The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

the audience applauded

Memorable, crazy movie

Lack of good storyline.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Loosely inspired by the life of famed scientist, conservationist and oceanic explorer Jacques Cousteau, director Wes Anderson's whimsical comedic drama "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" has gone on to gain an ever-growing cult-audience in the thirteen years that have passed since its initial release. And for good reason- this is an endlessly ambitious and exceedingly well made work of art despite its inconsistencies and an occasional bit of pretentiousness that crops in now and again. It's thoroughly charming with a great dry wit and some wonderful characters to explore, set to a fascinating and very fantastical backdrop. I've always had something of a love- hate relationship with Anderson. I highly admire the man and adore his work on certain levels, even when more often than not I find his films to be a bit too tediously in love with themselves and overwrought. The man is without doubt a genius, and I think my feelings are a good reflection of that... even when I don't like his films personally due to my own issues with them, I still can love and appreciate their intentions."The Life Aquatic" is most certainly one of Anderson's more peculiar works- which is not small feat. It follows the titular Steve Zissou (Bill Murray), an oceanographer and documentary filmmaker whose life has hit a bit of a rough patch- not helped by the fact that during the filming of his most recently movie, his friend and colleague Esteban was killed by a mysterious beast described as a "Jaguar Shark." He vows that his next documentary will focus on his hunt for the shark, especially after members of the public question whether or not Esteban was really killed or if the entire situation was faked. ("But what would be the scientific purpose of killing it?"; "...revenge?") And so, the film follows his newest voyage, and focuses on the interpersonal relationships between Zissou and the members of his crew, including his estranged wife (Angelica Huston), a reporter who has come to document his latest journey (Cate Blanchett) and a young pilot named Ned who may or may not be his long-lost son, played wonderfully by Owen Wilson.The film is a powerhouse of keen visual storytelling and subtle, dry humor and grounded drama that lends it a great deal of quirky atmosphere while also maintaining a surprisingly heartfelt and realistically emotional core. The film is overtly stylized in virtually every capacity... from a wonderful series of visual sequences where we see the entirety of the ship opened up from the side like a dollhouse, to the inclusion of old-school claymation to bring to life the magical ocean creatures that Steve encounters, to very deliberate caricature performances from several supporting players... Anderson is creating a brand new world with this film (much as he does with all of his movies) that seems to exist in a similar but just slightly more cartoonish reality compared to our own. And yet, you can relate to it because he finds a proper balance in his handling of the world-building. As much as it is detached from our own perception of the "real world"... you still can still buy into the film because he never goes too far and keeps its heart in the right place with drama seeped in realism.And that's where the film really shines. With its magnificent and expansive cast of characters, who are all given career-defining performances by their respective performers in my opinion, and sharp writing that really seems to understand the human condition, you can't help but be fully absorbed in each moment. This is at its heart a delightful and oft-dramatic slice of life picture and a great study of the interpersonal relationships between troubled and sometimes even jaded and damaged people. Each and every player has their part to play and all are expertly expanded on through the way they interact with others and how their feelings towards one another change over the course of the film. And everyone does an absolutely fabulous job with their performance. This is one of the finest ensemble casts I have ever seen assembled. I didn't even get to mention key supporting players such as Willem Dafoe or Jeff Goldblum, who have smaller but very important parts to play in the story.I do have to comment, though... I wouldn't call it a perfect film. It's perfectly watchable and perfectly engaging and entertaining. And I would consider it a personal favorite. But it's not a perfect film. Because like many of Anderson's other works, I can't help but have some significant issues with the various facets of the movie that do detract a small but notable bit of quality from the overall finished product. As often delightful as the proceedings can be, it too often feels like its too fascinated with its own world-building, to the point it borders on tedium in a few key moments. There's a bit too much... of everything at times. (I know that sounds strange, but it's just how I feel.) It can also occasionally go from the edge of artsy and unique to pretentious and overdone as well, leading to one or two moments where you'll your eyes rolling while you say to yourself "Really?" And that can detract from the otherwise excellent world-building and exploration of character.But that cannot stop an otherwise very fascinating and deceptively complex film. It's hilarious. It's poignant. It's wildly refreshing and incredibly ambitious. And it's just a darned fun movie all around. I give "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" a very good 8 out of 10 and give my whole-hearted recommendation.

