This is an adventure.

The Life Aquatic By Steve Zissou, directed by the brilliant Wes Anderson, is one of my all time favorite movies. Although strong in the department of dark comedy, I find the movie's greatest qualities are both the exciting and dramatic aspects to it but mainly the tied in deep philosophical questions. Characters in the movie are asked what in life is really worth going after and at what point is it too late to go after them. Are dreams ever out of reach? What is worth sacrificing for such dreams?

Bill Murray plays the character Steve Zissou, an oceanographer nearing the end of his career. Having money, relationship, family, and career problems, Steve Zissou discovers his largest (and most important) problem in life is finding something to enjoy anymore. Steve Zissou sets out at at sea in pursuit of a shark who ate his best friend and with the proper motivation, he escapes pirates and mutiny, forges the bonds of fatherhood, places his arm around his wife, finds the monster of the deep, re-establishes box office credibility, and discovers a reason to smile.

I've seen the film countless times now and felt that I should share some of my favorite parts. There are many memorable quotes in this transcending film and below I have listed a few of my favorites, in no particular order, with a little explanation tied in above them.

When Steve Zissou and the Zissou Team are in the midst of the Lightning Strike Rescue Operation: Ping Island, Steve accidentally falls down a flight of stairs. Suddenly getting hit with a side of reality, he begins to fall into a state of despair.

Steve: Did you get that, Vikram?

Vikram: Uh, yeah.

Steve: Good. We'll give them the reality this time. A washed-up old man with no friends... no distribution deal, wife on the rocks... people laughin' at him, feelin' sorry for himself. Can I have a word alone with my son, please?

Kingsley: Are you all right?

Steve: Not really.

When Steve Zissou first meets his bureaucratic companion who works for the bank (being assigned to follow the Zissou Team around to make sure they stay on the legal side of the world) he doesn't necessarily greet him with the respect he, apparently, deserves.

Steve: I hope you're not gonna bust our chops on this on, Bill.

Bill: Why would I do that?

Steve: Because you're a bond company stooge.

Bill: But I'm also a human being.

Towards the end of the film, Steve Zissou is greeted by his publisher, who, for the first time in the film, greets him on a level of reality Steve Zissou can relate to. They both begin to realize that it isn't them who has changed, it's the world which has.

Oseary: We're a dying breed.

Steve: Yeah. I guess we were all right while we lasted, though, weren't we?

After Steve Zissou overheard a conversation in which people were mocking his most recent film and his adventures in general, he finds it very unsettling.

Steve: People say that when someone says something like that, it's because they're jealous. But it still hurts. It hurts bad.

My favorite quote of the film are the last words spoken. Steve Zissou tells a nephew of one of his Team Zissou members about the reality of life.

Steve: This is an adventure.

In one of the last scenes, the Zissou Team and others finally discover what they had all been looking for. During the moments in the presence of his dreams, Steve Zissou depressingly realizes that he wishes he was remembered by who he was, and not who he has become.

Eleanor: It is beautiful, Steve.

Steve: Yeah, it's pretty good, isn't it... I wonder if it remembers me.

The scene I wrote about above is extremely well done. It is artistically powerful, uniquely spectacular, and dramatically moving. I did a little searching on YouTube.com and was able to find the scene. If you aren't afraid of a little spoiler, check out the clip below; if this movie fits your taste, I'm certain you'll enjoy it.

The soundtrack of the movie is quite unique. From Mark Mothersbaugh to Sigur Rós, I'd recommend looking it up on iTunes if you have any interest at all; it's quite spectacular. I found this selection quite moving. It is played during the moment when Steve Zissou dramatically comes to the realization that he needs to express his feelings for what he has while it is there, because you never know when it may leave...

The Zombies - The Way I Feel Inside

Should I try to hide
The way I feel inside
My heart for you?
Would you say that you
Would try to love me too?
In your mind could you ever be
Really close to me?
I can tell the way you smile
If I feel that I could be certain then
I would say the things
I want to say tonight

But till I can see
That you'd really care for me
I will dream that someday you'll be
Really close to me
I can tell the way you smile
If I feel that I could be certain then
I would say the things
I want to say tonight

But till I can see
That you'd really care for me
I'll keep trying to hide
The way I feel inside