The French Dispatch (2021) User Reviews

Probably stranger than most folks will want, but Anderson groupies will surely love it.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 25 February 2022]

Wes Anderson has made many films people have loved as well as many films people are baffled by and don't understand nor like. This isn't a complaint...it just IS what Anderson's films are like to the average viewer. However, some of his movies are clearly much more approachable than others. "The French Dispatch" is NOT one of the more approachable films...it clearly will appeal mostly to the hard-core Anderson freaks.

The film is broken down in to several stories that are interconnected by the same narrator. The first, about an insane modern artists and the sycophants who love his art--despite his multiple beheadings...which have gotten him locked up in a psychiatric prison. I think this is a very funny and insightful look at pretentious art lovers. The other stories also involve pretentious people but to me seem to have little in the way of payoff. The young revolutionary bit is mildly amusing and pokes fun of the 1960s young peoples' revolution in Paris and the kidnapping bit really left me cold.

The bottom line is that all the stories are surreal and just plain weird.... and I assume most people will like some and hate other portions of the film. So, I am not a fan of the story overall. But I was blown away by the cinematography, artisic sets and strange look of the film...this is probably THE reason to see the movie...not the plot itself. A great example is the scene showing the transition from a young demented artist to an older one...which was very clever. Overall, a film I didn't particularly like but I definitely respected.

Strong in Aesthetics, Weak In Content

[varun-25071997 · 6/10 · 5 November 2021]

When one goes to a Wes Anderson film, we exactly know what to expect. In French Dispatch, Wes Anderson gives us everything we expect but he seems to have focused too much on aesthetics and less in the script. The film resembles like a spiritual sequel to Grand Budapest Hotel, but lacked it's strong characters and bullet speed screenplay.

The French Dispatch is an anthology about 3 segments in a newspaper set in a French town. Each story is something Wes Anderson has never done in his previous films, he tries to convey a political satire which often falls flat. A big star cast wasn't necessary for this film but it had it anyway and many top actors have been grossly under utilized.

The biggest plus of French Dispatch is that it has a spectacular production design, original score, cinematography and costumes. The aesthetics test has been passed in flying colours, probably the best we have seen in a Wes Anderson movie. On the first watch the movie rather feels like a letdown compared to his previous work but rewatches could boost it's legacy.

Basically if you don't like Anderson's style you're really, truly going to hate this movie.

[FelixisaJerk · 8/10 · 26 October 2021]

I suppose the gamble of any film told in a series of vignettes is to capture the rapt attention of your audience in one segment only to lose it in the next (see: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs).

None of the vignettes in The French Dispatch ever truly lost me, but one came close. And it's not to say that particular story was poorly written or directed or performed, it's simply that the one preceding it was so dazzling and fantastic I wasn't quite ready to move on from it.

Moving on is a large part of this film as it never stops marching forward both literally and figuratively. It has (a) large story(ries) to get through and if you can't keep up...sorry. No crying.

The French Dispatch is a film told in five parts. Three articles bookended by an introduction and an epilogue. These five pieces make up the final issue of the magazine titled (wait for it): The French Dispatch. We "read" the final issue by watching the articles unfold through Wes Anderson's beautiful, obsessive, whimsical lens.

Visually this is an Anderson film cranked to 11. The photogenic establishing shots, contrasting symmetry, and pastel color scheme of his entire career drenches every shot of this film. The picture beautifully shifts from black and white to color, and always at the perfect moment. His creative and effective use of animation and miniature sets are mesmerizing.

Basically if you don't like Anderson's style you're really, truly going to hate this movie, but your mind was probably already made up.

Seeing this in a theater packed full of micro-beanie, gold wire framed glasses wearing hipsters reminded me of why I don't typically like seeing Anderson's films on opening weekends. There is exactly one reason to ever talk during a movie, and that's if there is a fire, after that there is not one good reason to ever speak in a theater, especially if you're talking directly to the screen which a handful of these people did.

The French Dispatch is an excellent film and Anderson is an excellent filmmaker. I think his style and creativity are a much needed burst of originality on the canvas of filmmaking. It also just made me feel nice after watching The Last Duel, that movie stole a piece of my soul... I like unconventional filmmakers, I like divisive filmmakers, and even in his missteps, I'll continue to be excited by and support Wes Anderson.

Beautiful, but falls short

[gbill-74877 · 6/10 · 7 January 2022]

Incredible cast, and Wes Anderson's style is always visually appealing, but the short stories that make up The French Dispatch fell flat for me. The attention to detail and sly references were great as a concept, but seemed overdone, to the detriment of evenness (or comprehension) in the plot and characters that I cared about. It needed a better script, one that was pruned down and had more heart. It was fantastic seeing all of these actors, though most are underused to say the least. Loved Jeffrey Wright in this though.

