The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Director:

Wes Anderson

Writers (WGA):

Wes Anderson (written by) &
Noah Baumbach (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama

Plot:

With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son.

Plot Keywords:

Shark | Expedition | Pirate | Oceanographer | Revenge

Awards:

3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Bill Murray	...	Steve Zissou
Owen Wilson	...	Ned Plimpton
Cate Blanchett	...	Jane Winslett-Richardson
Anjelica Huston	...	Eleanor Zissou
Willem Dafoe	...	Klaus Daimler
Jeff Goldblum	...	Alistair Hennessey
Michael Gambon	...	Oseary Drakoulias
Noah Taylor	...	Vladimir Wolodarsky
Bud Cort	...	Bill Ubell
Seu Jorge	...	Pelé dos Santos
Robyn Cohen	...	Anne-Marie Sakowitz
Waris Ahluwalia	...	Vikram Ray
Niels Koizumi	...	Bobby Ogata
Pawel Wdowczak	...	Renzo Pietro
Matthew Gray Gubler	...	Intern #1
Seymour Cassel	...	Esteban du Plantier
Antonio Monda	...	Festival Director
Isabella Blow	...	Antonia Cook
James Hamilton	...	Festival Photographer
Melanie Gerren	...	Mandeeza
Nazzareno Piana	...	Elderly Man (as Nazzareno 'Neno' Piana)
Rudd Simmons	...	Man in Yellow Shirt
Leonardo Giovannelli	...	Werner
Henry S.F. Cooper Jr.	...	Talk Show Host
Pietro Ragusa	...	Academic
Eric Chase Anderson	...	Air Kentucky Pilot
Robert Wilson	...	Air Kentucky Pilot
Don McKinnon	...	Air Kentucky Pilot
Alessio Santini	...	University of Alaska Intern
Paolo Sirignani	...	University of Alaska Intern
Andrew Weisell	...	University of Alaska Intern
Niccolò Senni	...	University of Alaska Intern
Andrea Guerra	...	University of Alaska Intern
Christiano Irrera	...	University of Alaska Intern
Vincenzo Recchia	...	University of Alaska Intern
Marco Ciarlitto	...	University of Alaska Intern
Tony Schafrazi	...	Larry Amin (as Tony Shafrazi)
Noah Baumbach	...	Phillip
Stefano Maria Ortolani	...	Italian Man in Audience
Sylvie Genin	...	French Woman in Audience
Jacques Henri Lartigue	...	Lord Mandrake (as Jacques-Henri Lartigue)
Muzius Gordon Dietzmann	...	Javier
Gangyuan Xu	...	Cedric
Robin Scott	...	Hugo
Guglielmo Casciaro	...	Carl
Alessandro De Angelis	...	Hennessey Sailor
Andrea Bertone	...	Hennessey Sailor
Andriy Kachur	...	Hennessey Sailor
Roberto Salvi	...	Hennessey Sailor
Stefano Masciolini	...	Hennessey Sailor
Robert Sommer	...	Party Guest
Anna Orso	...	Party Guest
Ettore Conti	...	Party Guest
Robert Graham	...	Venezuelan General
Hal Yamanouchi	...	Chief Pirate
Conrado Mendoza Dolor	...	Pirate
Eduardo Bautista Grantuza	...	Pirate
Simeon Maragigak Agelion	...	Pirate
Walter Cajapao Casapao	...	Pirate
Honorato Ilao Reyes	...	Pirate
Roderick Magbay	...	Pirate
Demetreo Castillo	...	Pirate
Thomas Carwgal de la Peña	...	Pirate
Edwarren Bantungon	...	Pirate
Levi Mickael de Ramon	...	Pirate
Aries Corales	...	Pirate
Aries Dolor Ilagon	...	Pirate
Joseph de los Reyes	...	Pirate
Dennis Rayos Martinez	...	Pirate
Taiyo Yamanouchi	...	Pirate (as Tatyo Yamanouchi)
Wai Tung Wong	...	Pirate
Ging Fang Zhu	...	Pirate
Francis Dokyi	...	Water Taxi Driver
Begni Bok Dong	...	Young Ogata
Daniel Acon	...	Former Team Zissou, Antarctica
Alexander Hamilton	...	Former Team Zissou, Antarctica
Leica	...	Cody

Directed by
Wes Anderson

Writing credits (WGA)
Wes Anderson		(written by) &
Noah Baumbach		(written by)

