| Posted by: BubbaStrangelove at February 3, 2008, 7:37 am | | Topic: wes anderson is a character of his own movies Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by The Heart Collector I think the main reason why people say he's treading ground is because of Life Aquatic. It was advertised as an adventure thing, had all these adventure qualities to it, but it was more like a traditional Wes Anderson comedy/drama in a weird setting. His other movies feel like they're the only thing they could possibly be. While I enjoyed The Life Aquatic immensely, I felt that he could have also done something different, added a little bit more action, made it a little more fantastic. He had the claymation creatures, for example, but they hardly figured in the movie. He had a lot of cool gadgets in the ship, but they hardly figured. In a way it felt like Wes Anderson was afraid of doing a straight-up action/adventure film. I mean, it seems silly to spend that insane budget to have all those things as mere backdrop and have relatively weak action (the ship scene, the island scene, the somewhat anticlimactic shark discovery). He even admitted that even though the movie came out to be what he wanted, he regretted spending all that money. SPOILERS FOR THE LIFE AQUATIC, JUST IN CASE...... See though, I think the shark discovery was very climatic, not because of the shark, but because of the moment. Anderson films are about people, more so than I find with other films. What made the moment of finding the jaguar shark so powerful to me was not because "bam! Zissou found the shark. He rules." but because at that moment, he realizes all of the people that he's ignored through his life, and it is all at once when every life he's encounter touches him - figuratively and literally. This is what moved me about him asking, "I wonder if he remembers me?" because nearly up to that point, he was self-involved, only trying to gain fame an notoriety. He left all the people who were there for him in the cold, running after these ambitions that were his and only his. Yet, he finally finds this shark, at the sake of losing his son. It fucking hits him, you know. He found this shark, but this shark doesn't know shit about Zissou. It was just a character in his movie, and that was how he treated his own son. To me, it is one of the most poignant moments in modern film, and I know I can get slagged for saying that, but the movie really hit me hard in that regard, and now I'm sounding like a bard. Now, I know there is question about the actuality of ned really being his son, but I think biologically it didn't matter, because they had bonded as father and son by Steve accepting him as his son, and Ned growing up thinking Steve was his dad. Personally, I like to feel that they were father and son, no matter who got knocked up by who. I don't feel the action is his films is weak, because they aren't about action. It's like Bottle Rocket, with Dignan shouting how there'll be pole vaulting, laughing gas, hang gliding... This is about the characters, about their dreams and aspirations. I feel Anderson wants to tell stories about his characters, not their environments, and if you want to say it's just a backdrop, that seems fair enough, but I feel like that's not the point. All of the cool gadgets, the ship, all of it were metaphors pointing at Steve Zissou's life, which is why everything was rundown, broken down and outdated. I don't remember the exact sequence, but it was like when I think Ned points at the submarine and asks what it is, and he refers to it by the name, saying its his ex-wife, but when he's with the reporter and she asks what the name tattooed on his arm is, and he says it's the name of his submarine. Then you have the helicopter, to me representing his inability to maintain relationships, and in the end, this is what kills Ned. I haven't seen this great movie in almost a year, and could remember a lot more of this stuff if I'd see it again, but I remember that this kind of stuff is everywhere all through this movie. Sure, I'm sure Anderson does wish he didn't spend so much money on Aquatic. This is nothing really notable about any artist. Like Kirk Cobain saying he regrets not just getting some film school student to make the "Teen Spirit" video, yet he loves it. I don't know Wes' exact feelings about this movie, but to me it's totally amazing, a real piece of work, and probably the most beautiful out of all his films - barring further viewings of Darjeeling, which I feel went more in this direction. One thing I was thinking recently, with the placement of Owen Wilson in his films, and in the theme of Anderson being a character of his own movies --- When Ned accuses Steve of making him nothing more than a character in his movies, with all that's happened with the two, and the recent coincidences with Darjeeling and Wilson's personal life --- "I'm nothing but a character in your movie!" -- Does anyone find it interesting as this is what Wilson is saying to Anderson, given their somewhat growing apart through the blooming of their careers? It's somewhat eerie if you ask me. They were tight circa-Bottle Rocket. |
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wes anderson is a character of his own movies
wes anderson is a character of his own movies
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