Just Sit Back And Enjoy Yourself

[boblipton · 8/10 · 23 October 2021]

Wes Anderson's latest movie, under thinly disguised names, supposes that Harold Ross, instead of going to Manhattan to found THE NEW YORKER, had moved to France. There, with the same writers and cartoonists, he turned out essentially the same magazine, but with, understandably, more of an emphasis on France than on Broadway. We are then graced with Bill Murray as the editor dealing with his writers, as Tilda Swinton narrates her tale of insane prisoner Benicio Del Toro inventing a new movement in art; Frances MacDormand covering a student uprising while bedding leader Timothée Chalamet, while editing and writing an appendix to his revolutionary manifesto; and Jeffrey Wright covering the novelties of "cuisine policier" with the commissioner, which turns into a hot pursuit as the commissioner's child is kidnapped, and his chef must take the lead in the recovery.

I am a great fan of Anderson's cartoonish, highly detailed cinematic worlds, in no small part because he is constantly winking at the audience, letting them know they are in on the joke, as he manipulates aspect ratios, colors, timelines, and moves walls aside in plain sight, His actors seem to enjoy themselves. This is Bill Murray's ninth appearance in an Anderson movie, Owen Wilson's eighth. Other well-regarded performers include Lea Sedoux, Mathieu Amalric, Bob Balaban, Henry Winkler, Christopher Waltz, Willem Dafoe, and a dozen others. Nor do they come for the big parts; they seem to be happy to show up. When the show ended, two men in the audience began to discuss how the aspect ratios and moving walls had some significance to the underlying meaning. Perhaps I lack the depth to understand such things, but I think Anderson tells his little tales and wants us to have a good time. Does that make it great art? Perhaps not. Sometimes it's enough for us to smile.

This Is It. Wes Anderson Films Are Not For Me.

[CinemaClown · 16 December 2021]

I couldn't care. I just couldn't bring myself to care for anything that happens in this film or for any character who inhabits this story or for any actor who is a part of its ensemble or for any stylistic choices the director makes. A Wes Anderson film at first looked wonderfully quaint & quirky to me and I've given them the benefit of doubt over the years. But not anymore. This is it. His films are not for me.

The French Dispatch is a Wes Anderson film through n through. And I don't mean it in a good way. Like most of his works that I've seen so far, the visual aesthetic is no doubt appealing to the eye, it is beautifully shot, comes decorated with exquisite set pieces, and is steered by an ensemble of Hollywood A-listers. And just like most of his films, it is emotionally disconnected, tediously paced, and devoid of any flavours.

The story finds the American filmmaker in self-indulgent mode and he surely makes the most of it, thus resulting in a movie that's not only unbearable but also one that feels twice as long. Add to that, the oddball characters remain cold & distant, the nonsensical ramblings goes on forever yet never create any intrigue or interest, the laughs in store are few n far between and Alexandre Desplat's score only adds to the eccentricity.

Overall, The French Dispatch is one of the blandest films I've sat through and is arguably the worst film of the year for me, and certainly the most disappointing. Fans of the filmmaker will have a better time with it than I did and may even find it delightful & amusing. But for me, this was an absolute chore from start to finish that also affirmed what I've known for a while now. Wes Anderson films are simply not to my taste and I'm perfectly okay with that.

It is like wandering around in a museum or an art gallery.

[mmyilmazyurt · 7/10 · 28 December 2021]

Whether you like it or not, there is establishment behind Wes Anderson and his style. Production designs, and soundtrack is always in its top and gets more and more artistic with each film yet, it is both positive and negative. For me, after Moonrise Kingdom (2012) (my personal favourite by him) & especially The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), it is becoming harder to dive into the film or the characters. Don't get me wrong, it is visually stunning always and you could see the great choreography or design behind it but characters don't feel authentic like they used to.

With the exception of "The Concrete Masterpiece". It was as engaging as it was beautiful. Benicio Del Toro & Lea Seydoux maintained to give something to hold on for audience (or at least me) even though it is hindered by the style.

Also, I agree with Mr. Howitzer. The last discussion between Roebuck Wright and Nescaffier was indeed the best part literally.

I am not in a level or a position to criticize or to give an advice but, I think it is best to returning back to the roots like The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Rushmore (1998) or even Moonrise Kingdom (2012) cause it is getting harder to watch it as a movie.

Wes Anderson at the height of his power

[hunter-friesen · 10/10 · 17 September 2021]

*Watched at Cannes 2021*

With each subsequent entry into his distinct filmography, Wes Anderson seems to make it a mission to make the most Wes Anderson film. The intricacies of 2001's "The Royal Tenenbaums" seemed quaint around the time "The Grand Budapest Hotel" was released in 2013. Even his side ventures into stop-motion animation contain a great distance in production quality between 2009's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and 2018's "Isle of Dogs." With Anderson's tenth feature film, "The French Dispatch" towers over all of his previous works with its masterful production qualities and international ensemble cast.

