Films to recapture the waters

Steve Zissou, oceanographer and documentarian, released seven documentaries until he lost his partner and friend of 27 years to “Jaguar Shark.” With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner and to film eight more documentaries, he set on an expedition with a new crew. The film almost feels like an Anderson-esque reinterpretation of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Richard Fleischer, with similar settings but also with jokes and quirks unique to Wes Anderson films. In the deep blue ocean, Zissou and his crew will have you giggling for the entire 119 minutes.

Looking at the grand ocean on the shores of Amami Island, you might be overwhelmed by the vastness of the water and even feel completely powerless. Kyoko and Kaito, the two teenaged-protagonists of the movie, also contemplate about life and death for the first time at the sight of the sea. Kyoko accepts her mother’s impending death, and Kaito witnesses a dead body of her mother’s boyfriend. And together, they learn to understand the complexity of the workings of nature and mankind. The last scene of the two swimming in the sea is also truly unforgettable. 

Have you ever wonder if the fish could talk to one another? In Padak, which takes place at a sushi restaurant, wild fish tell stories about their life out in the open sea to the ones raised in a man-made fish farm. Growing up hearing the story, a mackerel from the sea attempts to escape from the fish tank and make it back home. But the old flatfish thinks differently. Enduring all the attacks from the followers of the old flatfish, however, the mackerel somehow “achieves” his dream of sweet escape.