攐ne of three we can鈥檛 wait to watch this month. But then again, 鈥渢rue adventure films鈥� would be an equally fair way to describe all of these new releases about marine life, identity, and obsession.
Becoming Cousteau
Director 鈥檚 previous work includes documentaries about iconic figures in show business, like Nina Simone and Marilyn Monroe. So she鈥檚 just the person to unearth some unexpected details about the man who (by our estimate) got millions of people interested in the ocean. For , Garbus interviewed those close to the legendary explorer, listened to his audio journal entries, and sifted through 550 hours of archival material鈥擟ousteau and friends captured an amount of day-in-the-life footage that would put some reality shows to shame. The result is a whimsical, sometimes melancholy look at how Cousteau鈥檚 obsession with the ocean arose and how his approach to conservation evolved over time. The film immerses viewers in the heady early days when scientists were just coming to terms with how much we didn鈥檛 know about the ocean鈥檚 depths; at the beginning of Cousteau鈥檚 career, the diving equipment we use today had yet to be developed. (He鈥檇 eventually make his own contribution with the Aqua-Lung, an underwater breathing device.) There was also a lot less eco-consciousness compared to today: Cousteau鈥檚 crew detonated dynamite in the water to count the number of fish within, and he made some money by prospecting for oil companies. Over time, Cousteau鈥檚 deep knowledge of ecology and concern for the future of the planet made his outlook so morose that ABC dropped his program, but his pessimism will seem more than appropriate to modern audiences. (Cousteau .)聽鈥淲e are drawing blank checks on future generations,鈥� he says in an interview. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 pay. They are going to pay.鈥�
Now playing in theaters.
They/Them
Lor Sabourin is a trans climber with a charming tendency to voice every thought going through their head on the wall. Their totally open-book stream of commentary (鈥淥h, I really wish that this wasn鈥檛 what I was doing right now鈥�) sets the tone for the rest of , which tells the story of how Sabourin came to embrace their identity. The film, directed by and , intersperses shots of Sabourin attempting difficult routes in the sandstone canyons of northern Arizona with details from their personal narrative. Sabourin thoughtfully explains some of the challenges they鈥檝e been working through, including gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia, and an eating disorder. In sharing these struggles, they demonstrate how practicing vulnerability in their personal life has helped them push themselves聽to take on new challenges as a climber鈥攁nd help others who may be going through similar experiences to feel less alone. Sabourin shares聽advice throughout the film, with applications that go far beyond the climbing world. 鈥淔ear isn鈥檛 stupid or something to hate, it鈥檚 wise, and it鈥檚 letting us know things about ourselves,鈥� they say at one point during a climb. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 not like an ooey-gooey, esoteric thing. We鈥檙e gonna feel anxiety or feel scared when our needs aren鈥檛 met, you know?鈥�
Available to stream .
The Loneliest Whale
The 鈥渓oneliest whale,鈥� otherwise known as the 52 Hertz Whale or 52 Blue, is so named because it calls at a frequency higher than other whales鈥� (I鈥檒l give you three guesses what it is). Some scientists have guessed that the unusual cetacean may be a hybrid of whale species, while others have wondered if it may be deaf. Whatever the reason, since other whales can鈥檛 understand it, 52 Blue seems doomed to wander the seas alone. The whale鈥檚 predicament has led to incredible amounts of anthropomorphization and obsession, perhaps best in 2014. 鈥淎 singer in New Mexico, unhappy at his day job in tech, wrote an entire album dedicated to 52; another singer in Michigan wrote a children鈥檚 song about the whale鈥檚 plight; an artist in upstate New York made a sculpture out of old plastic bottles and called it 52 Hertz,鈥� she wrote. Jamison鈥檚 essay also mentioned a filmmaker named who was working haltingly on a documentary about the whale. Seven years later, here it is. Zeman鈥檚 approach stands out because he actually gets a team of experts to take him out on a boat and search for the loneliest whale, something that has not been done before (others have only heard it through hydrophones). Zeman sets up the film as a mystery on par with the true-crime stories and urban legends that make up most of his oeuvre. But no need for spoilers; half the fun of is meeting the fascinating experts and amateurs who are obsessed with 52 Blue. (One man, incredibly, gets on a boat and plays a clarinet that feeds into an underwater speaker, so that he can 鈥渏am鈥澛爓ith the whales.) If that doesn鈥檛 convince you to watch this, the obliterating bliss of nearly nonstop whale calls will.
Now playing in theaters and on .