Under Paris is an all-action French-language thriller on Netflix which sees a shark terrorise Paris during a major sporting event. And given that it’s set in the summer of 2024, when Paris is hosting the Olympics, it might feel a little close to home for those competing!
The movie, which is being described by some fans as the French Jaws, stars Bérénice Bejo as Sophia, a brilliant scientist who learns from a young environmental activist called Mika (played by Léa Léviant) that a huge shark has made its way from African waters to France. And when the beast breaks into the river Seine and starts terrorising the Parisian public, the pair must join forces with Adil, the Seine river police commander (played by Nassim Lyes) to avoid a bloodbath.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Netflix film Under Paris…
Under Paris release date
Under Paris will premiere worldwide on Netflix from Wednesday June 5 2024.
Is there a trailer for Under Paris?
Yes! The Under Paris trailer shows a shocked Sophia locating the shark in Paris less than 24 hours before an international triathlon is due to start. “It will be carnage,” she predicts, and it looks as though she might be right. Take a look below...
Under Paris plot
Under Paris follows grieving scientist Sophia, who discovers that a giant shark has invaded the Seine river just before an international triathlon is due to take place. While the authorities are reluctant to believe her, Sophia knows she must act fast to avoid tragedy.
It starts with young eco-activist Mika (Léa Léviant) discovering that climate change has caused a disorientated shark to make its way into the Seine. With the French capital preparing to host the world triathlon championships, Mika brings the unnatural phenomenon to the attention of scientist Sophia (Bérénice Béjo). Concerned for the safety of the athletes and the shark alike, the pair join forces with river police captain Adil (Nassim Lyès) to prevent a bloodbath.
Under Paris cast — Bérénice Bejo interview on playing Sophia
Bérénice Bejo plays Sophia in Under Paris, who is a scientist desperate to save Paris from a man-eating shark.
"I loved the idea that a shark could get lost in the Seine," says Béjo, who was Oscar-nominated for her role in 2011 silent film The Artist. "When this genre of film is done well, it’s a pure pleasure for the viewer, and when I read the script, I felt great potential for an action film but also a strong ecological dimension that resonates with the modern world."
Under Paris has an unusually sympathetic approach to the shark itself and this was one of the reasons that Béjo felt drawn to the project. "My character asks herself a lot of questions - she’s a scientist who would like to study this shark, but also a humanist who has lives to save," she explains. "The shark isn’t nasty without reason. We wanted it to be closer to a film like King Kong - to show the worst things man can do on Earth, how he transforms the world without worrying about what it’s doing to nature."
While Béjo is better known for her work in auteur cinema than in action films, she was excited by the opportunity to throw herself into a physical part, and underwent extensive diving training prior to shooting to prepare for this role. "The water is really not my element!’ she admits. ‘On my first try in the pool, I didn’t go down more than a metre and I already had pain in my ears. But we slowly passed the two metre bar, and I became more comfortable little by little. I trained twice a week for two months, and at the end I was ready and could do all the stunts underwater myself so Xavier [Gens, the director] could film all the shots with me.
"For this genre of film, it’s what the viewer likes - to know that the actor has taken some small risks, even if they were well-supported. It gives character to the scenes, and I am very proud of that."
* Bérénice Bejo previoulsy played Christiana in the 2001 movie A Knight’s Tale and Peppy Miller in The Artist. She has also starred in Sisterhood, Another End, A Bookshop in Paris and The Past.
Léa Léviant on playing Mika
Léa Léviant plays eco activist Mika in Under Paris. She says: "Mika is a character of huge complexity. She’s a young woman with a strong temperament, with her own world and a style of her own. She has the qualities of a leader, full of conviction, and doesn’t hesitate to get others involved in her ideas. Although she can be harsh, she doesn’t stop at anything. She’s someone who refuses to let people walk all over her, and she has a problem with authority, particularly when it goes against her principles. She is on the border between the passion of an adolescent and the confidence of an adult.
"When I read the script for the first time, I was afraid that the public wouldn’t identify with Mika, that they wouldn’t understand her choices and her behaviour. I tried to make her a little bit more fragile, more nuanced, so that we could better understand her motivations and her actions. Even if her manner can sometimes be awkward, the nobility of the cause that she defends shines through clearly. We understand that she’s trying to act as best she can in the face of collective carelessness, which also happens today."
* Léa Léviant stars in the French series Mortel and has also been in Belle Fille, Savage Days and I Am Not An Easy Man.
Nassim Lyes on playing Adil
Nassim Lyes plays river cop Adil in Under Paris. He reveals: "Adil is haunted by his past: he is therefore an introvert who, due to his function, has to express himself more. I’ve worked a lot on his authoritarian side, which is quite new to me. It’s the first time I’ve played a police officer. In the past I was more often asked to play bandits. I was really delighted to have this opportunity.
"Xavier Gens really wanted this character to immediately inspire respect, despite his relative youth. When he speaks, people listen to him. Xavier doesn’t like his characters to just be action heroes, they need emotional baggage. We developed Adil’s backstory together, like a game of table tennis. The idea of his guilt imposed itself, and that brought him judiciously to the trajectory of Sophia, played by Bérénice Béjo. A character’s past directly influences the way we interpret them. I played all my scenes thinking about this backstory: for example in the scene in the catacombs, Adil starts screaming, his authoritarian character bursting out like never before, because he’s worried about his people’s safety."
* Nassim Lyes has also starred in Julia, Birds of Paradise. All Time High and Mayhem!
Who else is starring in Under Paris?
Under Paris also stars Anaïs Parello, Iñaki Lartigue and José Antonio Pedrosa Moreno.
Behind the scenes, locations and more on Under Paris
Under Paris was co-written and directed by Xavier Gens, who wanted to tell a different story. In Under Paris, disorientation caused by climate change has led the shark to the Seine, and Sophia is determined to protect the creature as well as her fellow humans.
"Under Paris is a blockbuster with an ecological conscience," says Xavier. "I didn’t want the shark to be demonised on screen. It had to be a victim of mankind above all."
While the scenes on land were filmed around the Seine in Paris, production moved to Brussels in Belgium and Alicante in Spain for the sequences where the characters were in the river.
"When a character was swimming underwater, we were in Brussels in the pool at Lites Studios," says Xavier. "As soon as a character had to swim at the surface of the river, we were in Spain in a gigantic open-air pool - then we integrated backgrounds that were filmed in Paris!"
Special effects company CLSFX Atelier 69 created an animatronic shark for the shoot — and needed to ensure their model could do everything that was required. "We had to make a shark measuring two-and-a-half metres, capable of going in the water and moving on its own - and it had to look alive!" says creature supervisor Olivier Afonso. "A member of our team who had experience in freediving could move the creature from beneath if needed. Some people believed the shark was remote controlled!"
