I’m with you on that one. Anyone else would’ve expected an intense showdown with the shark, after what it did to Steve’s friend. Instead, we got something so much more meaningful 😊.

The entire movie is a masterful exercise in misdirection. You think it’s a movie about a midlife crisis… and it is, but not merely that. It’s a movie about a man grieving the loss of his friend… and you spend most of the movie forgetting that because he’s running from it. Then he can’t escape it because he makes the discovery of a lifetime after a voyage that cost him nearly everything and he allows himself to admit what it was all for, which is to make the loss of his friend mean something. I cry every time. My friends think I’m insane but a cry. Every. Time.

@@terrygeer3089 What a wonderful analysis. I agree, and it brings a tear to my eye as well.

@@corinmeehan368 Thanks! It's such a strange movie on it's face that I think a lot of people miss the simplicity and beauty of what is ultimately a very human problem, which is how we grieve.

Wes Anderson movies have that affect lol. Same this happened to me with Darjeeling limited

that line always makes me weep. can't quite expalin it. its' beautiful.

He was wondering if anyone remembered him. He then got the support of his friends in the sub. So touching

actually is deeper than that. See the shark changed his life by killing his friend and in his blind rage/grieve he lost respect and some of his crew and lastly his son yet the the shark didnt know or care, to him killing his friend was just a normal day in his life while it was special for zissou. This is a metaphor about obsessing over a person who hurt us, thinking about him/her every minute of the day but ultimately that person most likely doesnt even acknowledge our existence. he asks if the shark remember him and the pain he caused him and how much he suffered and lost to confront him but the sad truth, it probably dont...amazing writing if you ask me

😢

he misses estabon his friend and mentor

Brilliant observation. Thanks for sharing.

Ned is the jaguar shark.

Notice the laying of hands on the Zissou

And because he ran out of dynamite...

That... is some Bob Ross stuff right there.

Said perfectly

Instant tears even after this long

This has been my favorite movie since I was 10

Mine too.

The first time I saw I just started crying uncontrollably it was so beautiful

@@BrosepherStoned so did I but I couldn’t figure out why

Exactly, that's what I love about his movies!

Exactly, that's what I love about his movies!

It's a wonder how your well worded and well analyzed comment doesn't have more thumbs up.

A Lerve I have never commented on KZfaq until now. What you had to say meant a lot to me and your personal experiences really drive home the meaning of the scene. Thank you so much.

Well said thank you.

Beautiful analysis :) This scene will always be one of the finest things Wes has ever crafted. "I wonder if it remembers me..."

Adam Love I really needed to here that this morning of mourning today. I just gotta keep watching so I don't cave & go cop a gramme (or three or four). Searching for my DVD of this flick now to throw in so i don't pick up again. Your comment, however long ago posted, still resonates. Thank You kind sir

Well said and very insightful. Totally agree, until the last sentence. Just the opposite, I think it's the moment when he realizes and accepts who he really is and what he needs to do, after spending the entire movie unsure of who he is and trying to be someone he's not. Once he lets go of his ego and desire for revenge, he can love and be loved by the people in his life (evidenced when they put their hands on him), lift up younger people who look up to him and keep going on adventures (evidenced in the next scene).

I think the sentence is purposely open to interpretation. Another meaning could be that he realises how much of a jerk he has been, and that he expresses to the people around him that he hopes that they still remember the Steve from years ago when he was still successful and fun to be around. He wants to be more like that Steve again. That’s… actually pretty close to what you already said, I just think that it’s not about the shark. Yet another meaning could be that he hopes to be remembered in general. He was once a popular documentary maker, but he’s because somewhat of a laughing stock. Steve had a hero, and he wonders if anyone will think of him in the same way. Has he made a lasting impression on anyone in his life?

@@Brinta3 I also imagine it as a culmination of his path to rediscovery. His bitterness and misery has been slowly put away after his son died, and at this moment he finally breaks and weeps that it wasn't all for nothing. He rediscovers the Jaguar shark as well as who he is under his protective shell. Incredibly emotionally charged.

I don’t know if he knew that at the time, but the audience definitely saw that he managed to surround himself with people who cared about him

Id like to think its him dropping his tough guy act in the face of life's chaotic nature, realizing how caught up in the whirlwind of the nature he really is and how much control of it he doesn't actually have. He became so jaded by his successes from his works that he forgot the gift of terrifying beautify that nature had given him to succeed in the first place. No matter how self important or emotionally wronged he may feel in the end doesn't effect the universe on a whole! There is always a bigger fish, and that's okay.

Beautifully put!

Alternatively, you found exactly what you needed but it wasn't what you imagined.

I'm sorry for your loss. May your Father rest in peace.

hope youre doing well man

Well put.

