This was the first Wes Anderson film I’d seen before but I was familiar with his strikingly distinctive use of colour in Fantastic Mr.Fox. “The Life Aquatic with Zissou (2004)” has been my favourite so far out of all the screenings. The deadpan acting (“you’re supposed to be my son, right?”) and elevator music made me grin. On the topic of music; the use of Seu Jorge’s stripped down performances of David Bowie’s songs were so nostalgic and liberating, an excellent choice for the scenic voyages. I stayed until the end of the credits to hear it.

The colour, particularly its role in costume, really stood out to me. Team Zissou’s ridiculous garb of red beanies and baby blue overalls made them seem so united, like a family, so when Ned adopted the attire it was clear that he had become a member of the crew permanently. Team Zissou’s outrageous uniform contrasted with the more formal crew of Allistair Hennessey who wore plain whites. The staging choice of having them always stand so formally side by side made them seem like the refined nemesis. In the same way I noticed “the interns” were always standing side by side or huddled together so they became like a single character of the fumbling new guy.

The most memorable shot for me was the long tracking through the physical set of the ship. I was gaping through the whole thing because I couldn’t believe that they had built a whole cross section of the struture. I would like some albino dolphins in my basement now.

Usually I’m not a fan of the disunity of hybrid animation/live actions such as the lego movie, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Space Jam because my brain can’t comprehend combining the two worlds. But this film combined the stop motion animation so smoothly and not excessively with the actors. The sea horse in the glass caught me by suprise. I think the pops of colours such as in costume allowed the vibrant sea creatures to settle well in the frame.