“The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou” (2004)
The specter of fathers lays heavy over all the films of Wes Anderson, save maybe “Bottle Rocket” (though like “Rushmore,” it falls into the father-figure category, with Dignan seeking approval from his duplicitous crime boss Mr. Henry), but while “The Life Aquatic” is far from his best film, it’s perhaps his most incisive about fathers and sons. The film sees the washed-up oceanographer of the title (Bill Murray) discover that he might have fathered a son (Owen Wilson), only for a heavily pregnant female journalist (Cate Blanchett) to come between them. It’s one of Anderson’s least successful movies, though, because (apart from being stylized to death) it tries to pull off too much. Myriad quirky characters distract from the would-be central story; and the father/son relationship that could be the film’s emotional weight is distracted by the subplot with pirates, rival oceanographers and the tigershark revenge storyline that kicks off the movie. Co-writer Noah Baumbach‘s presence is also felt as Zissou is easily one of the nastiest and genuinely unlikable protagonists in the Anderson oeuvre, arguably pushing the likable-prick mien of Royal Tenenbaum just a hair too far in the wrong direction. But as uneven as it is, Murray and Wilson’s performances do land with a sting, leading to a genuinely moving ending that cuts through the fuss and gimmickry of the rest of the film.
“The Lion King” (1994)
For a movie inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” Disney’s “The Lion King” isn’t, understandably, nearly as bloody or convoluted as its source material, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t pack a punch, giving Disney-loving kids a father-son equivalent to the mother-son loss felt in “Bambi.” Midway through, we see little Simba (voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas) attempt to wake his father Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones), who has just been trampled to death in a stampede. As Simba nips at his father’s ear, tries to get underneath his father’s paws, and tries other ways to instill life not unlike their previous playtime, it marks a turning point for the character in understanding that his father is gone. Until this time, Mufasa has not only been a father, but a mentor whose taught Simba the ways to be a strong king. The interactions between father and son are unique in that Mufasa isn’t coy in emphasizing that one day he won’t be around to protect his son. Similar to the “great kings of the past,” Simba grows up to realize his father isn’t truly gone, but guides him, unseen, through what Mufasa has taught him. No one wants to face their parent’s mortality, but in “The Lion King” the theme of the circle of life is evident and revered.
“Paper Moon” (1973)
One of the best films about fathers and daughters is one where it’s left unclear whether or not the central duo are actually related to each other. But then, “Paper Moon” demonstrates that it doesn’t matter whether you have the same blood, really. This adaptation of Joe David Brown’s novel “Addie Pray,” by future “Ordinary People” and “Spider-Man” writer Alvin Sargent, was originally intended for John Huston and Paul Newman, but ended up being directed by Peter Bogdanovich, who’d just had a big hit with “What’s Up, Doc?” His star from that, Ryan O’Neal, returns to play Depression-era conman Moses, who goes on the road with Addie, the sharp-witted little girl (Ryan’s real-life daughter Tatum O’Neal) who may or may not be his daughter. Shot in stunning black and white by László Kovács, the film, like so much of Bogdanovich’s work, comes close to pastiche, with Preston Sturges and Frank Capra joining the usual meld of Hawks, Ford and Welles. But more than ever, he’s bringing something new to the table beyond immaculate recreation: an almost Altmanish looseness and a low-key, almost Steinbeckian sense of desperation that elevates it to far more than the sum of its parts.
“The Place Beyond The Pines” (2012)
With early images of a bleach-blonde Ryan Gosling on a motorbike, and crime-movie overtones, people seemed to go into “The Place Beyond The Pines” expecting a spiritual successor to “Drive,” a stylish crime thriller that put style before substance. But Derek Cianfrance’s film turned out to be something quite different: a rather low-key, generation-spanning melodrama about fathers and sons that feels like a throwback to something that might have starred James Dean, Montgomery Clift or Paul Newman in the 1950s. The beginning sees Gosling as a washed-up motorcycle stuntman robbing banks and Bradley Cooper as the the green cop who kills him, before the film progresses 15 years on, where Gosling’s son (Dane DeHaan) and Cooper’s son (Emory Cohen) become embroiled in a feud, and it’s this second half that lands the film real heft. In some ways, it could be read as a film about the absence of fathers: Gosling’s death has left a vacuum in DeHaan’s life, while Cooper is too embroiled in his career, and his own guilt, to tend to his spoilt, estranged son. But it’s also a surprisingly optimistic film. Yes, it’s about the sins of the father being passed down, but it also suggests, principally through DeHaan’s moving turn, that they can be overcome, too.
“The Sacrifice” (1986)
Completed shortly before his death from terminal lung cancer in 1986, Andrei Tarkovsky’s last film serves as something of the peak of his career both literally and creatively. Bergman’s fondness for Tarkovsky has been well documented, and the feeling was mutual; this Swedish-set picture starred Erland Josephson — a key Bergman actor who led several of the Swede’s pictures — and featured the painterly cinematography of Sven Nykvist. Faith and the absence of spirituality were always central Tarkovskian themes, and both are examined and tested in this hypnotic morality drama, which returns to the sci-fi overtones of “Stalker,” at least in its premise, while layering in father-son drama that nods to the Biblical story of Abraham and Isaac. Josephson plays a journalist and former philosopher whose birthday is interrupted by the news that WWIII has erupted and mankind is but a few short hours away from annihilation. A devout atheist, in his despair, Josephson prays to God, even offering up the life of his mute son, Little Man, if war can be avoided. He sleeps with a witch to show his fealty to God, and sets fire to his house, but ends up seemingly institutionalized, with his son finally speaking, saying, “In the beginning was the Word. Why is that, Papa?” As with Terrence Malick (see below), there’s a paternal relationship that compares, and contrasts, with the relationship between God and Christ, though Tarkovsky’s a little more Old Testament than his modern-day equivalent…