The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is a 2004 comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and starring Bill Murray as Steve Zissou, an oceanographer and documentary filmmaker who sets out to find and destroy a rare jaguar shark that killed his partner, Esteban. The film also stars Owen Wilson as Ned Plimpton, Jeff Goldblum as Zissou's rival Alistair Hennessey, and Cate Blanchett as the pregnant journalist Jane Winslett-Richardson.
The film is shot in Anderson's signature style, with bright colors, stylized sets, and quirky characters. Zissou's crew is made up of a motley group of individuals, including Klaus Daimler (Willem Dafoe), who idolizes Zissou, and Pelé dos Santos (Seu Jorge), who sings David Bowie songs in Portuguese throughout the film.
As Zissou and his crew set out on their expedition, they encounter a variety of obstacles, including pirates who steal all of their equipment and a group of Filipino pirates who capture Ned. Zissou's estranged wife, Eleanor (Anjelica Huston), also joins the crew, causing tension between her and Zissou, and revealing that she has been funding Zissou's expeditions behind the scenes.
Throughout the film, Zissou struggles with his own mortality and the nature of his work as a documentary filmmaker. Eventually, he confronts the jaguar shark and realizes that he cannot bring himself to kill it, instead choosing to film it and let it go. The film ends with Zissou and his crew celebrating their victory and their time together on the ship.