The Life Aquatic

Posted on January 7th, 2005 by George.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Boy, I’m just post-happy today, aren’t I? Not to be confused with post-modern. Har.

I just saw Wes Anderson’s latest film. Have you seen this guy? He’s more than a little eccentric. But if you’re familiar with Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and The Royal Tenenbaums, you knew what to expect, right? Well, maybe.

Bill Murray is back, as is Owen Wilson. And apparently ol’ Wes had a few more dollars at his disposal this time and the result is some pretty wacky marine effects. At first I was a bit puzzled. Indeed, compared to Rushmore, the laughs, while still out loud, were fewer and more subtle. And of course the trailers had deflated most of the funnier lines.

But what I came to realize by the end of the film was surprising. First, it’s that this isn’t simply a comedy. This is one of the childhood dreams of the director, laid out before us in the technicolor imagination of youth. We get a peek inside Anderson’s head at age 11 1/2, when he read and watched everything he could about Jacques Cousteau, and was probably a junior member of the society. We get a chance to see, in characteristic fashion, just how things might have played out in the filmmaker’s own little reality. We even see Anderson’s bitterness toward his father. It’s funny. It’s touching. And in my mind, it’s a masterpiece.

Why use such a strong word for a film I didn’t like as much as Rushmore? Because it was art. Art isn’t about whether or not you like it. Honestly, I don’t think Wes had me specifically in mind as he was creating the film, and I doubt he cares what I think about it. And let me just open a can of worms here, but who really finds Picasso’s cubism appealing to the eye? You’re right, though, that’s missing the point. Art is about creativity. Art is about challenging the status quo. Art is about whether or not and how well the artist gets his point across. And it is here in the modern art of filmmaking that Anderson is without peer. Everything about this movie, from costumes to dialogue, from cinematography to plot, conveys the singular, cohesive vision of the director. Not a scene is out of place. Not a detail overlooked. This is why I call it a masterpiece, and this is why I think you should see it if you haven’t already. You may not like it. But, like Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, that doesn’t make it any less perfect.

4 comments.

Calling all Chicagoans

Posted on January 7th, 2005 by George.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Not that you would, but you could. Come to visit me that is. US Airways is running promotional fares to sunny Florida. I checked, and it’s $98 round trip (plus taxes of course). Ninety-eight bucks. Are you tired of the snow yet?

I didn’t forget you Texans, either, but it’s $198 from Dallas. I know you were just here, but you could come down for a weekend. Ain’t no thang.

3 comments.

I need more cowbell

Posted on January 7th, 2005 by George.
Categories: Uncategorized.

I’m listening to Brazilian Electronica while reading redundancy management documents at work today. Given the rhythm section, there’s only one man I can think of: Christopher Walken.

5 comments.