Recovered from the Wayback Machine.
I watched the movie, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou on DVD tonight. It starred Bill Murray and a host of other well known actors. Critics hated it, or loved it — in about equal measure. I also loved it and hated it, in about the same measure.
It’s a odd movie with odd sets and an odd story. I would watch one scene and decide I disliked the movie; in the next, though, I would be laughing over some dry piece of visual or verbal humor, and the confusion would start all over again.
Ultimately, though, I liked this movie. I liked it a lot. I liked the odd sets, including the cut away ship, exposed to the camera like an ant farm. I liked the music, which enters at odd moments. I liked the characters, but not all of the time. And I loved the end. I loved the end so much, I watched the last set of chapters on the DVD three times, and may watch it once more before going to bed. All I will say is that I came close to crying, and still may. And I have a burning desire to hear the Beatles “Yellow Submarine” again. For the first time.
A. O. Scott at the NY Times wrote:
As someone who was more annoyed than charmed by “Tenenbaums,” I should have been completely exasperated with “The Life Aquatic,” with its wispy story and wonder-cabinet production design, but to my surprise I found it mostly delightful.
Save the money you might spend watching that piece of crap Dukes of Hazard and rent The Life Aquatic. If for no other reason than a good David Bowie song, and for the visual delight