The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: Wes Anderson's Misunderstood Masterpiece

[@Drue7]

This is Wes Andersons best movie by far, and I don't give a damn if anyone disagrees. An absolute masterpiece, and I'll continue to rewatch this movie till I die

[@fatovamingus]

Bill Murray was so perfect. The scene with the leeches when they land on the island is just one of those subtle freaking moments that only Bill Murray could do.

[@sinistercitizen3061]

I think I like this and Darjeeling best. I switch between the two as my faves.

[@tomwithuhn9472]

+1 100% agree. One of the most powerful movies of my life. I think you have to have lost a loved one, before you can really appreciate this movie. The review was spot-on.

[@lobot6894]

This is easily my favorite Wes Anderson film. I just like everything about it. I like the art direction, the music, the acting, the cast, the dialogue, etc. Something about the melancholy apathy mixed with some kind of weird warmth and hope, just speaks to me in the right way.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

It's such a unique eclectic mix of tones and emotions but they somehow work really well together!

[@psterud]

It's my favorite as well, eventually taking over from Rushmore. I think Anderson was really finding his voice here, but he maintained some of the rawness of his earlier films, before his work became hyper-stylized and self-referential. I was shocked to learn that everyone didn't love it for its non-stop style and humor.

[@fatovamingus]

I love when he's showing Ned around the restaurant or whatever it is and he points to Jeff goldblum's painting and calls him a big-time asshole. I'm voice texting so sorry for the mistakes

[@barbarachieppo9603]

​@@fatovamingusHe hogs up all the grant money.

[@fatovamingus]

@@barbarachieppo9603 I love when the bond company stooge comes on board in the elevator because finally you get to hear Devo's Gut Feeling

[@blood_rayven3253]

This movie made me laugh, and cry, and I really do not understand how people can not love it

[@colehersey12]

its "cartoonish" decoration makes that ending with Ned hit so hard. Your lulled into a depressed yet funny world only to be thrown back into the pain central to our lives, and central to why Steve is so narcissistic and mean: love and death and the grief that follows the end of both. I just rewatched this and was stunned when I started to cry. This move is so underrated.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I think you've hit the nail on the head! You're immersed in this fun escapist world and then get hit with all the worst parts of real life and the complexities of the human condition

[@Luke-go1km]

This film is a lifestyle for me, i cherish it and i just cant explain but pure magic ✨✨

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I couldn't agree more! I can't really put my finger on why it resonates so deeply but it's a really special movie

[@EmersonWyrick-ec7tg]

I remember watching this and grand Budapest hotel in the same weekend. After I finished grand Budapest I thought to myself man this movie had nice visuals but character wise was incredibly dull. Then I watched life aquatic and loved it. It just brought so much heart to the screen and was so fun and quirky. I had to go back and rewatch it again. Definitely up there for being one of my all time favorite movies

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I have a slight preference for Grand Budapest over Life Aquatic because it's a bit tighter and more focused and more meticulously crafted, but I do agree that Life Aquatic is a lot more soulful and humanistic and hits on a deeper emotional level

[@jmdi2703]

Because you are a smart person. Life Aquatic is best Wes Anderson film! People are just dumb. Big Budapest Hotel good but overrated.

[@psterud]

I also found GPH dull by comparison.

[@WatPatat]

Man this is my favorite Wes Anderson movie, I never got why this one didn't get 8 - 10's across the board. It's so wacky, but the scene in the little submarine makes me cry every time Thanks for bringing more positive views towards this movie!

[@Pray4Beats]

Ann-Marie: "(Pointing at a spot on the map) Pele, what's this????" Pele: "🤷I dunno, a map?"

[@positivevibrations6250]

I Love this movie. It is criminally underrated and this was an excellent review. 👍

[@dbryan1688]

Liked your video. Murray's deadpan delivery (which I initially took at face value, classic Murray) came to mean so much more when I saw Zissou as someone dealing with PTSD due to the losses you described. Zissou's self-destructive, over-indulged behavior is textbook PTSD. What I thought was powerful about the end is that Zissou achieves a moment of healing, first, by seeing the shark. When he says, "I wonder if he remembers me," to me, it's a statement of acceptance of the joined, terrible history he shares with that shark. Then at the final final festival, when we hear Zissou say of Ned, unequivocally, "He was my son," accepting a part of himself he had always denied. It should be noted that Zissou WINS the final film festival as he has that trophy (the same trophy Hennessy has at the first festival). Saw this in the theater, first run. It's always been my favorite Anderson film.

[@Dechral]

One of my favorite movies of all time. Never saw it in the theatre but bought the Criterion DVD in the mid 00's and it quickly became a favorite between my gf at the time & me. The soundtrack is sublime. Seo Gorge, and my introduction to Sigur Ros will always be my most sacred takeaways from the movie, as well as the original productions throughout the movie by Mark Mothersbaugh. So much heart was put into this movie by every actor, too many to name. For as hilarious and dreamy most of the movie is, the surprising emotional payoff in the last fifteen minutes is a most welcome surprise. It really solidifies the entire work. Thanks for sharing

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I think that's the genius of the movie! It presents itself as so whimsical and lighthearted that the darker sadder parts hit so much deeper

[@samkun3297]

I have loved this picture ever since it came out,so wonderfully written with such a great cast. It's perfect.

[@Dao4deuce]

This quickly became my favortie WA film, after I saw it twice in the cinema, and ended up buying the DVD as soon as I could. I love everything about it, from Bill Murray to the music by Seu Jorge and score by mothersbaugh, the amazing supporting cast, and especially the world Anderson creates and invites us to explore. Laugh, cry, wonder, travel...it has it all.

[@tomhahnl1927]

I loved it, remember being one of the few people laughing out loud in the theater 😉😂

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I had the exact same experience at a screening of it a few weeks ago 😅

[@boohennessy4638]

Really? I only watched when it came to DVD, my friends and I were howling with laughter. Instant classic. Guess it's kind of like LOTR, about 20% of the cinema walked out before it had even finished. Yet it's considered a masterpiece now.

[@tomhahnl1927]

@@boohennessy4638 LOTR Lord Of The Rings??? 20% walkout?

[@dinkmartini3236]

Many of Anderson's films end the same way - - in tears. You think it's all edifice and tricks and camp. Then when you least expect it you realize that while you've been distracted and laughing the movie has crept down into your heart. I literally sobbed the first time I saw the end of Tenenbaums.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

That's so true! The campy artifice lulls you into this comfortable feeling where you're not expecting to get your heart ripped out and then Ned dies or Royal dies and it hits even harder than a straightforward drama because you're in this warm colourful picture book world Wes has created

[@darioscomicschool1111]

HE WAS SWALLLLLOOOWED WHOLE? NO! CHEWED! A REAL CLASSIC! Steve are you here to rescue me? ---..... FOLD! DON'T POINT THAT GUN AT HIM.... HE'S AN UNPAID INTERN! #TEAMZISSOU

[@Djp1989]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@nicolasgasquoine]

You nailed it!

[@Summertimesadness9]

Always wanted to dress up in the blue track suit and red beanie for Halloween. Life aquatic crew

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

It's an iconic look and it also looks really comfortable so it's a win win!

[@Dao4deuce]

I went as Klaus to a costume party, one of my favorite Halloween costumes ever. I still wear the red beanie in cooler weather because red beanies are the best 😊

[@mikametcalf3783]

Thanks for the reminder to call my mom. And it fits very well with the theme of this movie review, to appreciate those around you, especially while you still have them, because life is short and tragedy almost always unexpected.

[@JioFreedOfOphan]

The Life Aquatic is my favorite Wes Anderson movie because of how much real dialogue it has, the way Wes presents it. It's like when Mrs. Fox say, "I love you, but I never should have married you." It hits like a train at times but in Life Aquatic it's peppered in the movie in subtle ways. My favorite is always when Ned says, "I still wish I could breathe underwater" and Steve replies, "Me too, Ned." After everything they went through and thereafter the dialogue hits hard.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I think that's one of Wes' greatest strengths, taking a line that would seem really simple or unspectacular on its own like "I wonder if it remembers me" or "she's my Rushmore Max" and giving it so much depth and meaning in the context of the film

[@gabequezada2066]

Great movie. The ending was filled with emotion and to see a man emotionally torn down because of fear of being forgotten as time moved forward was well acted out by Murray.. The rest of the cast was excellent..

