Review: French dispatching Wes Anderson-Culturenet in P1

Title: French dispatch
Director: Wes Anderson
Participants: Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Lea Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson
It can be seen: Cinema premiere on October 22
rank: 4 of 5

Wes Anderson’s favorite indie movie is now making its world premiere in cinemas – about a year and a half later.

Felicia Frithoff, the critic here at the Cultural Editorial Office, I’ve seen the film. Was it worth the wait?

– Yes! Wes Anderson is one director with such a unique style that it has become an adjective, Andersonskt. It also risks bringing some saturation. Have we seen these dollhouse-like installations and the self-ironic attitude of driving, or can he continue to surprise and fascinate? It turns out he can.

That looks promising. But what kind of movie is this, if you were to describe it?

It is an anthology of four short stories, with a story frame set around the editorial staff of the New Yorker-inspired magazine “The French Dispatch”, set in the fictional French town of Ennui-sur-Blasé, which can almost translate to boredom. We follow four reports, and these stories are interrupted over and over – by the narrator, the change of scenery, the sudden stage of a scene from a play inspired by the story, etc. Which makes us, as usual with Anderson, remind us that it’s a movie we’re watching. But here he breaks the imagination in new and innovative ways. For example, a large fight scene is shown as completely frozen, or paused, but the camera pans through the entire crowd, making us realize that it was filmed with a lot of actors standing.

Well, tell me, what will the overall rating be?

Yes, given that the purpose here is to honor journalistic heroes, it is a bit bothersome that the journalists in the film (played by Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, and Jeffrey Wright) appear as silly and pathetic caricatures. It follows Anderson’s ironic style, but here too he misses some of the warmth that is still there, for example, “The Kingdom of the Moonrise.” But he managed to combine cinematic nostalgia with innovation. This is Wes Anderson in his most hilarious mood, and it’s a great entertaining movie.

Felicia Frithoff
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