The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
2004
Wes Anderson
Renowned oceanographer Steve Zissou has sworn vengeance upon the rare shark that devoured a member of his crew. In addition to his regular team, he is joined on his boat by Ned, a man who believes Zissou to be his father, and Jane, a journalist pregnant by a married man. They travel the sea, all too often running into pirates and, perhaps more traumatically, various figures from Zissou's past, including his estranged wife, Eleanor.
Wes Anderson has a knack for dealing with human drama and dark themes with wit and whimsy on screen. At its heart, Life Aquatic is about a man dealing with grief.
I am a fan particularly of the soundtrack of this film, which feature Seu Jorge’s covers of several David Bowie songs. Zissou’s final encounter with the shark always gets me, too. Although it wasn’t a commercial success, for me, Life Aquatic is essential Wes Anderson.