Bill Murray as a failed ocean explorer who lost his best friend to a mysterious shark: this is the premise of this classic Wes Anderson film, a melancholic sea voyage where revenge and family bonds converge in unexpected ways. PLEASSE NOTE: Only a few tickets left for this screening in the tent. There all plenty tickets left for the open air screening this night.
Steve Zissou once made successful documentaries, but his career has been in decline for years. When his companion Esteban is devoured by a rare jaguar shark during his latest film project, he vows to track down and kill the beast. It becomes a quest that’s more about inner demons than sea monsters.
Anderson assembles a group of damaged characters around his antihero. A young man appears who might be Zissou’s son, a pregnant journalist comes aboard for an interview, and his estranged wife is meanwhile having an affair with his rival. All of them are searching for something – forgiveness, recognition, love – while drifting together across the ocean.
The director creates a visual universe that feels deliberately artificial. The ship where the action takes place is built like a giant dollhouse where we can look into every room. Fantasy creatures appear as stop-motion animations, and the entire film bathes in the warm colors and retro aesthetic that have become Anderson’s signature.
Murray plays Zissou as a man trying to keep his own myth alive while everything around him crumbles. It’s a role where his dry humor and underlying melancholy come together perfectly. Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe and Anjelica Huston each give their characters distinct layers within Anderson’s carefully composed world.
With its blend of adventure film and family drama, of Jacques Cousteau romanticism and existential crisis, The Life Aquatic takes its time with its story. Anderson’s pace is deliberate, his humor subtle, his emotions carefully tucked away. For those who surrender to his idiosyncratic rhythm, the film reveals itself as something that lingers long after – a story about people trying to find meaning in a world that seems to have moved on without them.
Please note: this film is part of the Film in de Pluktent programme. Screening starts at 19:15. Ticket: €6.