Set within 20th century France in the fictional city of Ennui-sur-Blasé, "The French Dispatch" opens with the untimely news that the editor of the titular magazine, Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray), son of the magazine's founder and holder of a supreme eye for talent, has died. As per his wishes, his life is to be tied directly to that of the magazine, meaning that the publication dies with him. His team of writers - an eccentric bunch of expatriates all recruited over the years by Howitzer in one way or another - are granted one final issue, which they decide will contain "an obituary, a brief travel guide, and three feature stories."

The obituary is, of course, for Arthur, while the travel guide takes one through the historic village that has acted as the publication's home for nearly half a century. The three retrospective stories selected are considered to be the best in the publication's long history: an account by the paper's art critic (Tilda Swinton) of the deranged painter Moses Rosenthal (Benicio Del Toro) and a brash art dealer (Adrien Brody); an on-the-ground report by political correspondent Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand) of the student revolution led by the charismatic Zeffirelli (Timothee Chalamet); and a retelling by food critic Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright) of how he got entangled in a kidnapping involving the son of the chief of police (Matthieu Almaric).

While there is no central story to fully move the film from start to finish, the anthology-style structure still allows Anderson to explore several of the themes found within his previous works, such as human curiosity and the ironic relationship we share with the world and its other characters. The final story of the food critic ranks as the best in terms of what's on the page, giving Jeffrey Wright a wonderfully complex character who unintentionally learns several valuable lessons about his place in the world.

Some will find that the anthology structure limits the emotional connection one can have to the characters, especially since Anderson has built his career on wonderfully layered characters such as Royal Tenenbaum and M. Gustave. On the contrary, while many of his characters tend to overstay their welcome in a 100-minute narrative, the anthologies force Anderson to be as efficient as possible with character development, creating several sequences of mise-en-scène where the direction tells just as much of the story as the script.

After gradually becoming more confident as a director, Anderson has finally allowed himself to fully unleash his unique brand of filmmaking. Visually, this is one of the most accomplished works ever made as Anderson toys with aspect ratios (very similar to the strategy within "The Grand Budapest Hotel"), color and black & white cinematography, ingeniously hilarious freeze frames, and a period-accurate soundtrack that seems to always be perfectly queued. Ironically, the major complaint I have against the film is that there are dozens of expertly crafted shots that come and go in mere seconds even though they could be dissected for hours. Every frame truly is a painting as several hidden treasures can be found in every nook and cranny. This is a film that demands to be rewatched several times over to soak in every last detail.

There are no weak links within the Robert Altman-sized cast, with players such as Adrien Brody (who seems to only deliver a good performance nowadays when directed by Anderson), Frances McDormand, and Jeffrey Wright. The phrase "there are no small parts, only small actors" doesn't apply here as people such as Christoph Waltz and Saoirse Ronan are reduced to minuscule cameos. Still, Henry Winkler and Willem Dafoe are able to do a lot with the little that they are given.

A visual masterpiece bursting at the seams with talent both on and off the screen, "The French Dispatch" is a film by a director working at the absolute height of his powers. More importantly, the film gave me one of the most enjoyable theatrical experiences in a long time, with several rounds of applause from the Cannes crowd that seemed to be in love with the film as much as I was.

I worry about how Anderson will be able to top this with his next film. But until then, I'll stay in the present and be thankful that something this magical is allowed to exist in a world that only seems to get bleaker.

love Moses and Simone

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 18 December 2021]

Kansas Evening Sun is closing with the death of its editor. It has a foreign bureau in post-war Paris run by Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray) who has cultivated a stable of eccentric writers. This follows three of the articles. This is a Wes Anderson film.

This has the Wes Anderson cohorts with a few new members. The style is all him and I love it. I love Moses and Simone. I really like the first story. I wouldn't mind if that's the whole movie. The second story is interesting but Wes is essentially taking pot shots at young idealistic protesters. I kept thinking that some younger viewers are going yell out Boomer at the screen. It's trying to be humorous but it's missing that other point of view. The third story is the least interesting to me. I'm not sure if it's the structure or the actual story. I really lost interest by that point. I wish that this is a whole movie about Moses and his artistic adventures.

The most Wes Anderson movie Wes Anderson has ever made

[aivilovee · 9/10 · 19 October 2021]

I suppose my only qualm with this movie is that it's very talky (as many of his films are), and if you have a short attention span like myself, it can be easy to miss important dialogue. I had to ask the friend I was with for explanation on one or two things I didn't fully comprehend. However, once you really immerse yourself in the world of the film, you'll miss less and less.

This film was an absolute delight from start to finish. I thought each of the three stories were captivating in their own, unique way (though I definitely liked Chalamet's the most), and the bookends about Murray's character tied everything together perfectly.

