The French Dispatch

Wes Anderson's movie reportage, an amazing film that can be watched from beginning to end with a smile, preferably in the cinema, because that's the kind of film that cinemas were invented for. You can't help but admire the visuals and the innumerable ideas; all the actors are delightful, no matter how small their role, and each of the stories has something to offer. I look forward to seeing this delightful cannonade of fantasy again, and again, and again. Until then, I'll probably be listening nonstop to Desplat's amazing soundtrack. (11/19/2021)

After the death of a magazine publisher, the writers find out that their magazine is ending. And in the last issue, besides the obituary, they will publish the best articles about art, politics, and food. Wes Anderson presents a not very interesting bunch of stories about journalists in a form that prevents him from selling what usually makes his films most interesting. (11/21/2021)

Wes Anderson is a big mystery to me. I never know if I should look forward to his movies or be apprehensive about them. Some of them are a blast, while others are mind-numbingly boring, and I was naturally hoping for the former. In the end, it was somewhere in between; I enjoyed the atmosphere, the cast, and the plot. Paradoxically, I was also dissatisfied with the plot, as some passages dragged on, and the movie felt three hours long. But not giving up on Anderson, you never know when the magic will happen. (01/02/2022)

The French Despatch ["and so on"] is another typical "Anderson flick", a continuation in story and especially in form of his previous films, yet it is fresh, brisk and certainly not boring. Once again I was enchanted by the meticulously planned scenes, which stood out for their plastic two-dimensionality and were accompanied by playful music and, this time, animated sequences. I was amazed at the number of more or less well-known actors who sometimes only flashed on the screen, but still left an impression. Likewise, I was once again carried away by the refined script, in which the word absurdity (as always) took on a new meaning. Anyone who is not averse to the director's idiosyncratic style will enjoy his latest film, and will smile with bliss. (11/20/2021)

The more recent Anderson’s films, the less animate the dolls he plays with, but they inhabit grander and more decorous rooms. The paradox of his tribute to the floridly descriptive and snobbishly authorial style of journalism consists in the fact that his film highlights its artificiality and illusoriness. (12/02/2021)