The French Dispatch: A Culmination of Wes Anderson’s Interests
“Cinema is an art form that brings you the unexpected” (Martin Scorsese, “I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema: Let Me Explain”).
Ambitions
Wes Anderson gets more and more ambitious with every project he tackles. In the past decade, he wrote, directed, and produced four movies: Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, and The French Dispatch. Each new addition to his filmography features impressive technical achievements in addition to strong narrative and directing choices. Despite his films averaging a budget of twenty-five million dollars, Anderson never ceases to wow critics and audiences alike, and his most recent contribution is no exception. The French Dispatch is about a newspaper’s final issue consisting of three articles spanning over fifty years. The movie’s two-hour runtime is jam-packed with familiar Wes Anderson collaborators, intricate set-pieces, animated sequences, and detailed choreography, and that’s just scratching the surface. Throughout the runtime, the film switches between French dialogue and English dialogue, black and white footage and color footage, and widescreen aspect ratio and 4:3 aspect ratio. Every word, every frame, every choice feels intentional from the creator.
