The French Dispatch 2021
Wes Anderson is an acquired taste, making extremely quirky movies, but I guess it is a taste I have acquired. This anthology is about writers in France working for The French Dispatch, inspired by The New Yorker circa 1960. The movie loves art, including the art of writing. Anderson includes many of his usual actors, but adds more given the setting in France. There is always a sense of absurd humor going on, as well as almost cartoonish (sometimes literally cartoonish) performances and creaking sets. There is also some great music from Alexandre Desplatt. I heard this movie wasn’t Anderson’s best work, and was completely shut out of the Oscars (even for Best Screenplay somehow), but it is such a finely crafted and unique piece of work that I don’t see how anyone could object, though I can see why people just wouldn’t put up with its eccentricities. It is a piece of art about art and enjoyable to watch on many levels.
Written: 28 Feb 2022
Owned on: Blu-ray, Digital