message in the movies By Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

                   
Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou   Rated R
Directed by Wes Anderson. Starring Bill Murray, Owen Wilson


Photo © Touchstone Pictures
Every once in a while a film comes along that so defies conventional expectations, viewers are apt to dismiss the movie as a failure.  This seems to be the case with The Life Aquatic, which has met with many dismissive reviews and poor ticket sales.  Let it be said here and now that I found this film to be absolutely engaging on its own terms as a truly original film comedy.  The main story concerns an oceanographer’s quest to find the jaguar shark that killed his best friend while also working at a sort of reconciliation with Ned Plimpton, a man who thinks that he might be Steve’s son. Director and co-writer Wes Anderson’s strong suit is irony, so the film is low key and deadpan, with a lot of funny stuff that may not evoke loud laughter but will have you smiling at its cleverness.  As Team Zissou sets off on its voyage of retribution (which is also being filmed as a documentary), we are introduced to an assortment of wacky characters which include the ex-wife of Steve Zissou as well as her first ex-husband (who is also a competitor of nautical research), a loyal German sailor (played by a hilarious Willem Dafoe), a pregnant unmarried journalist (who attracts romantic interest from both Steve and Ned), and a bank representative along to supervise the film production.  Somewhere along the way they will meet up with pirates and encounter a number of beautiful and fantastic tropical fish (imaginary creatures created with stop-motion animation).  If you’re still interested after this brief description, give The Life Aquatic a try; you may discover a film that is visually stunning, unpredictable, and full of wit and grace

Pitchfork Rating: Two halos. (If you can get into the zone of this life-affirming offbeat comedy, you may find it very entertaining.)   Two pitchforks.  (Occasional strong language, non-sexual nudity, scenes of violence and death, implied casual sex.)

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