Well said.

now i'm crying, that's your fault

morsvincit Totally agree. That line works on several other (far less central) levels with the shark as well. One thing that really struck me was just how many emotions are relayed through that line - Anger, Fear, Sadness, and Hope. Throughout the movie I noticed there was an undercurrent of forgotten purpose - the Zissou hasn't met with a lot of success recently and he has begun to question his own place in the world, his passion for what he does. I took this something like 'I've finally remembered why I do what I do - but is it even possible to get back to the place I was before? The success I had before?' He's been through a lot at this point, and he's changed on a fundamental level, and he is worried that this will create a gulf between who he is and what he is meant to do. On a similar note, Zissou seemed quite concerned with his legacy throughout the movie; hence his eagerness to bring Ned into his life. His friend's death struck him in such a way that he started reevaluating his priorities, placing less emphasis on success and more on his relationships (albeit in the awkward, reluctant, I-don't-want-to-be-a-dick-but-I-kind-of-am sort of way characteristic of him). The shark symbolizes his legacy - the one he had already created in the many wonderful documentaries he'd already made and the inspiration they gave to many - and his coming to terms with that, almost apologetically. 'Do you think it remembers me' could very easily be taken as 'do you think I will be remembered' in this case. Finally, there is a twinge of hope in this scene. Zissou is reminded that through all of the tragedy of the world, life still goes on, and there is beauty in it; even in the tragedies. All through this scene there are comments on the shark's beauty and the reference to new life, and even the fact that basically the whole cast of the movie is in the sub - all of it sets up a scene that says 'Life happens, we can't do anything about that, even if it treats us like shit for a while - but goddamn is it beautiful'. The final scene of the movie pulls a lot of this together. The documentary is a huge success, not in small part because it's the first 'real' documentary he's made in a while. He has found his purpose and his passion again, and it shows. We also see Zissou's change in priorities by his not being in the room for the ending. He's no longer focused on the success, it will come if it comes, the reviews and the praise aren't his legacy and he realizes that now.

This guy gets it.

Zach Johns whats the song my guy

@@grantstclaire8701 Sigur Ros - Staralfur

“Staralfur” by Sigur Ros. I don’t know a lick of Icelandic but the song sure does fit this scene.

Bill Murray is obviously a terrific comedic actor, but his serious rules are incredible. It's a travesty he didn't win the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Lost In Translation. Nothing against Sean Penn, but Murray's acting was amazing in that movie. His ability to act using subtlety is amazing.

Yeah, it really is a wonderful moment.

Cringe

Agreed. It is big cinema.

His best movie in my opinion is lost in translation, it really truly elevated him to me in terms of his versatility and his ability to be a truly great actor

+Vernon Zehr I feel the same way. The scene hits me HARD everytime. This is my favorite movie and when I showed all my friends, they found it slow and boring. They didn't like it at all. They just don't understand and appreciate it for what it is! A masterpiece! Everything about this scene is perfect. Too bad not enough people can recognize it.

+Vernon Zehr I bought the album this song is on. I am not hip to obscure but amazing musical groups like this, and only have them in my collections when I hear them in movies or movie credits. I was VERY VERY surprised the singer is a guy!! Oh wow! This caused a major twistaroo on my poor brain because for years I've been imagining a beautiful, mysterious, exotic female vocalist ever since seeing this movie. Now I am a tad confused and conflicted when I hear it. :)

+Vernon Zehr I don't think you're alone in your feelings, I just think others do not know how to truly express their feelings without fearing a jaded or cynical reaction. I also agree with you that peoples attentions are increasingly limited to such a short span, that they often don't stop to appreciate the simple things. Don't worry, you're not as alone in your thinking as you might perceive.

+Vernon Zehr Yes I know the feeling, this movie is not made for everyone but if you get it, it s one of the best cinematographic moment in wes anderson's carreer. Thx to him and others there is an alternative to psycho crap :)

Im glad not everyone likes it

Yeah Steve Zissou is easily my favourite wes Anderson/bill Murray collab I loved the royal ttenenbaums but didn't find his character very likeable in that movie

@@4231jerome his character has such a small role in that movie

@@n3n3b3n3 that's true.

To me the meaning of this scene is that if surround yourself with people who care about you, you can make it through anything

im still debating with myself whether this or the royal tenenbaums is his best. both of these endings hold a special place in my heart

Acceptance & finite totality … it’s pretty good isn’t it

The Pianist has a scene like this as well... Performance of Chopin for the Nazi soldier.. Incredible.

It was how old Ned was when he wrote Steve.

agreed

I saw what you did there

Sorry about your father. Don’t forget you can always lean on this scene to put you right there back with him!