In this increasingly digital times we didn't know we needed a Wes Anderson homage to journalism and print and other analogue pleasures like art, political theory and food but thank God here we are. In typical Wes Anderson-manner - symmetry, ensemble cast, absurdity, more innovative cinematic ideas per frame than most directors have in a lifespan - the film tells three different stories all connected to France and a New Yorker-like magazine covering the real important aspects of our existence (art, political theory, food) and thus celebrating life. The first story is the most interesting - and got Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody and Léa Seydoux! - which is not really good for the overall balance of the film but the middle story has Frances McDormand and the last story has Jeffrey Wright (the stand-out performance of the film) so all is good. A beautiful, deeply humane and lovable movie.
Review of The French Dispatch
The French Dispatch
(2021)
A beautiful, deeply humane and lovable movie
7 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers