Objectif mer, the 7th art exhibition at the Musée de la Marine - our photos

Treasure hunts, pirates, lost cities, discoveries and journeys to the other side of the world, fantastic sea creatures: the seas and oceans fascinate all artists, even filmmakers! The Musée National de la Marine offers us an overview of marine cinema, in a new exhibition presented in partnership with the Cinémathèque Française.

From December 13, 2023 to May 5, 2024, discover Objectif mer : l'océan filmé, an exhibition featuring over 300 film extracts, costumes, posters, photographs, paintings and filming equipment. The exhibition explores how the sea is represented in films, and how these images have evolved over the decades. Titanic, Oceans, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jaws, Moby Dick, Song of the Wolf, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea... There are as many different visions as there are fish in the sea.

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Long before the advent of cinema, the marine world inspired sculptors, painters, playwrights and poets. From the very first magic lanterns in the 18th century, the sea and ocean have been favorite subjects for filmmakers. A dangerous territory, full of mystery, promise and adventure, the ocean offers ever-changing settings and thousands of possible stories. With technical progress, the underwater world has gradually been revealed on the cameras of directors and documentary filmmakers. As a result, viewers' sense of wonder has been renewed.

Stories and genres have developed and multiplied along with technical improvements. Voyages, battles, shipwrecks, real or imaginary sea monsters, documentaries on marine flora and fauna, action films or contemplative ones, behind closed doors... The world of the sea has something for everyone.

In these films, we find common characteristics that define man's approach to the sea: poetry and brutality mix. Beauty andstrangeness, the power of nature and its fragility are always evoked. The sea and ocean are worlds of nuance and paradox, at once a source of wealth and adventure, and an uncontrollable and fatal element.

Art influences art: the exhibition at the Musée National de la Marine also features a number of objects and curiosities related to these worlds. Toys, paintings and drawings, magic boxes, shadow puppets... Fairs, theaters, cultural salons and stores quickly filled up with these gadgets and accessories.

For its first exhibition, the Musée de la Marine is strikingly rich and well-documented, from the first moving images to the present day. You'll admire a wide range of objects and works of art, which of course make you want to see all the films presented in the different sections of the exhibition. There are great classics of the genre, as well as older, more confidential films, highlighted by fascinating posters and film props. A great success!

As the poet would say: it's not the man who takes the sea, it's the sea that takes the man. Let yourself be carried away by this fascinating exhibition, the Musée de la Marine 's first since its reopening.