Directed by:
Wes AndersonScreenplay:
Wes AndersonCinematography:
Robert D. YeomanComposer:
Alexandre DesplatCast:
Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Bill Murray, Lyna Khoudri, Owen Wilson (more)VOD (2)
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Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch brings to life a collection of stories from the final issue of an American magazine published in the fictional 20th-century French city of Ennui-sur-Blase. With an all-star cast, this vibrant film is a funny, moving celebration of journalism. (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (9)
A short story tribute to "good old France and reportage journalism" that starts with by far the best story (meaning the Seydoux/Del Toro one, not the introductory one), which makes the others seem a bit unfairly ordinary. Another snag is that they are "one and the same". This is doubly annoying because they are "as if by different authors, each with their own unique style of writing", which should have resulted in each having a clear visual identity. But they are all an amalgamation of styles (different genres, film periods, animation) and therefore they are all indistinguishable from each other. Otherwise, everything is typically Anderson: distinctive poetics, elaborate camerawork, work with pompous mise-en-scene, performances on the edge of caricature, but without slipping into goofiness. Overall, this is so much a Wes Anderson film you’ll know with absolute certainty in advance whether you will like it or not. The only question is how much you'll (dis)like it, since it's a Wes Anderson film that's kind of idling this time.
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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.
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In colors typical of mannerism, Anderson delves nostalgically into rose-tinted memories of the press, which has long since ceased to exist in this form. A time when journalists were paid for everything and had time to build a real relationship with their themes. A time when writing was valued. In doing so, it pokes fun at artistic, activist and culinary snobbery, and does so with passion and gusto. I hope that someone will take up his idea for a new gastronomic style: food suitable for police surveillance, because it would be useful today for other professions too. IN A NUTSHELL: About the press with love, nostalgia and fantasy.
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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.
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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.
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Gallery (34)
Photo © Searchlight Pictures
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