Produced by
Wes Anderson	....	producer
Dan Beers	....	associate producer
Barry Mendel	....	producer
Scott Rudin	....	producer
Rudd Simmons	....	executive producer
Enzo Sisti	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Mark Mothersbaugh

Cinematography by
Robert D. Yeoman		(director of photography) (as Robert Yeoman)

Film Editing by
David Moritz

Casting by
Douglas Aibel

Production Design by
Mark Friedberg

Art Direction by
Stefano Maria Ortolani
Marco Trentini
Eugenio Ulissi

Set Decoration by
Gretchen Rau

Costume Design by
Milena Canonero

Makeup Department
Jana Carboni	....	assistant makeup artist
Maria Teresa Corridoni	....	key hair stylist
Maurizio Damiani	....	assistant hair stylist
Frances Hannon	....	hair stylist: Bill Murray
Frances Hannon	....	makeup artist: Bill Murray
Enrico Jacoponi	....	assistant makeup artist (as Enrico Iacoponi)
Rosa Luciani	....	hair stylist
Vincenzo Mastrantonio	....	makeup artist
Emanuel Millar	....	hair stylist: Cate Blanchett
Belinda Parish	....	hair stylist: Marineland, Antibes
Belinda Parish	....	makeup artist: Marineland, Antibes
Corrado Pastore	....	hair production assistant
Mario Pegoretti	....	hair stylist
Francesco Scaramella	....	assistant hair stylist
Katia Sisto	....	assistant makeup artist (as Caterina Sisto)
Gino Tamagnini	....	key makeup artist (as Gino Tomagnini)
Heba Thorisdottir	....	makeup artist: Cate Blanchett
Cristina Patterson Ceret	....	contact lens painter (uncredited)

Production Management
Manuela Cacciamani	....	assistant unit manager
Vito Colazzo	....	unit production manager
Federico Foti	....	unit manager
Marco Olivieri	....	unit manager: second unit

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Inti Carboni	....	first assistant director
Roman Coppola	....	second unit director
Edoardo Ferretti	....	second second assistant director
Sam Hoffman	....	first assistant director
Meghan Myszkowski	....	dga trainee
Edoardo Petti	....	second second assistant director
Daniele Ramazzotti	....	second second assistant director: visual effects unit
Franco Maria Salamon	....	second unit director
Alessio Spinelli	....	second assistant director: second unit
Luigi Spoletini	....	first assistant director: second unit
Luigi Spoletini	....	second unit director
Simonetta Valentini	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Alessia Anfuso	....	assistant set decorator
Maria-Teresa Barbasso	....	assistant art director
Simone Braguglia	....	art department assistant
Cristina Cecili	....	painter
Barbara Cicero	....	art buyer
Giulia Chiara Crugnola	....	assistant art director
Sandro Erdolini	....	painter
Roberta Federico	....	set designer
Antonio Fraulo	....	assistant property master
Sandy Hamilton	....	property master
Simona Migliotti	....	set designer
Kris Moran	....	assistant property master (as Kristine Moran)
Stefano Morbidelli	....	on-set dresser
Antonio Murer	....	set dresser
Sebastiano Murer	....	props
Mark Pollard	....	graphic art director
Alessandra Querzola	....	assistant set decorator
Saverio Sammali	....	assistant art director
Briseide Siciliano	....	assistant set decorator
Andrea Tolomei	....	set dressing runner
Bill Roth	....	sculptor (uncredited)