Anderson has this marvelous talent for luring you into his fantastical films with unbelievable set design and whimsical details and oddly delightful performances, and then hitting you over the head with reality. There are plenty of moments in this film that truly struck me in a profound way, especially one during story two that included a stellar performance from Alex Lawther, who expertly utilized what little screen time he had. One line of dialogue still haunts me hours later.

It's also one of his funniest movies; the absurdity of some of the visuals and performances are really a sight to behold. The cartoon sections in the third story had me ROLLING for a good few minutes.

So go see it. It's wildly original and has that trademark Wes Anderson touch dialed up to 11.

Mixed blessings

[brockfal · 7/10 · 15 November 2021]

A triumph of style and artistry, The French Despatch is also witty and clever, but it might leave you cold if you don't like the quirky, arty, and, frankly, sometimes quite pretentious and self-indulgent Wes Anderson approach. Like other films of his, it's marvellous to look at, there are some funny moments from the huge star studded cast, and despite the reservations mentioned, the French Despatch is classy.

A Wes Anderson Fans Dream

[laurenjfree · 9/10 · 26 October 2021]

After leaving the theatre I am having a Wes Anderson overload. By far the writer/ directors most ambitious project. I really do understand the criticism, but in the words of Rhett Butler "Frankly my dear, I dont give a damn"! This was an absolute joy to watch. A meticulously intricate set design and great performances by a stellar cast pulled the story from the pages, and gave it a heartbeat.

All that being said, it is not without its flaws. The French Dispatch lacked a human element. Unlike the rest of his films, the movie was not rooted in family relationships, which is something I've always admired in his stories. However, this did not bother as much as it did other people. The French Dispatch is an absolute blast and a nice change from the boring, overdone Oscar bait movies that always come out in the fall.

Still has its moments, but a massive drop in quality in the second half keeps this way below Anderson's finest career achievements

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 16 November 2021]

"The French Dispatch" is the newest film by writer and director Wes Anderson. He is in his early 50s now and is probably considered among the most overdue filmmakers in Hollywood to finally win an Oscar, especially in terms of writing. Unfortunately, this work here will not get him any closer because I believe it is inferior compared to most of the stuff he has done in the past and if it gets nominated, then for art direction or something. But first things first: This runs for briefly under 110 minutes and Anderson once again worked with Hugo Guinness, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman and this quartet came up with the story. Basically, it is several stories in one film. We have the framework and three pretty much independent stories that are articles from the paper this is all about. The French Dispatch. The cast, as always with Wes Anderson, is packed with big names and he also has a tendency to cast people who he worked with in previous films. I will not give you all the names because you can check out the list yourself. Even some characters who had almost no screen time at all are played by very familiar faces (Henry Winkler for example, I recognized him immediately, but the name I just could not remember while watching). But some actors who get a lot of screen time are Oscar winners Benicio Del Toro and Frances McDormand. Also Timothée Chalamet is included a lot here. Jeffrey Wright gets a solid amount of minutes in the final chapter. I personally also found it nice to see Adrien Brody here as one of Anderson's regulars because I liked the actor (another Oscar winner) and I don't see him that often in other projects anymore nowadays. Tilda Swinton I must admit I did not even recognize. She is so much better usually than in this film, even if the material is to blame for the most part. Nothing to work with kinda. One of three females though exposing their breasts. Lyna Khoudri (another one) was easy on the eyes for sure. Willem Dafoe definitely did not have a lot of screen time and I would have liked him to be featured a lot more here. What can I say, I like the actor. A lot.

One thing that came to my mind again is that Anderson likes to include young, here even very young, actors for his stories. Of course, not as heavily as in Moonrise Kingdom, but those scenes with Saoirse Ronan were all about the little boy that got abducted. Steve Carell is not in this film though even if I was almost certain he was when I watched it. Ah yes, but Christoph Waltz is in here. He did a lot (when sitting on the table) with the nothingness he was given really. Another performer/character that would have deserved a much bigger deal of screen time. It also came to my attention how this film featured a decent amount of Bond actors. I mean with Seydoux, Waltz and Wright, it was a big reunion of the most recent Bond, even if they all share absolutely no screen time here because they are in different chapters. Add to that Amalric and Del Toro who have also played antagonists in Bond films in the past. Maybe others I forgot. Or who will show up in the post-Craig era. Sorry, my 007 obsession is once again getting the better of me. Anyway, I thought that Seydoux here was part of the by far best segment, the one with Del Toro at the center of it all. She also added a lot to that. How she looked into the cell there when Del Toro's character was talking to Brody's was hilarious in a typical Wes Anderson way. We also see her naked from really close. I mean she has been naked in other films, most of all "Blue is the Warmest Colour" ("La vie d'Adèle"), but still I was amazed how stunning and breathtaking she looked in this one here when she posed as a model for Del Toro's character's painting(s). Admittedly, this chapter still got a bit messy here and there, also in the end with the prison riot and an abrupt finish, but it was nonetheless the easily most enjoyable aspect to the entire film.

