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To start: I’ve never seen a Wes Anderson film before and until very recently, I’d no idea the man existed. I won’t give a plot synapses; others have done that better than I have. The movie essentially is a stylistic depiction of the adventurous scuba divers many of us grew up watching on the discovery channel. However, Wes injects human emotion into the scene and blends it with the aforementioned, creating dialogue which is very powerful one moment, and extremely canonical the next. This makes the movie a bit hard to wrap your head around if you were expecting a simple tear jerker or a comedy flick, but balances the work well enough so you’re not crying or laughing through the whole god damned thing. (Which either portion, separated from the other, would have forced.) The underlying theme of the work is of course is Zissou’s mid life depression coupled with his long fading and increasingly dissatisfying career. (Obviously Wes isn’t aiming for a specific “teen” or “indie” demographic”) To entangle this, Wes introduces a smaller sub-theme which deals with Ned, Zissou’s supposed son and his own search for paternal leadership and motherly love. (Which he finds in a bit of a Freudian crisis) The whole damned thing is, then, wrapped about in, what is essentially, a successful man’s self delusion and combined boredom with what many would consider to be a spectacularly exciting and rewarding profession. To expect that kind of emotional context to be so lovingly applied to what at first glance looks like a live action version of Sealab 2021, stunned me. To draw a stupid and elaborate metaphor, the meat of the movie is in its emotion, and the muscle, the drive, in its comedy. Few jokes attack strongly, and those that do were mentioned previously, but there are many that hit subtly, such as Zissou’s constant pot use and intoxication (those who’ve lived with older stoners can attest how accurately and nobly that was acted/written) and the eventual conclusion that draws about his family. The hilariously named fish and their Latin specifications and the absurd maritime gear and conduct displayed throughout to, fit a sort of specific layman inspired comedy that prevails through the film and often hits harder than those jokes which can be more universally understood. I won’t conclude this shitpiece with something like – “the movie’s weakness is it’s strength,” “it’s not like all the others” “It’s like an indie film, and that means it’s good.” I’ll just say this, in short. The film is specific to a certain state of mind and understanding, it’s not universal, and its design offers the young the least bit of appreciation (I’m young to, drat it) It’s stylistic, surreal, and powerful to, but it won’t throw a rope down for you if you need help “getting” it. 4.5/5 Make more movies Wes. As a personal note, I’m not a movie elitist, and I’m not an independent film jerk off, and this isn’t my first review, and I don’t go to college and it shows.
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Dec 31, 2004 12:39
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| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 16:20 |
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