Sound Department
Olivier Burgaud	....	boom operator
David V. Butler	....	dialogue editor
Kevin E. Carpenter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kim Drummond	....	dialogue editor
David Giammarco	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Giammarco	....	supervising sound editor
Wayne Griffin	....	adr supervisor
Scott A. Jennings	....	supervising sound editor
Jonathan Klein	....	sound effects editor (as Jonathan A. Klein)
Goro Koyama	....	foley artist
Andy Malcolm	....	foley artist
Anna Malkin	....	foley recording assistant
Rupert Nadeau	....	assistant sound editor
Michael O'Farrell	....	sound effects editor
Joe Schiff	....	first assistant sound editor
Gregory H. Watkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
Pawel Wdowczak	....	sound mixer
Don White	....	foley recording mixer
Paul Berolzheimer	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Daniel Acon	....	special effects coordinator
Renato Agostini	....	special effects supervisor
Danilo Bollettini	....	special effects technician
Massimo Cardajoli	....	special effects technician
Maurizio Corridori	....	special effects
Stefano Corridori	....	special effects technician
Damien Fitzpatrick	....	dolphin technican
Andy Lawless	....	shoot supervisor: animation unit
Marco Moneta	....	special effects technician
Franco Ragusa	....	special effects foreman
Silvano Scasseddu	....	special effects
Pieter Folkens	....	dolphin designer/sculptor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Jacqueline Allard	....	rotoscope: Gray Matter FX
Margaret Lily Andres	....	assistant editor: animation unit
Christian T. Andrews	....	motion control engineer: stop motion unit
Arthur Argote	....	compositor: Gray Matter FX
Adam Avitabile	....	digital compositor
Joseph Brattesani	....	compositor: Gray Matter FX
Kevin R. Browne	....	digital artist
Chad Buehler	....	digital compositor
Patrick Clancey	....	digital opticals
Walt Conti	....	animatronic effects supervisor
Pierre Couture	....	digital producer: Gray Matter FX
Sean C. Cunningham	....	digital artist: Gray Matter Effects
Jeremy Dawson	....	visual effects supervisor
Mark S. Driscoll	....	visual effects producer: LOOK! Effects Inc. (as Mark Driscoll)
Travis Dutch	....	scanning and recording
Henrik Fett	....	visual effects supervisor: LOOK Effects, Inc. (as Henrik R. Fett)
Ray Giarratana	....	visual effects supervisor
William Higgins	....	rotoscope: Gray Matter FX
Timothy Hittle	....	stop-motion animator
Nancy Hyland	....	compositor: Gray Matter FX
Christopher Ivins	....	digital compositor: Look! Effects, Inc.
Joni Jacobson	....	compositor: Gray Matter FX
Patrick Keenan	....	digital compositor: Pacific Title
Danny S. Kim	....	compositor
Perry M. Kimura	....	digital scanning and recording: Efilm/Deluxe
Justin Kohn	....	lead stop-motion animator
Keith Lackey	....	character modeler/rigger
Jay Lalime	....	digital I/O: Gray Matter FX
Tom Lynnes	....	CG artist: Gray Matter FX
Tom Lynnes	....	CG supervisor: Gray Matter FX
Margaux Mackay	....	visual effects producer: Gray Matter
Diane Macke	....	project manager: EFilm
Gray Marshall	....	visual effects supervisor: Gray Matter FX
Caleb Owens	....	modeler: Gray Matter FX
César Romero	....	compositor: Gray Matter FX
Robert Scifo	....	digital matte painter: Gray Matter FX
Henry Selick	....	visual effects: underwater scenes
Tefft Smith	....	digital artist
Giuseppe Squillaci	....	digital artist: Proxima
Nancy St. John	....	visual effects producer
Eben Stromquist	....	model maker
Pat Sweeney	....	director of photography: animation unit (as Patrick Sweeney)
Eric Swenson	....	visual effects director of photography
Thomas Tannenberger	....	digital compositor
Dan Trezise	....	digital compositor: Gray Matter
Paolo Verrucci	....	telecine colorist dailies
Ntana Key	....	second digital colorist: EFILM (uncredited)
Thomas Mathai	....	data manager (uncredited)

Stunts
David Ambrosi	....	stunt double
Giorgio Antonini	....	stunt double
Paolo Antonini	....	stunt double
Massimiliano Bianchi	....	stunt rigger
Danilo Capuzi	....	stunt double
Gionata Marzeddu	....	utility stunts
Stefano Maria Mioni	....	assistant stunt coordinator (as Stefano Mioni)
Alessandro Novelli	....	stunt double
Emiliano Novelli	....	stunt double
Franco Maria Salamon	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Mickey Bergstrom	....	video operator
John Boccaccio	....	first assistant camera
Margaux Bonhomme	....	director of photography: Marineland, Antibes unit
Alessandro Cardelli	....	electrician
Massimo Cecchini	....	electrician
Claudio Del Gobbo	....	dolly grip
Fabio De Meis	....	electrician
Massimiliano Dessena	....	best boy grip
Francesco Di Giacomo	....	focus puller: second unit
Alessandro Di Meo	....	second assistant camera: underwater unit
Stefano Di Pasquali	....	grip
Paolo Di Stefano	....	electrician
Sergio Faina	....	key rigging grip
Stefano Falivene	....	director of photography: second unit
Doriano Forti	....	rigging grip
Claudio Frollano	....	electrician
Claudio Gallicchio	....	electrician
Laurent King	....	director of photography: Marineland, Antibes unit
Massimiliano Kuveiller	....	assistant camera: second unit
Simone Lucchetti	....	electrician
Marcostavros Maggi	....	clapper loader
Jim McConkey	....	Steadicam operator
Tommaso Mele	....	key grip
Giorgio Pezzotti	....	grip
Mauro Pezzotti	....	grip: visual effects unit
Alessandro Picchi	....	rigging electrician
Carlo Postiglione	....	key grip
Massimo Rinella	....	grip
Pete Romano	....	underwater photographer
Emanuele Salvatore	....	grip
Antonio Scappatura	....	motion control technician
Cristiano Sergioli	....	crane technician
Giovanni Tancredi	....	best boy
Emiliano Topai	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Alberto Torrecilla	....	additional first assistant camera: "b" camera
François Vigon	....	second assistant camera
Carlo Vinciguerra	....	gaffer
Maryan Zurek	....	assistant underwater camera