[@thomasledbetter5908]

I remember seeing it with my mother in theaters when it came out. My favorite movie.

[@LawMasterMike]

Hated this movie in theaters. Gave it another chance at home. Liked it so I watched it again. Eventually, it became my favorite movie of all time. Every time I watch it, I find something new I love about it. It was eventually overtaken by the Grand Budapest Hotel but it is still an all time favorite.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I had the same experience! It didn't really click with me until I rewatched

[@nestorperena8629]

first time I watched it the story felt all over the place, a bit chaotic but when the ending came (the whole crew inside the yellow submarine) gave a whole new meaning to everything that came before. it was a beautiful moment. for me it saved the movie.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

It's such a perfect culmination of the whole film

[@alyscstudjo6909]

16 of us saw this in the movie theater. Just me and friend laughed so hard and declared it the most brilliant movie and the reviews went down from there to one saying if this is what passes for movies these days count me out!

[@jmdi2703]

Life Aquatic is best Wes Anderson film and one of the best film all time! ❤ Why people are so dumb always? Why people say this is worst Wes Anderson film?

[@jpa435]

One of my all time favorites! I was still pretty young when this kick ass movie came out. Wish I got to see it in theaters. You know you are doing something right when most of this society doesn’t understand or care for what you are doing. People try and hide from real life, this movie highlights it.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

That's exactly it! It dresses itself up as fun, kooky escapism but it actually addresses the toughest aspects of real life

[@joshjenner1]

Brilliant film with a really brilliant cast , unique is an understatement, a very good movie , shame so many in this world are puppets that follow whatever the latest trend is , coz so many have missed absolute gem .

[@reidboggs4344]

“I will hunt it, but I will not kill it. Now what about my dynamite?” -Steve Zissou-

[@road_king_dude]

One of my favorite movies of all time. 🎥

[@banger0812]

Makes me cry every time I watch it.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

Me too!

[@andyrunton]

Love this. It’s become one of my favorites for all thee reasons you mentioned. Thank you for explaining it so eloquently! I really appreciate it. ❤️🐠

[@cornelisvanzutven2134]

Extremely well put into words. This is a great movie about the Human Condition. And: incredibly funny.

[@MaquiladoraIII]

This film might well be worth watching for the Search & Destroy scene alone.

[@barbarachieppo9603]

Love this film.❤My very favorite Bill Murray performance.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

Mine too! Either this or Groundhog Day

[@ItCameFromTheSkyBeLo]

This movie has made me break down crying. Its one of my favorite films of all time.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

The heartbreaking parts really catch you by surprise with how zany the rest of the film is

[@bonbonjames16]

Definitely my favorite movie!!

[@bwarrent]

I love this movie so much, definitely my favorite Wes Anderson film.

[@arvidruhland1967]

That movie was on television a few times, but i never watched it. Now actually knowing the story and that there's bowie songs all over it, i probably should have.

[@anwaranfield1324]

one of my favorite movies of all time!

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

Mine too!

[@driprubies2464]

I loved this movie so much, I limited myself to watching it once every few years! However I listen to the soundtrack often

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

The soundtrack is so great, especially the Seu Jorge Bowie covers!

[@BradiKal61]

I love Aquatic almost as much as Rushmore and in my mind its sort if like a sequel because Jacque Cousteau was mentioned in Rushmore. Call me crazy. Rushmore is my favorite because Andersin so nailed the conflict between two characters - a youth who wants to be older and a man who wants to be young again.

[@sgrafx]

I love love love this film.

[@jimjohnson724]

This movie, Rushmore and Mr Fox are some of the few movies I can watch from start to finish.... and to me the scene where they accidentally leave the dog in the island always gets me 😢

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

Murray's delivery is so perfectly timed when he says "We forgot Cody, we have to go back! ... Goodbye Cody"

[@MaquiladoraIII]

Bloody hell, I've just forgotten about that scene. Thanks a packet! 🥲

[@tmasbu.5358]

Criterion Collection selection. Gives positive effect..😮 overt irony??

