Alrighty then...

So I've been asked to share. As I type this post, I am watching The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou for the second time and discovering all these excellent one-liners! Be prepared, I dish out spoilers so if you don't want to read on, skip to Part II.

I think it is the type of movie that needs a second chance if your first reaction is: "I do not like this!".
Last night, it was difficult to adjust to its awkward documentary style. Not to mention the film within film elements, including a crew member who videos everything!

So this morning, I settled in to watch the "making of..." documentary, cast home videos, interviews and the like. And then I put the film on again. Now I like it!

1) I also like the stilted little late 70s-early 80s Casio synthesizer ditties. They are supposed to be composed by the physicist-cum-cook crewmember Woladowsky.
2) Not to mention the pleasing sound of a Royal Tennenbaums track played backwards as the background to the also-very-pleasing cross-section tour of the boat The Belafonte.
3) And the quirkiness of the Zissou island facility which feels a cross between a research institute and a summer camp.
4) Plus, all the marine life are fictitious animated things, like a rhinestone bluefin, paisley octupus or rainbow seahorse, and of course the famed jaguar shark which has the same markings as the big cat!
5) I felt sorry for Cody, the three-legged dog that the pirates left on board the Belafonte, when he got left behind during the rescue mission.
Steve: Oh no, we forgot Cody! We gotta go back!...Goodbye, Cody...
6) A haunting track by Icelandic group Sigur Ros during the last shark scenes.


Overall, I see it as a part-homage to the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau, down to the retro feel, the red caps and even the yellow titles used on the Zissou documentaries. There is a little sad tinge to the film, owing to Zissou's awareness that his career is washed-up, his marriage is over, and no one appreciates his research anymore.

The film is shot in Italy and the Mediterranean sea. Still, it is shot a little out of time and place. If you watch it, you will understand.

So, on to the fantastic dialogue, but first the main cast members:

Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) - aging marine documentary maker.

Ned Plimpton aka Kingsley Zissou (Owen Wilson) - Steve's long lost/abandoned illegitimate son, a pilot for Kentucky Air with a courtly southern manner. (Still very Owen!)

Jane Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett) - safari khaki clad reporter, pregnant by her married editor.

Eleanor Zissou (Angelica Huston) - Steve's wealthy estranged wife, the brains of Team Zissou.

Franz (Willem Dafoe) - German crewmember who is always in shorts. Even his wet-suit is short. And his red cap has a pom-pom on the top.

Captain Alistair Hennessey (Jeff Goldblum) - Eleanor's ex-husband and Steve's pretentious, rich nemesis, who heads a shiny modern competing project.


Shooting footage of "electric jellyfish" on the beach at night:
Ned: Steve, what causes this effect of illumination, is it a chemical inside the organism?
Steve: No, Ned. Actually, it's the reflection of the moonlight on their outer membranes.
[pause]
Steve to Ned: That's a very good ad lib.
A few minutes later:
Ned: I've never seen so many electric jellyfish in all my life!
Jane (arriving from down the beach): Those are Viet Cong Man-of-Wars
[Steve touches one with his toe]
Steve: Oh, shit, she's right. I guess we'll have to loop that line. [To reporter] Where'd you come from? You look pregnant.
Jane: I am pregnant. I'm not even going to ask what you men are doing out here in your matching pyjamas, by the way.

As they are showing Jane to her room:
Jane: How long have you been working with Zissou?
Ned: Uh, approximately...Only ten minutes, actually. I was hired during the scene at the beach.
Klaus: He's Steve's son, supposedly.
Jane: You are? No you're not. He doesn't have one.
Steve: Well, we're not 100% sure about that yet. We just met yesterday.

As Eleanor walks out on Steve, he says, "Who's gonna tell us all the Latin names of the all the fishes and everything? You know I can't remember all that shit."

Steve and Ned chatting on deck:
Steve: Quiet out there tonight. Can you hear the jack whales singing?
[horn sounds]
Ned: Beautiful...Wonder what they're saying...
Steve: Well that was the sludge tanker over there...

After breaking in to Hennessy's state of the art lab, Steve and intern look at a map for a shortcut through to their destination:
Steve: We go your way, that's about...4 inches. We go my way, it's an inch and a half. You wanna pay for the extra gas?


Pirate attack. Hostage Steve knocks on Jane's door:
Steve: Jane, is, uh, Ned in there?
Ned: Stevesie? Stevesie, what's happening? Are those hijackers?
Steve: Well, we call them pirates out here, Ned.

Pirates are gone, and there is a mutiny on the Belafonte:
Steve: Look, if you're not against me, don't cross this line. If yes, do. I love you all.
[Franz crosses line]
Steve: Are you sure?
Franz: Yes, I am.
Steve: I don't understand. Why?
Franz: What do you mean? Wait a second. What are we doing? You said cross the line if...
Steve: Cross the line if you're going to quit.
Franz: Oh...! Do it again, I misunderstood!

Steve and Ned argue over Jane:
Ned: that's it. I'm gonna fight you, Steve.
[Steve punches Ned]
Steve: You never say, "I'm gonna fight you, Steve". You smile and act natural, and then you sucker-punch him.
Ned: You fight your way, and I'll fight mine.
Steve: Oh, listen, Ned Don't you try...
[Ned punches Steve]
Steve: I think your Team Zissou ring might've caught me on the lip.

END OF SPOILERS

*********************************
PART II

Yesterday I went to the Walk-In Back Rub at Selfridges and bought a half hour massage. They put you in those ergonomic chairs that place you in a kneeling position with your face resting in a cushion ring. My masseur for the day was a tall Russian guy with really padded hands. He looked like a young Vladimir Putin, actually. He worked out all the hard knots in my right shoulder. Not just the back, they do your hips, arms, neck and head too. He worked so hard my muscles hurt today. But...NO HEADACHE!

However, I have been a bit clumsy lately, and as I was putting away my dishes, one literally flew out of my hands bounced off the bin and into the back porch where it lost a big chip. Tough plate, that. Had it merely fallen on the kitchen floor, it would have bounced, but such is my luck.

I shouted, "Oooh noooo!"
From the back garden my landlady shouted, "Are you alright?"
I replied, "I'm fine, but I've broken one of your plates!"

She wasn't upset and admitted that she's long wanted to replace the "luncheon service". Later on, she and landlord teased me about going to Greece to smash plates. I said, "Welcome to the new clumsy Olivia." I've never broken a plate before.

So much for event 1. Now for event 2:

I opened the washing machine to put in my laundry and as I opened the door there was a flood of water all over the floor and my washing. I shut the door as quickly as possible, but must have lost a gallon. The tub was still half full. I set it to drain, told my landlady, but she herself was in a bit of a present crisis with neighbour's children climbing trees and peeping over the fence, and their young cats coming into the garden and not being able to get out.

What's more, I believe there is a problem with Clogs. The other tenant had a complaint against him, and when I came in the other day, she and landlady were whispering furiously in the kitchen. I was asked if I'd had any problems. No I have not, thankfully. I don't know what's going on, I haven't asked, and probably haven't been told in case I start worrying, I guess.

Well, time for me to head down and prepare some dinner. I will not be touching anything breakable.