Animation Department
Mike Cachuela	....	animatic artist
Roger Udwin	....	assistant coordinator: animation unit

Casting Department
Stephanie Holbrook	....	casting associate
Béatrice Kruger	....	casting: Italy

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Barbara Adducci	....	costume department coordinator
Claudio Manzi	....	costume assistant
Bojana Nikitovic	....	assistant costume designer
Uliva Pizzetti	....	costume supervisor
Annie Yun	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Jason Barnoski	....	post-production assistant
Luke Borghi	....	assistant editor
Charles Bunn	....	assistant editor
Dale E. Grahn	....	film color timer
Jennifer Hatton	....	assistant editor
Natasha Leonnet	....	digital color timer (as Natasha Leonett)
Jack Lewars	....	assistant color timer: Efilm
Daniel R. Padgett	....	additional film editor
Lorene Simpson	....	digital intermediate producer
Mary Beth Smith	....	negative cutter
Michael R. Taylor	....	post-production assistant
Gina Zappala	....	assistant editor
Jamie Mitchell	....	video post-production editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Jim Dunbar	....	music coordinator
Walt Fowler	....	musician: trumpet
Christopher Guardino	....	musician: piano, celeste, harpsichord, organ
Christopher Guardino	....	orchestrations (as Chris Guardino)
Richard Henderson	....	music editor
Jonathan Karp	....	additional music editor
Stewart Lerman	....	music recording mixer
Randall Poster	....	music supervisor
Booker White	....	music preparation
Reggie Wilson	....	music contractor

Transportation Department
Daniele Abeille	....	transportation coordinator
Massimiliano Rocchetti	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Andrea Alunni	....	assistant marine coordinator
Daren Bailey	....	assistant marine coordinator
Eleonora Baldwin	....	script supervisor: second unit
Matteo Bardelli	....	set production assistant
Jaclyn Bashoff	....	assistant: Anjelica Huston
Milena Bono	....	location coordinator
Rebecca Booth	....	production assistant
Giorgio Catalano	....	production accountant
Ted Cella	....	assistant: Scott Rudin
Carmela Compagnone	....	assistant accountant
Molly Cooper	....	assistant: Barry Mendel
Ian Creed	....	marine coordinator
Chris Cussen	....	executive assistant: Mr. Rudin
Steve Eckelman	....	assistant: Owen Wilson
Johnny Egan	....	production assistant
Jules Eggli	....	assistant: Scott Rudin
Willy Faso	....	production assistant
Nicola Fedrigoni	....	assistant location manager
Max Fink	....	assistant production coordinator
Alessandro Fiorito	....	accountant
Maria Fiorito	....	production accountant
Alessandra Fortuna	....	assistant: Rudd Simmons
Alex Fratar	....	assistant: Scott Rudin
Brandon Hollyer	....	assistant post-production accountant
Dean Hood	....	financial controller
Aaron Janus	....	assistant: Scott Rudin
Mike Larocca	....	executive assistant: Scott Rudin
Enrico Latella	....	location manager
Valeria Leonardi	....	additional assistant: Wes Anderson
Nicola Marzano	....	key set production assistant
Norma Marie Mascia	....	production coordinator
Grant McFadden	....	assistant: Wes Anderson
Karin Mercurio	....	accountant
Paolo Merosi	....	extras supervisor
Nata More	....	set production assistant
Claudia Moscatello	....	set dressing coordinator/estimator
Cariddi Nardulli	....	assistant: Enzo Sisti
Erik Paoletti	....	location manager
Lillian Parker	....	assistant: Wes Anderson
Andrea Passalacqua	....	location manager
Giampiero Pelusi	....	set production assistant
Cory Poccia	....	production office intern
Connor Price	....	executive assistant: Scott Rudin
Silvia Riolo	....	assistant production coordinator
Eugene Rizzo	....	publicist
Patrizia Roletti	....	assistant to coordinators
Adam Rosenberg	....	assistant: Scott Rudin
Amina Runyan-Shefa	....	additional assistant: Barry Mendel
Sarah Schechter	....	executive in charge
Annalisa Schmid	....	accommodation coordinator
Cristiano Sebastianelli	....	cashier
Jon Silk	....	assistant: Scott Rudin
Massimiliano Sisti	....	accounts assistant
Stefania Sisti	....	production secretary
Valentina Testa	....	payroll assistant
Annemarie van de Mond	....	script supervisor
Joan Washington	....	pre-production coach: Cate Blanchett
Danlee Winegar	....	assistant: Cate Blanchett
Tim Ballou	....	senior script clearance manager (uncredited)
Andrew Kahn	....	assistant: Scott Rudin (uncredited)