From the quirky yet innovative director, Wes Anderson, comes yet another interesting and original movie about a once famous documentary maker seeking revenge for the death of his best friend. Steve Zissou searches out the carnivorous sea creature, the Jaguar Shark, that took the life of his closest friend and colleague. On this treacherous journey of revenge, Zissou encounters pirates, a mutiny of his crew, love for a woman he cannot have, and even a young man who may or may not be his biological son. As team Zissou sets out on this noble quest for revenge, while documenting the whole thing on film, the characters learn that sometimes revenge is not always worth the trouble.Anderson is known for his very original and odd approach to filmmaking and The Life Aquatic is no exception to his quirky style. Set in the 1960's, Anderson uses art and styles from the era which allows the audience to see the differences of the modern times to those of the past. By using real life sets and sets built in studios, Anderson shows his unique sense of art and makes the film unmistakably a Wes Anderson film. This movie is able to entertain its audience in the way that only Anderson's films can do. This film keeps its audience interested by being different and odd. It is able to capture the audience's attention with its quirky style and its eccentric characters. The moral message that can be gained from this movie is that family is always the most important thing in life. It also teaches that gaining revenge is not always the solution to your problems. Steve Zissou's experiences teach that letting go of past grudges can set you free and allow you to get on with your life to be successful. Both the internal and external conflicts are clearly developed throughout the movie. Zissou struggles with his internal conflict that he had already peaked in his life and will never be as successful as he once was. The external conflict comes in the form of a carnivorous sea beast that killed his best friend. He struggles with the task of finding the beast to kill it and get his revenge. I would rate this movie with four and a half out of five stars. It depicts a lost man that finds peace with himself and his arch nemesis by embarking on a seemingly impossible quest of revenge. Wes Anderson, once again, has created a wonderful story of love, loss, and triumph using his inventive and original style.

Life Aquatic is a beautifully composed film with a great story. The artistic value is very unique. Like all Wes Anderson movies, it has colors that really pop, very symmetrical shots, and amazing stop motion scenes. The movie was super entertaining and funny. For educational value, you wont learn anything about boats or sea junk, but you watch a guy give up his life to work on a ship and travel the sea. And i think the lesson there is that in life, sometimes you just have to give up all your stuff and travel the sea. To be happy you cant always play it safe. On the surface, the movie is about claiming revenge on the jaguar shark that ate Esteban. But the real story is about a dad connecting with his son and learning to care about others. Pretty awesome movie.

Hegel once said: "The beauty of nature is only a reflection of the spirit, a beauty that is not perfect." That is achieved by Wes Anderson, in one of the last scene of this film. It helps the film with its purpose. The purpose of this film is to make ignorant people believe that they are watching a great movie, and of course, they aren't. By the end of this film there is a beautiful scene, that can only be described as "masterful and magical". This was a clear example of Mr. Anderson finally achieving Hegel's view of art, unfortunately this only lasts for about a minute, because if it didn't, the movie would have been way better.In great films such as Fellini's "Prova D'orchestra" or François Truffaut's "Le dernier metro" great filmmaker were able to show us how to make a true glorification of art and life. In "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou", Wes Anderson shows us that he thinks he knows a lot about oceans, but he clearly doesn't know (or care) anything about neither life, nor art.The plot revolves at Steve (Bill Murray), an oceanographer. Steve believes that he has enough talent to become a director, and he's wrong (Just like Wes Anderson!). After the death of his friend, Steve will go, and hunt, the creature who killed him, while shooting a documentary about it. His crew will be joining Steve for his little adventure. As in every story, things start happening. Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson) joins them. Ned may, or may not, be Steve's son. Steves wife, Eleanor Zissou (Angelica Huston) believes that Steve is taking advantage of Ned, and leaves him. And Steve's friend, Klaus (Willem Dafoe), becomes jealous of Ned. And of course, Ned needs a love interest, because, why not? A reporter called Jane Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett) is a very important part of this movie (because she's Cate Blanchett, and you can't have a movie without Cate Blanchett).Murray and Wilson are uninspired, and so is director Wes Anderson. The film is always trying so hard to succeed, and because of this, it never does. Of course the movie has some funny parts, but they're not enough foe forgiving Anderson the rest of the film. "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is shallow, unoriginal, and almost completely not arstistical. Mr. Anderson is probably proud of this mess, with the excuse that it's a very strange film, and everything. But let me tell you Mr. Anderson, you have made a few good movies, but most of them are bad, and yes, most of them are strange (this one isn't), but they don't have the strange magic of Woody Allen, Luis Buñuel, David Cronenberg, John Carpenter, David Lynch, or even Tim Burton! Many people call Wes Anderson a genius, well most of them have never seen Carl Theodor Dreyer, Ingmar Bergman, Vittorio De Sica, and many other great and more important filmmakers in their entire lives! So, Mr. Anderson, you are mostly a bad director. Good luck with your "Life Aquatic".