Things do get worse immediately afterwards. Way worse. I like Frances McDormand otherwise, even if maybe not as much as five or ten years ago. Three Oscars seem a little much. This film here is not helping either as far as I am concerned. The layers they brought to her character felt unauthentic and for the sake of it. Like how she is troubled, struggling with solitude maybe, but enough of an important fugure to see Timothée Chalamet's character naked in that pseudo funny scene from the trailer. Or make a connection with the same young man when they lie in bed together. Just as friends of course. Or how they leave the apartment on one occasion. Or how we hear the voice in her head saying to herself that she should stay quiet, stay out of it, but she just can't and steps forward and makes a speech to the young woman. That almost felt like an Oscar moment. She must say something. It is inevitable and what we hear is oh so true and thoughtful. But it was not just her of course. It was the entire chapter. Especially with Chalamet. With him I am not getting the hype at all. This cleaner rebel take on James Dean with curly hair they have been giving us for a while now I am not buying at all. His acting seems nothing special to me and I have seen him in quite a few films. These moments when they try to turn him into some icon like also with this movie when he is on the scooter with Khoudri's character, his head in the wind, the cigarette in his mouth. Really all make-believe. So exaggerated, but the sad thing is that there the film really took itself seriously I think. It was not one of the many comedic moments. Still, I am happy Khoudri got to star in here with the attention the film got. The last segment then with Jeffrey Wright whose character's name was also Wright was a bit better again, but also nothing inspiring. Looking at how well Anderson did in the past with food- and kitchen-themed segments, it was a bit of a disappointment too. The opening shot with what people drink at the place mentioned in the title was pretty much better than the entire third segment. Even if it was this brief, but typical Wes Anderson there. Very easy to identify. Just like the scene in which we have Owen Wilson's character cycle through the streets and all that happens there. Also the animals included.

Bill Murray I must mention too. He plays perhaps the most influential character of the entire film and like Wilson a regular with Wes Anderson too. However, he is just part of the framework, okay also talks to Wright for example, but he does not have as much screen time as you could have thought from the trailer. What else deserves to be mentioned here? Oh yes, there is a fairly long sequence of animation. No big surprise as Anderson has worked on animated movies as well in the past, but still felt a bit unusual to be included as a segment of a live action film. It was okay. Like the rest you could say, but did not stand out in terms of style either. Maybe it was funny how the really big and strong guy was up there holding on to the front shield of the car. I mean there are some fine moments that will make you smile and there is always creativity to Wes Anderson's films, but here I felt it was maybe a little less than you usually get with him. Perhaps it also had to do with the lack of color in this film from beginning to end. At times, it is even black-and-white, but it is never really a colorful film because it maybe would not have fit the subject too well. Beige is incredibly dominant here, especially with these scenes that take place at Bill Murray's character's office. Anderson also played a bit there with us. We think that Murray's character is already dead at the beginning, but then it is just all about the preparation of the actual death of Murray's character. We can be glad he is alive. Are we really? Do we care? In any case, in the end he is actually gone. We even see his corpse. But hey, no crying in his office. So yeah, I like some of Anderson's works a lot, but here I am almost tempted to give a negative recommendation. Only the strong first segment with Del Toro keeps me from doing so. I will still not judge you in a negative way if you turn off the film after said opening segment before the 45-minute mark and skip the rest of the movie. Admittedly, you would not be missing much, especially during that occasionally awful Chalamet segment, also with the character's death out of nowhere that turns him into an even bigger icon. Troubled genius, sigh. That's all and I hope with the next film(s), Wes Anderson will be back to his best again. I am optimistic he can be.

Quirky, stylish...and empty

[grantss · 5/10 · 7 February 2022]

The French Dispatch is a French subsidiary of a Kansas newspaper. Every week it provides articles from renowned journalists. When the long-serving editor dies, as per his wishes The French Dispatch closes but not before a final edition. In it are four articles, details of which the film illustrates.

I generally enjoy Wes Anderson's films and have seen all of them with Rushmore, The Fantastic Mr Fox and The Royal Tenenbaums being my favourites. They tend to be quirkily funny but can be difficult to get into. With his recent films Anderson has also amped up the special effects and cinematography, making the films visually more stylish and art-like.

This is not a problem as long as the visual effects don't replace a good plot. With The French Dispatch, that's exactly where the problem lies.

We have a central story - the final edition of a newspaper - plus four sub-stories (the four articles) none of which prove to be very engaging. Things just happen, sometimes in very haphazard, random ways with no attempt to draw in the audience. While quirky, none of the stories are funny enough to make the film a comedy and carry it that way.

The cinematography and special effects are stunning but without a decent plot and level of engagement they're just nice-to-look-at images, bereft of meaning.