Thanks
Eric Chase Anderson	....	special thanks
Jacques-Yves Cousteau	....	dedicatee
George Drakoulias	....	special thanks
Maya Forbes	....	special thanks
Mitch Glazer	....	special thanks
Kelly Lynch	....	special thanks
Tara Subkoff	....	special thanks
Gore Vidal	....	special thanks
Wallace Wolodarsky	....	special thanks (as Wally Wolodarsky)

Production Companies

• Touchstone Pictures
• American Empirical Pictures
• Scott Rudin Productions
• Life Aquatic Productions Inc.

Distributors

• Buena Vista Pictures (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• My Network TV (2007) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2005) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (Australia) (2005) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International Italia (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Falcon (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2005) (Brazil) (VHS) (DVD) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Edge Innovations (animatronic effects)
• Gray Matter FX (visual effects)
• LOOK! Effects (digital visual effects)
• Mechinations (armatures)

Other Companies

• Aqua Films  marine coordination
• Cinecittà  electrical and grip equipment
• Cinecittà  telecine transfers
• EFilm  digital intermediate
• Footsteps Post-Production Sound  foley recorded at
• Hollywood Records  soundtrack released by
• Kinetic Imageworks  post-production facilities
• Motion Control Cameras  visual effects
• Mutato Muzika  score recording
• Panalight  camera equipment provided by
• Panalight  electrical and grip equipment
• Pivotal Post  Avid editing equipment provided by
• Reel Team, The  voice casting
• Walt Disney Music Library, The  music preparation
• Warner Bros. Studio Facilities  sound re-recorded at

Also Known As:

The Life Aquatic (USA) (working title)
Untitled Wes Anderson Project (USA) (working title)
Die Tiefseetaucher (Austria) (Germany) [de]
La vie aquatique (Belgium: French title) (dubbed version) (France) [fr]
Édes vízi élet (Hungary) [hu]
Acquatici lunatici (Italy) (pre-release title) [it]
La vida acuática con Steve Zissou (Mexico) [es]
Le avventure acquatiche di Steve Zissou (Italy) [it]
Life Aquatic (Sweden) [sv]
Life Aquatic (Spain) [es]
Mereelu Steve Zissou seltsis (Estonia) [et]
Panika pod morem (Croatia) [hr]
Steve Zissou ile suda yasam (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Steve Zissoun vedenalainen maailma (Finland) [fi]
Vida acuática (Argentina) [es]
Vida acuática, con Steve Zissou (Chile) [es]
Ydatines istories (Greece) [el]
Zivot pod vodou (Czech Republic) [cs]

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some drug use, violence and partial nudity.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Icelandic | Filipino | Portuguese | French | Tagalog | German | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Hungary:14 | Norway:11 | USA:R (certificate #41059) | South Korea:12 | Malaysia:U (DVD) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:15A | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The shot of Bill Murray feeding a fish to a killer whale, which appears during a montage on Zissou's island, was also in the script for Anderson's earlier film Rushmore (1998) (where it was written into a montage when Murray's character is looking at fish specimens for his new aquarium)

Goofs:

Continuity: The team's Glock automatics frequently turn into Berettas when being fired. This is very noticeable during the rescue of Hennessy during the card game, when Zissou draws a Glock, but in the next shot he is clearly firing a Beretta Model 92.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[in Italian]
Festival Director: Ladies and gentlemen, we are very pleased to welcome you to the world premiere of Part 1 of the newest film from a great favorite of ours here at Loquasto, Mr. Steve Zissou. A brief Q & A will immediately follow the screening. Thank you.

