Under Paris

French shark movie is made for fun but contains an interesting ecological message 

by Alberto Sclaverano for Citiplat

The 2024 French thriller Under Paris (original title: Sous la Seine, released globally by Netflix) will probably be remembered first and foremost for its absurd premise, which involves a large mako shark entering the River Seine and creating chaos in Paris on the eve of the Olympic games.

Films about killer sharks have always been common, both in the B-movies world and among A-level productions. The most famous is, of course, Steven Spielberg’s adventure thriller masterpiece Jaws (1975), whose success led to three, way less effective, sequels between 1978 and 1987. 

Other well-known entries in this perhaps too-much-exploited subgenre are Renny Harlin’s Deep Blue Sea (1999) and Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Shallows (2016). We can debate the negative impact that some of these movies have had on the perception of sharks, which instead are often menaced by men more than the opposite, particularly due to intense haunting for their fins, using barbaric practices. 

But the Under Paris contains an interesting exploration of some ecological themes if you look beyond the pure entertainment/shock value. It is directed by French filmmaker Xavier Gens, whose career varies between high and low, but has produced at least two memorable movies (the extreme horror film Frontier(s), 2007, and the beautiful and sad Lovecraftian fantasy-drama Cold Skin, 2017). Gens remains a solid director who knows how to shoot action scenes, and Under Paris confirms its ability. 

The movie opens on the so-called Great Pacific garbage patch, a gigantic patch made of waste and situated in the North Pacific Oceans. It covers 1.6 million square kilometers and is made mainly of microplastics. While a great effort is ongoing to remove it, its existence is a sad testament to humankind’s failure to deal with sea pollution and the problems of microplastics, whose presence inside marine animals’ bodies is now well-documented and dangerous. The movie follows marine biologist Sophia (played by Oscar nominee Bérénice Bejo) in searching for tagged mako shark Lilith. The expedition ends tragically, but some time later Lilith reappears in Paris, having entered the Seine and creating terror among citizens and tourists.

While the political authorities only think about the incoming sport global event and want the shark killed as soon as possible, Sophia teams up with a group of young activists and expert hackers to understand what has altered so much the behavior and the dimensions of the female mako. 

They will discover that Lilith is no longer a normal shark, having undergone a mutation due to the continued exposition to microplastics. I won’t spoil the catastrophic, action-packed ending, also because is not the most interesting thing to talk about. What is fascinating instead is the pro-environmental message of Under Paris. The film condemns the irresponsible humane actions that have led to the chaos and takes the part of the people who want the shark captured and brought back to the sea, not killed. 

While depicting it in an exaggerated horror manner, it also highlights the tragedy that is Ocean pollution by plastic. It helps understand how microplastics’ spreading is affecting marine animals, which are often absorbing microplastics daily, with consequences that are not yet clear and could be devasting for the whole ecosystem. 

So, beyond the pure summer blockbuster fun, Under Paris helps us to remember what is happening in our Oceans, and perhaps to leave us with a bit of shame for what we have permitted to happen inside our planet’s seas.