Also can't fault the cast which is heavily star-laden: Benicio Del Toro, Bill Murray (as always, for a Wes Anderson film), Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Lea Seydoux, Timothee Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Owen Wilson, Bob Balaban, Henry Winkler, Elisabeth Moss, Christoph Waltz, Alex Lawther, Liev Schreiber, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman. Such is the saturation of stars that some only appear for 20 seconds or so!

Wes Anderson times Wes Anderson

[AvidWatcher101 · 6/10 · 28 October 2021]

Mr. Anderson is one of my all time favorite directors, having made some of my very favorite and beloved films. This one has its charms.. and its moments. It's a collage of separate stories being covered by different American ex-pat journalists living in France, working for Bill Murray (who instead of going to New York and starting the New Yorker, went to France). The best of these is the Benicio Del Toro/Adrien Brody contribution, which I found riveting and moving and all that it could be. Overall, the film is intelligent - yes, certainly. However, there is a level of pretention and condescension that is really not enjoyable. I think I have come to expect something known from Mr. Anderson - true heart and soul in what may otherwise seem vapid or angry (or otherwise one dimensional) characters, humour, pathos, and something bright - something that gets the serotonin running.. bright colours, bright feelings - something ultimately uplifting. Maybe it's not fair of me to expect more of the same. The artist has to grow and has the right to create.. but as the consumer, I can feel a little disappointed when the flavour is just a bit off. And yet, I would recommend this file and I certainly don't regret seeing it.

the most Wes Anderson-y to date

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 28 October 2021]

Greetings again from the darkness. Few things in the cinematic world are more instantly recognizable than a Wes Anderson movie. In fact, historically speaking, perhaps only Jacques Tati comes as close to having a signature style easily spotted by viewers. This is Mr. Anderson's 10th feature film in 25 years, and I now rate 5 of these very highly, though all 10 have a certain appeal. This latest, co-written by Anderson with frequent collaborators Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness, and Jason Schwartzman, could be considered his most ambitious to date ... and likely the most 'Wes Anderson' of all.

Billed as a love letter to journalists, it becomes crystal clear, that by this, Anderson means the esteemed stable of writers from the early days of "The New Yorker". In fact, Anderson structures the film as if it were following the path of a magazine being published. We are informed upfront that this edition features "an obituary, a travel guide, and 3 feature articles". An episodic format is not unusual for films, yet Anderson never does anything by the book. Each piece takes place in its own time period, and there appears to be little connection or crossover among key characters. Still, somehow he makes this work by ensuring each piece stands on its own and is filled with unusual characters and those patented, fabulous Anderson visuals.

The obituary is that of Arthur Howitzer Jr (a deadpan Bill Murray), the founder and publisher of "The French Dispatch" magazine, a spin-off from The Liberty Kansas Evening Sun ... a move from a small town in Midwestern United States to a charming small town in France (hilariously and fittingly) named Ennui-sur-Blasé. Howitzer adores his writers, and the only guidance he offers them is, "Just try to make it sound like you wrote it that way on purpose". He also has a "No Crying" sign posted in his office, likely as much as a reminder to himself as a rule for the staff.

Our travel guide section is fortunately quite brief since it involves Owen Wilson as a bicycle tour guide showing us around the town - the "Local Color"- of Ennui-sur-Blasé. This takes us to the first feature story, and the best of the lot. Tilda Swinton excels (doesn't she always?) as a writer and art expert giving a colorful lecture entitled "The Concrete Masterpiece". She tells the story of Moses Rosenthaler (Benecio del Toro), a genius modern artist serving a life sentence for murder, and as she lectures, we see it play out. While incarcerated, Moses continues to work and his muse is a prison guard named Simone, played exceptionally well by Lea Seydoux. Her nude posing for him leads to his signature modern art piece, which attracts the attention of an ambitious art dealer played by Adrien Brody.

"Revisions to a Manifesto" is the next feature, and it involves a young activist named Zeffirelli (Timothee Chalamet). He's a chess expert, quite moody and has a questionable quest. He's being covered by writer Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand), who is unable to maintain objectivity, and inserts herself right into the story, amongst other things. The segment pays tribute to the activism of the 1960's and is filmed mostly in black and white.

The third feature, "The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner" involves writer Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright) telling his story while a guest on Liev Schreiber's Talk Show in the 1970's. Roebuck is obviously inspired by James Baldwin, and he famously recalls every line he's ever written. The story he recites involves a legendary chef played by Steve Park.

Actors mentioned so far are just the headliners, and Anderson has packed the film with his usual troupe, as well as dozens of others - some you'll recognize, and some you won't. There are at least seven Oscar winners involved: Christoph Waltz, Fisher Stevens, and Angelica Huston (as narrator), in addition to the aforementioned Swinton, McDormand, del Toro, and Brody. Numerous Oscar nominations and awards are included in the group of other familiar faces like Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan, Edward Norton, Lois Smith, Henry Winkler Bob Balaban, Elisabeth Moss, and Mathieu Amalric.