Movie Connections:

References "Boney" (1972)

Soundtrack:

Lady Stardust

In twelve years, the baby will be eleven and a half.

What a stunning body of work Wes Anderson has created. I will be honest, when I first saw the previews to this film I was worried that Anderson may have gone the way of so many other directors who have developed their name in Hollywood. Art is replaced by money, which is replaced by angry fans. I saw the CGI fish and began to feel a sweat break with nervousness. Will he be able to continue the humor from Bottle Rocket, the darkness of Rushmore, as well as the ensemble connectedness from The Royal Tennanbaums? Well, folks, I am here to announce that he has taken the Hollywood money and has not veered too far off his signature course. I always imagine Anderson's work as a very dry martini. His humor, the most intelligent work I have seen in a long time, is like the liquid itself, creating this bold texture while packing a powerful emotional punch. The olives are the cast, giving just some extra to nibble on while you enjoy the entire drink. Place these elements together, the drink and olives, and you have The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

To begin with, this film would not have worked without anyone else in the lead than Bill Murray. His ability to contain himself while also giving us the emotional stress of being a first-time dad as well as loosing his best friend is Oscar worthy. He is the perfect guide for our trip, giving us that knowledgeable laugh as well as those sympathetic eyes that seem to shout, "Everything will work out". He is bold and smooth as both the Captain of the vessel as well as learning the tricks of being a father. His ability to deliver his lines was both crucial and beautifully timed giving us just enough to make us fall in love with him by the end of the film. Coupled with his amazing performances is the work of everyone else involved. Willem Dafoe proves that he can handle any role, big or small, and make it very memorable. My favorite character during this voyage was Cate Blanchett's role that nearly stole the show from Murray. Her multi-depth character gave us just the distraction that we needed to see the power of the father/son relationship. Her quirks take us deep into the human soul and give us a mother's perspective to this mission. It is a beautiful counter to Murray's passive/aggressive father figure. Goldblum is quickly becoming a favorite actor of mine, while Huston proves that she still has the ability inside of her. Both of these guys need to see more work. The rest of the eclectic cast ranges from the hilarious "interns" to the melancholy songs of David Bowie (see if you can spot them!). Even Noah Taylor (of Vanilla Sky fame) turned out a stunning performance. The cast shines through beautifully, playing off each other, giving us some of the best performances of the year.

I will admit, Anderson's comic narrative will leave this dry taste in your mouth, but for me it was a great experience. His humor is dry, his films are dry, but that is what makes him different than others in his field. He gives us those long pauses and obscure references that will either force you to think or create frustration because you do not understand his meaning. I have grown up on his films since seeing Bottle Rocket, and I love the way this man creates. One of my favorite lines and scenes in this film that I have raved to everyone as the epitome of an Anderson film was when Zissou first takes Ned to the island and Eleanor tells Steve that one of his cats died. After some banter, Ned asks what type of cat it was. Zissou replies "Who cares. A tabby I think…" which isn't funny at first, but then you realize that all he has on the island are Siamese cats, which only make me laugh harder in my seat. That is Wes Anderson humor, and it works perfectly for me. His ability to create these challenging characters and put them in situations that I never saw coming (the "pirates" scene being one of them) was outstanding. It felt as if he was throwing his crew into different troubles daily who in turn produced some of the best work ever. Only Wes Anderson could create beauty out of chaos.

My fear of the CGI was muted immediately when I saw that Anderson used the technique to create some of the most imaginative creatures ever to lurk in the sea impressed me. He didn't use it as a central focus of the film (until the end), and used it sporadically so that it really didn't feel as if it was being used. The creatures that he created are so bold and colorful that skillfully he uses them to counter the life of Zissou, which seems be getting darker by the day. This contrast allowed me to see deeper into Murray's character and root for his misadventures throughout the entire film.

Overall, I was very impressed. I know that not many enjoyed this picture as much as his previous works, but for me it was a fresh chapter with a stellar cast. Anderson is slowly changing the face of cinema, and soon others will follow trying to recreate his award winning voice, but will not succeed. This man is in the same boat as Gondry, Coppola, Jonez, and Kaufman. These are the imaginative thinkers of Hollywood that continually break the mold and open the doors to new possibilities.

Grade: ***** out of *****