Under Paris explained

What is Under Paris about?

People don’t necessarily appreciate the long-term dangers of environmental damage. So Under Paris uses its Jaws-like killer shark as a metaphor for nature-based catastrophe. It’s a trope-driven horror movie that can be enjoyed on that basic level but also serves as a parable in the hopes of making some viewers a bit more aware of the potential cause-and-effect of not taking care of the ocean. The real consequence won’t be a super shark. But the end result could be, all the same, world changing. It has things to say about researchers, youthful activists, and government officials.  

Cast

• Sophia – Bérénice Bejo
• Adil – Nassim Lyes
• Mika – Léa Léviant
• Caro – Sandra Parfait
• Nils – Aksel Ustun
• Berruti – Jean-Marc Bellu
• Adama – Ibrahima Ba
• Angèle – Aurélia Petit
• Markus – Marvin Dubart
• Mayor – Anne Marivin
• Written by – Yannick Dahan | Xavier Gens | Maud Heywang | Yaël Langmann
• Directed by – Xavier Gens

Under Paris is an environmentalism parable

Human survival relied on understanding cause-and-effect. 10,000 years ago, a cave person comes across a print in the mud. If the print is a hoof, they know it’s probably a deer, meaning prey to hunt. If it’s a paw, they know it’s another predator, so best to move away. Makes sense. But environmental issues are harder to understand. 

A single piece of trash in the ocean doesn’t have an immediate reaction. 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste in the ocean means what? You can point out how it decimates marine populations, affects coastal habitats, infects fish with microplastics we then consume, can negatively impact water-based industries and communities, and even contribute to climate change. But that might not mean anything to most people because they don’t see the immediate consequence on their day to day lives. 

This is where storytelling can be really important. You can use a narrative as a parable and give people another way of understanding a situation. Which is what Under Paris does. So someone doesn’t understand the direct ramifications between oceanic pollution and human civilization. How do you simplify it for them? One way is to have a character embody or represent the issue. In this case, it’s Lilith, a new species of shark that has evolved in response to oceanic woes caused by humans. That’s why we first meet the shark in the Great Pacific garbage patch. 

People living in cities don’t worry about sharks. The same way that most people don’t worry about the health of the ocean. “It won’t affect me.” So when Lilith is suddenly hunting in Paris, it represents this idea that one day people in major cities will have to confront environmental issues they had assumed outside their zone of concern. 

What the characters in Under Paris represent

Sophia and her crew represent experienced researchers who overestimate their expertise and underappreciate new data. They think they know what Lilith is and how to deal with her. Except they don’t, and almost all of them die because of it. Lilith is just a normal mako shark, right? It takes years for Sophia to realize otherwise. By then, it’s too late.

Mika represents youthful activists. She’s passionate and determined, but lacks practical experience. She puts her idealism and emotion over common sense and evidence. That’s Under Paris essentially saying that the youth want to and can make a difference—but if they all act like Mika then their earnestness will go to waste. 

The film does a similar thing with government officials. The Mayor of Paris could have made decisions that limited the damage Lilith could cause and would ultimately save the city. Instead, she’s focused on the triathlon and the money not only spent on it but brought in by it, which means she’s putting economics and politics over what’s best for people. The same way Mika is the worst example of the youth trying to help, the Mayor is the “don’t be like this” for government officials. 

The shells in the Seine

So people really do fish with magnets in the Seine. And in 2022 they really did find unexploded ordnance from World War II. From Sortir a Paris: “More than 150 World War II shells were found in the river, at the level of the Austerlitz quay, in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. Divers from the river brigade and deminers from the Laboratoire Central de la Préfecture de police de Paris recovered them during two days, on an area equivalent to a soccer field. 

Narratively speaking, the shells are similar to the Great Pacific garbage patch. It’s human-made debris that we don’t take responsibility for. In the world of Under Paris, if people hadn’t polluted the oceans, then Lilith wouldn’t have come into being. And if they had cleaned the Seine in a timely fashion, the shells wouldn’t be all through the river and ready to detonate. So it’s our own laziness and acceptance of trash that causes this worst case scenario. 

You could also try to make the argument that the shells being from World War II is a broader statement about our violent history and nature and how we still face consequences today from events that happened nearly 100 years ago. Which does tie back to environmental concerns. One of the main talking points around environmentalism is that you’re doing it for your kids and grandkids and so on. If in 1950 you told the then Mayor of Paris “Hey, we should get rid of all the shells in the Seine so they don’t one day blow up and cause Paris to flood” then the Mayor probably tells you to beat it. But then, 70 years later, a super shark in the river causes the shells to explode and the whole chain reaction essentially destroys the city. If only our ancestors had done something about it rather than ignoring the issue. 

Again, Under Paris is a parable. Does it think WWII ordinance will cause Paris to flood? No. Does it think super sharks will exist? No. But these things represent the kind of troubles we could run into if we do nothing. What if the ocean becomes so polluted that the water becomes dangerous to drink. Then a storm causes polluted ocean water to enter the river then the public water system and filtration doesn’t work right and suddenly 25% of the city is poisoned?

Will Sophia and Adil survive? Why does Under Paris end that way?

Probably not. Even though they’re on the roof of a building, they’re still partially in the water. The sharks can, at any time, swim right up to them. Unless some deus ex machina happens at the start of a sequel, they’re goners. 

Remember, the movie is parable. Sophia and Nil represent humanity. And how we will probably barely be holding on in the aftermath of whatever paradigm shifting environmental calamity occurs. Not everyone will be wiped out immediately but long-term survival will be unlikely. 

Sharks infest the rest of the world?

That’s what the end credits suggest. It wasn’t just Paris. But sharks like Lilith end up in every body of water they can find: London, Tokyo, New York, Venice, Bangkok, etc. It doesn’t seem like the cities end up under water like Paris—I don’t think these are hyper-intelligent terrorist sharks plotting how to break dams everywhere they go—but each one now has major, major, major issues with sharks being all over the place. 

Did Lilith purposefully set off the ordinance? How smart was she?

Great question. Because Lilith is dodging bullets underwater, it’s unclear if she happened to maneuver in a way that kicked up the ordinance or if she actually planned it. And, yes, the initial shells are right along the wall but we see them blow up in the middle of the river. So there are some continuity issues. 

What caused Lilith to become so advanced?

Nature evolves based on environmental factors. So Lilith is a new species of shark that grows much faster, matures early, reproduces via parthenogenesis, and can survive in both fresh and saltwater. The point isn’t that this could happen, the point is that Lilith represents the kind of unpredictable response in nature that could spell catastrophe for people.

Was Mika right?

Hell no. 

Why did the kids freak out so much in the catacombs?

It is scary when you witness a friend devoured by a humongous shark and realize you’re in danger. But the response from everyone was so over the top. The director, Xavier Gens, did tell Variety, quote, “We really had fun inventing an alternate reality where we highlight human stupidity and show everyone making the wrong decisions!” So the point kind of is “Look how dumb these kids are. They just needed to be calm and not fall in the water. Instead, they made all the wrong decisions.”  

Google suggested that people also ask “Is the movie Under Paris a true story”

I certainly hope no one is asking that. To be fair, it’s true they discovered shells in the Seine. But, no, a new evolved shark species did not show up in Paris and attack a bunch of swimmers during a triathlon then maybe purposefully caused a bunch of bombs to blow the walls holding back the river.