Other frequent Anderson collaborators who deliver standout work include Production Designer Adam Stockhausen, Cinematographer Robert Yeoman, Editor Andrew Weisblum, and composer Alexandre Desplat. The film looks and sounds remarkable, and somehow it doesn't feel like it's moving fast - although we can barely keep pace. The film can be compared to ordering a flight at your local distillery. Each flavor is tasty, but they may not add up to a full drink.

Wes Anderson has delivered another stylish, fun film to watch, and one that is endlessly entertaining. It may not have as many moments of laughter as some of his previous films, yet there are still plenty of sight gags, insider references, and light-heartedness bathed in nostalgia - even if it's not quite as whimsical. Shot in the French town of Angouleme, the visuals are as impressive as any you'll find, serving up a collage of time, caricatures, color, and topics.

Opening nationwide in theaters on October 29, 2021.

Disappointing!

[muakseki · 6/10 · 13 October 2021]

Having been a long time WA fan, I waited anxiously for this film and saw it in the first screening at the BFI Film Festival. For viewers new into Wes Anderson's style it will certainly feel charming. But movie throws up so much "cute detail", there is almost nothing else left to watch. Almost all dialogues are short one-liners and none of the characters get a chance develop any real gravitas. Mélanie Thierry, Benicio Del Toro and Frances McDormand merely deliver a fraction of what they are capable of, while the rest of the all-star cast drown in the "noise". In particular, Bill Murray's role is inconsequential - a huge disappointment considering his potential and how he and Wes created fireworks in almost all their previous movies together. The fast-paced story-telling doesn't work and the whole movie feels like a machine gun assault with Wes Anderson elements. The movie also lacks the emotional depth that usually underlies his other movies. Disappointed. Especially, considering what it could have been.

Wes Anderson Continues His Diorama Sandbox

[statuskuo · 8/10 · 26 October 2021]

If you know the style of Wes Anderson, this will be more of that.

A moving diorama of actors acting odd for the sake of oddness. This is actually four stories in one about American ex-pats who write for a French paper.

Everything is stylized in this film and works effectively. Watching the Benicio Del Toro story unfold is the most fun. The rest seem to be muddled in more pretention.

One gets the feeling Wes just sits around like an overgrown child and makes vroom vroom noises as he drags a toy car on the carpet. This is quitessential Wes.

Very well crafted.

The first Wes Anderson film I'd call overkill

[Okonh0wp · 6/10 · 24 November 2021]

As Wes Anderson has shifted settings from a boarding school to a Jaques Costeau homage to a brothers' expedition across the Indian subcontinent, I've gobbled up pretty much everything Wes Anderson has given me in the previous six films I've seen of his.

The French Dispatch, however, shows that even great directors can have an off day.

Anderson's style is pretty instantly recognizable by the carefully constructed mise-en-scenes and a whole-hearted embrace of anachronisms. But there's more than the visual artistry. There's also a quietly uplifting sentiment of people being vulnerable about their need to belong and finding connection in found or real families.

While the same theme is here with the newspaper crew being united in their love by the editor (Bill Murray), the decision to divert from the main story into three vignettes takes away from the film's main emotional arc. The end result is a feeling of cold remoteness that's a thin line between what Anderson delivers on and what he can be seen as at his most indulgent.

Still, it's not a complete failure of a film. It gets a lot of points for ambition.

.

One of the

However, this film is the.

Huge fun, mostly

[euroGary · 8/10 · 14 October 2021]

'The French Dispatch' consists of three main stories, so it is probably inevitable that one of them is less successful than the others. It is nothing to do with the actors concerned - principally Tilda Swinton, Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody and Léa Seydoux - simply that the story of an imprisoned artist becoming The Next Big Thing drags a bit. The other main segments - Frances McDormand and Timothée (still not sure how to pronounce that) Chalamet in a tale of student unrest; and Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric and Liev Schreiber caught up in a police operation including a kidnapped child and fine dining - are rollicking good fun.

The conceit of these tales is they are all articles in the final issue of the 'French Dispatch', a supplement to a Kansas newspaper that brings French culture to the American Midwest. As the journalists tell their stories, the audience sees artistic pretentions and student naivety knowingly skewered. The acting is universally good and it would be hard to single out one performance - although how the whippet-thin Chalamet twice managed to deliver the line "I'm embarrassed by my new muscles" with a straight face is beyond me.

The film is a mixture of black-and-white, colour and - in an inspired choice for a chase sequence - animation. Even the opening- and closing credits are entertaining (indeed, if there were an Oscar for best opening credits 'The French Dispatch' would win hands down). I saw this at the 2021 London Film Festival and will definitely watch it again - although possibly I will put on the kettle during the jailbird artist sequence.