[@tmasbu.5358]

* "I think you mis-judge the guy".

[@Francesco6961]

“Life is relentlessly shitty…” HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Beautiful line, Ben!! As for Ebert, and all self-important critics of film and music, they’re usually short-sighted, shallow, and worthy of being ignored.

[@discount8508]

we want you on team zissou

[@MartianInAHumansBody]

Always loved this film. Never understood why it had so much hate.

[@tedbosquez19]

This is my favorite Anderson film ... flowed by Rushmore, Darjing, and Grand Budapest ...

[@nichobarton]

This analysis spoke to me

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

This comment spoke to me!

[@tense99]

Its one of those films that demands a second viewing to appreciate.

[@THE_Dodge_Morningstar]

I really enjoyed myself watching this in the theater.

[@mckni5]

Nice video.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

Thanks!

[@themilkman6969]

can’t watch this movie without being at least on the border of crying the whole time

[@davideaston6944]

I love this film, as a pure ironic comedy. I still think The Darjeeling Limited is my favourite of Anderson's, but they're all great !!

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I love to see some love for Darjeeling!

[@davideaston6944]

@@igottouchedatthecinema Re-watched it (?th time) just a few weeks ago ... wow, what a trip! (Pun intended!) I love how faithful Anderson is to life... It's not always a happy ending; sometimes it's tragic. Sometimes it's ironic; sometimes it's pretty okay! It's just... LIFE.

[@ronbock8291]

Hands down my favourite Wes Anderson film. Not even close.

[@TimothyBall-mv3lp]

10/22/2024. [Zissou] I want this name for a Scrabble Board. Many points.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

That would be a really good Scrabble answer but aren't proper nouns not allowed in Scrabble?

[@lindasapiecha2515]

Brilliant

[@John-l8m]

Seu Jorge gives Bowies songs a lightness, somehow they sound "Oceanic." ("Please dont let the others make fun of me for saying zis!)

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I can't guarantee that Klausy but I'll try

[@hablin1]

I love this film ❤

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

Me too!

[@fatovamingus]

One of my favorite films I know the soundtrack very well and you don't because you didn't mention my Mark Mothersbaugh at all

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

My deepest apologies to Mark, I love his scores (especially Rushmore), but I feel like in Life Aquatic his score is overshadowed by all the other music in the film

[@fatovamingus]

@@igottouchedatthecinema kidding around tho

[@BigBass-xf5yi]

Fantastic Movie

[@TheCrimsonMoogle]

This is my favourite movie. My second favourite is The Cable Guy.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

Cable Guy is so good!

[@TheCrimsonMoogle]

@igottouchedatthecinema a man of culture.

[@luckygreentiger]

It's weird because this is the only one of his that I actually like.

[@MikeDrewYT]

I went back to see it in the second-run theater in Madison, Wisconsin about 10 times after I first saw it, then bought tge DVD and watched the first 30-40 minutes of almost every day for about a year or so. Haven’t watched it much since then, but that’s because it’s a part of who I am now, I know every cut and word much like Big Lebowski and The Bourne Identity (I’m nothing if not a product of the era in which I came of age). I think it might be the funniest movie ever made.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

It's certainly one of the funniest movies ever made, so is Lebowski! It's interesting that you watched the first 30-40 mins on repeat because around that point when they start the voyage is when the movie really picks up for me (although I do love the opening scenes too!)

[@GodKillerKRAT0S]

Probably my second favourite wes Anderson after the grand Budapest

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

Grand Budapest is Wes' magnum opus

[@dbryan1688]

@@igottouchedatthecinema Interesting. While The Life Aquatic is my fave, Grand Budapest is my LEAST favorite Anderson film. I had a hard time caring about the protagonist.

[@antonioussykas4140]

Movie Critics are kinda morons. Wes Anderson was new when it came out and the reviews were basically "This is new and it scares me." Then these critics turn around and give the most generic marvel movie a 96% for its ingenuity and creativity. I mean, reading the same critics bash Life Aquatic and gleam over his later films, you can clearly tell that their isn't a single independent thought to be had in their writing. It's just a reflection of what everyone else says, or what they think everyone else will say.

