ok, the engagement tag team plus roo has me thinking about this:
why is bill (zissou) loveable? or at least ultimately loveable?
spoilers follow.
steve zissou is a jerk. he’s just going through the motions, living on past glories, and leading his shell/sham of a “team zissou” on ridiculous uninteresting quests.
but i think there’s a clear sense of his realization of this at the end. he does talk about giving up the mission and just going home, but it doesn’t just seem to be the fact that he’s got no other options or that they’re out of money. when talking to cate and reviewing the article, he says something to the effect of, “it makes me come off as arrogant and a little bit of a prick, but i’m ok with that.”
i don’t take this to mean that he’s fine with being a prick, but more that he’s now come to accept who he is instead of who he was or who his image wants him to be. this allows him to start being a person again and thus in turn dealing with everyone else as a person and not just a cog on the team.
for me, i did think it was the sub scene where it all came together. despite the silly cgi fish (rant about gratuitous and superfluous cgi use rampant in numerous recent movies later), it’s where he’s not only vindicated in his quest and validated as an explorer, but it’s also where he’s finally able to realize and deal with his grief over losing esteban, who’s a brother or maybe even a father figure to him. (is there also a realization that he’s lost not only a father figure but the chance to finally be a good father figure to ned? maybe not.) everyone reaching out to him and comforting him in the sub seems to me that they also recognize this and that they still love him, and so should we.
this acceptance is echoed in the credits, where the whole team is back, including angelica houston as well as the injured intern.
as for the other films, how is bill (zissou) any worse than bill (blume) from rushmore? i couldn’t stand him. granted, it’s been a while since i saw the film, but i remember hating that character immensely. although maybe that was the point, since you’re supposed to root for max, but i found max pretty annoying as well. argh.
and as for tenenbaum gene: what? all i remember is gwyneth. and some homing pigeons. certainly no sense of perfection. hell, i’d rather watch go again.
i don’t know why i’m arguing this so much. like i said, i’m not even a wes anderson film.
talk to me after i go see team america: world police at the red vic on thursday!
Posted at January 5, 2005 1:21 AMi agree with everything you say edly.
but bill’s redemption/realization just is too little syrup on too much pancake. i mean, owen isn’t his son. and even if he is, bill is more concerned about bedding cate. hell, he’s more concerned about rescuing bud cort! (although bud was the best part of the movie)
and pirates? i mean? what the hell? there was so much set up and so little pay off. jeff goldblum is a nemesis and…. so? the pirates attack and…. so? owen is maybe his son… so?
nu? so at the end bill can go, “oh. i guess i am kind of a prick sometimes.”
duh. that was obvious from the begining. and this realization spurs the big transformation of: he gives owen’s ring to the kid he doesn’t know and leaves his award fish on the sidewalk.
so that’s why i thought it was bad. too much song and dance (can you say David Lynch?) and too little meaning. lots of distraction (can you say Coen Bros) but where does it take us? absolutely nowhere. at the end of the movie i’ve laughed at a few things and thought a few scenes were cute but also felt insulted: do you really think i wont think about what i’m watching if you show me some tits and take me on a diorama tour of ship?
on the other hand, and i’m reasonably sure many would disagree with this, i thought Team America was incredibly well thought out. at the end, i looked at the US foreign policy in a new way. and those were puppets. barfing puppets.
and Rushmore is way better than Tennenbaums.
see you on friday.
Posted by: xz at January 5, 2005 9:50 AMComments are now closed for this entry. Thank you for playing.