The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou [The Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray] [2005]

I missed this first time round. Great fun, glad I finally got to see it.

I was disappointed the first time I watched it, but I was so puzzled by what Anderson wanted to say about Jacques Cousteau that I kept on watching it, and it gets better with every viewing. It basically seems to be either a critique of Cousteau (with a little bit of Moby Dick thrown in) or an encomium of him and a satire on how an American might have been such a man, with comicbook elements. And there's a Cousteau reference in Rushmore, so I think Anderson is probably a genuine fan of his.But Cousteau was a man with dubious standards. He invented the aqualung and made a fortune and spent it on exploring the oceans - by older standards he was probably a fair conservationist who didn't excite much criticism, but by modern standards he was questionable if not terrible - I remember reading that the animals in his care had a very miserable life (e.g. the seals he kept had a habit of dying of dehydration and getting replaced with others), and his filming was faked some of the time. The Life Aquatic warns that all filming is fake to some extent, Cousteau's, David Attenborough's, Wes Anderson's. A rottentomatoes critic complains of the variety of film stock used by Anderson, missing the point that the more garish stuff very successfully mimics Cousteau's 50s and 60s film stock. But how many of us remember Cousteau's TV programmes enough to get the satire? I see Cousteau DVDs are available, but they are not quite cheap enough for me to want to revisit him.I'm not a huge Bill Murray fan, but I like him in this.

have to say i'm bemused as to why people would label a film such as this as 'pretentious' because it clearly doesn't take itself seriously at all; it doesn't purport to be anything it isn't, this film will bring a laugh and a smile and warm your heart like many of Wes Anderson's films. I mean, come on; Bill Murray and his haphazard crew of weirdos armed to the teeth storming that island? This is a fun film and people who dismiss it as pretentious obviously don't really know the true meaning of the word.This movie details the adventures of fallen from grace eccentric oceanographer and documentarian Steve Zissou (Bill Murray). While working on his previous documentary, his best friend Esteban du Plantier (Seymour Cassel) was eaten by an animal Zissou describes as a "Jaguar shark". For his next project, Zissou is determined to document the destruction of the creature. Zissou's crew aboard his research vessel Belafonte includes Pelé dos Santos (Seu Jorge), a safety expert and Brazilian musician who sings David Bowie songs in Portuguese; Klaus Daimler (Willem Dafoe), a lovable German second-in-command who views Zissou and Esteban as father figures and feels threatened by Zissou's possible son, Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson).Zizzou is world famous and used to be an icon to kids who joined his fan club and followed his adventures in his documentaries. He is facing the prospect of being washed up, past his best and no longer relevant; finding the jaguar shark gives him a new sense of purpose, it is the only way he can validate his life, be remembered and show that his life still has meaning.The performances, particularly from Murray and Wilson, are wonderful and they are supported by a fantastic cast making up Zizzou's bizzare crew. Watch out for a delightful role for Jeff Goldblum as Zizzou's rival! Here we follow Zizzou's bizzare quest to wreak revenge on the giant shark that killed his friend- the plot moves in squiggly lines and toys with the surreal but it's funny and often touching; I enjoyed it very much.

I have to say i'm bemused as to why people would label a film such as this as 'pretentious' because it clearly doesn't take itself seriously at all; it doesn't purport to be anything it isn't, this film will bring a laugh and a smile and warm your heart like many of Wes Anderson's films. I mean, come on; Bill Murray and his haphazard crew of weirdos armed to the teeth storming that island? This is a fun film and people who dismiss it as pretentious obviously don't really know the true meaning of the word.This movie details the adventures of fallen from grace eccentric oceanographer and documentarian Steve Zissou (Bill Murray). While working on his previous documentary, his best friend Esteban du Plantier (Seymour Cassel) was eaten by an animal Zissou describes as a "Jaguar shark". For his next project, Zissou is determined to document the destruction of the creature. Zissou's crew aboard his research vessel Belafonte includes Pelé dos Santos (Seu Jorge), a safety expert and Brazilian musician who sings David Bowie songs in Portuguese; Klaus Daimler (Willem Dafoe), a lovable German second-in-command who views Zissou and Esteban as father figures and feels threatened by Zissou's possible son, Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson).Zizzou is world famous and used to be an icon to kids who joined his fan club and followed his adventures in his documentaries. He is facing the prospect of being washed up, past his best and no longer relevant; finding the jaguar shark gives him a new sense of purpose, it is the only way he can validate his life, be remembered and show that his life still has meaning.The performances, particularly from Murray and Wilson, are wonderful and they are supported by a fantastic cast making up Zizzou's bizzare crew. Watch out for a delightful role for Jeff Goldblum as Zizzou's rival! Here we follow Zizzou's bizzare quest to wreak revenge on the giant shark that killed his friend- the plot moves in squiggly lines and toys with the surreal but it's funny and often touching; I enjoyed it very much.

Wes Andersons usual quirky direction and humour. Great cast too!

Not quite up there with "Budapest" but, nevertheless, it's a a thoroughly enjoyable film.