[@jetleb]

Well, basically all you need to know about the movie is that all the characters in the movie are children. Everything stems from this simple fact. It's about a bunch of kids playing games. For example just look at the way the gun fights happen and what kinds of movements the characters are doing. It's as if children were playing gun fights. Seeing the movie from this angle will make you understand and appreciate it way better.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

That's a really interesting way of looking at it! I never thought of it like that but you're right, the action scenes are staged like kids playing pretend and all the characters are pretty immature when it comes to adult relationships

[@road_king_dude]

Always loved this film but never appreciated just how dark and somber it actually was.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I think that's the beauty of it! Wes sneaks so much darkness and emotion into this seemingly lighthearted absurdist slapstick comedy

[@robzilla730]

ALWAYS loved this movie. After this, didn't really keep up with WA. Couldn't sit through Grand Budapest, there was just too much going on for me to keep up with, not that i didn't like what i saw. Darjeeling didn't interest me Loved Moonrise Kingdom. WA's first 4 movies will always be pure nostalgia for me. Same with Kevin Smith's first 4. I guess i changed after that. Lol

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I agree that Wes Anderson and Kevin Smith both changed after their first 4 and those first 4 are in a league of their own and they've been hit-and-miss since then, but I thought Darjeeling was great! I loved Kev's horror films too

[@robzilla730]

@igottouchedatthecinema I think it's because I have a family now. You really have to sit down and watch his movies without distractions. That's why I couldn't enjoy Grand Budapest I guess. I will try to watch it from beginning to end. Give it one last try. As for Smith, Clerks made me cry. It was the most honest movie about the minimum wage Gen-X experience notwithstanding the necrophilia and playing hockey on the roof. The best thing about Clerks 2 was the Lord of the Rings monologue. Thought the dance number in the parking lot was stupid. Rosario Dawson is ugly. His podcasts are FAR more entertaining than his movies nowadays Lol. Smith has done a complete 180 from the guy he was when he made his first 4. But then again I'm not the same guy either ...

[@ScottMcIntyre-u5z]

This is still my favorite movie trailer of all time. “…I’m gonna hit you, Steve.” The movie was a disappointment IMO.

[@tmasbu.5358]

FUN movie, comedy adv. Yeah, Bob Hope, Dorothy LaMour. Beach movie..😊

[@tmasbu.5358]

*scheduled maintenance(helicopter) required.😮

[@pertzian.sounds]

If this movie were a melody -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/paDReaSreMx5opY

[@clarissagafoor5222]

Very odd to see such a very young Owen Wilson and Matthew Gray Gubler here.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I never recognised Matthew Gray Gubler as the intern! Small world

[@GreasyCreek12345]

I like this movie. I can watch this movie over and over. But I know why it wasn’t successful commercially. They shouldn’t have killed Ned at the end. Killing Ned at the end made this movie a bummer. Otherwise I think it would have been a commercial and critical success. That’s just my opinion as a Wes Anderson film aficionado.

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I think you're right, and The Royal Tenenbaums probably would've been a bigger mainstream hit without the incest storyline and the same with Darjeeling Limited and the kid's death, but I'd honestly rather Wes take creative risks like that than be concerned with what would make more money

[@sunshinemagicalrainbowunic4004]

It was always accepted

[@jk87876]

... beside the need for regular helicopter maintenance... 😁

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

It's an important message!

[@phunkym8]

its probably the last role where bill murray gave a shit

[@sethoselken9562]

Anderson's high water mark.

[@joeyhandles]

love this movie but its one of the least rewatchable of his films.

[@dgillphotos]

No real need to go though the entire film and pot and put it out there - viewers - there is more to the film despite the fact that it has all be discussed here. Go find out for yourself.

[@RoninRose-sg1ks]

Dominican Republic 1936

[@KP-yq8id]

I loved it from the start. The one set in India and the recent one in France are the worst ones

[@igottouchedatthecinema]

I was also very disappointed by French Dispatch but I loved Darjeeling Limited!