It looks great, but it's so boring

[ljacreed · 6/10 · 30 December 2021]

I really enjoyed other films by Wes Anderson, but this one I really didn't like. The only reason I watched it until the end was because I was in the cinema. It was really nice to look at but the stories I thought were really boring. I was very disappointed, cause I love his other films. Don't go to the cinema for it, just stream it and see for yourself.

An Absolute Treat

[adamk-2 · 10/10 · 11 October 2021]

I'm not a diehard Wes Anderson fan (I loathed "The Royal Tannenbaums) but I bloody loved this film. It's a loving tribute to the lost age of journalism, when giants stalked the corridors of The New Yorker, as well as an inventive and inspired paean to the art of storytelling, as plots, subplots and digressions are juggled like plates or nested inside one another like Russian dolls. While there's certainly a surfeit of whimsy and Gallic je ne sais quoi, it's stylish, beautifully photographed and boasts a cast to die for. I wasn't entirely sure why it kept switching from colour to black-and-white, but there are also delightful animated sections, sly humour, dry wit and...oh, so much, it's almost overwhelming and would definitely reward a second look. Great stuff.

Not the best Wes Anderson film

[beckysalass · 6/10 · 12 October 2021]

Despite the outstanding production design, beautiful soundtrack and stellar cast, the movie just didn't tell me much. It is not the best Wes Anderson film at all. I hope the next one he makes recovers the level of Tenenbaums or Moonrise Kingdom.

Style over substance, it left me unmoved

[paul-allaer · 5/10 · 4 July 2022]

As "The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun" (2021 release; 107 min) opens, we are introduced to the French fictional town of Ennui-sur-Blasé (translated from French, literally, "boredom on apathetic"), where an outpost of the Liberty, Kansas Evening News gathers one last time to bring the final issue of the French Dispatch, a weekly magazine. Within minutes, we are introduced to a myriad of characters...

Couple of comments: this is the latest from writer-director Wes Anderson. Whose work I mostly adore ("Isle of Dogs"., "The Grand Budapest Hotel", "The Royal Tenenbaums", just to name those). It feels to me as if "The French Dispatch" is the culmination of many of his earlier films, with maximum focus on style but regretfully not enough attention to the storytelling. Is this supposed t be a "comedy"? If so, I can tell you that I didn't laugh a single time. If it's supposed to be something else, that didn't resonate with me either. In the end, I simply watched but I never "bought into" the film or felt connected with any of it or the characters. Per the usual, this is an ensemble cast, but on steroids, as in: DOZENS of big names, some of which you'll miss if you blink. In the end the movie never achieves the sum of its parts, and it all felt strangely aloof and left me unmoved.

"The French Dispatch" was filmed in 2019 and its release was one of the many victims of COVID, being pushed back several times. By the time it received a US theatrical release in Fall, 2021, it almost felt like its due date had already come and gone. I missed it in the theater, and finally caught it the other day on HBO Max. If you, like myself, are a big Wes Anderson, I'd readily suggest you check it out, with low(er) expectations, and draw your own conclusion.

7/10 Apex Wes Anderson-ness, nadir narrative.

[random-70778 · 29 October 2021]

I often do not agree with professional critics, but I have to concur with Vanity Fair, and NYTimes and others that this film Wes Anderson stumbles, and it is below average work compared to Anderson prior successes. And is it, as a number of reviewers here say, an "homage to journalists?" The journalists in this are actually portrayed as impressionist, seeing and transmitting not the real, but rather their own artificial views of 1960's France.

Stylistically it certainly is apex-Anderson. And that is always enjoyable both in terms of admiring a craft well done and a reward for attentiveness to style. It does approach being finicky, almost cranky at times,. But not too far over the line.

Unfortunately the film's core is a narrative jumble. Actually several narratives jumbled. I can only think this occurred in the editing room, perhaps with so much work there, that the director and editors start to forget that the audience is seeing the film for the first time and that the narratives on the first viewing has to make sense. Even breaking it into four vignettes makes it worse, not better. Look at the treatment of the James Baldwin character: Brilliant subject, brilliant actor, yet the character comes off as superficial.

It is pretty clear Anderson loves The New Yorker of old, the Ross and Shawn eras before it dropped in quality in its evolution into a corporate controlled media in a conglomerate that includes Conde Nast. The real quality of the New Yorker is in its long form (for a magazine) fiction and non-fiction. In fact the modern New Yorker, with current editor Remnick using more reporters than noted writers, is part of the reason why its advertising has dropped, its audience aged, and its once famously unassailable fact checking now a caricature of former quality.

But French Dispatch is *not* an homage to journalists, thank goodness. Anderson clearly mocks them as much as he lauds them. It is really an homage to France, specifically an American impression of France. (French critics have said Dispatch is patronizing, but we will leave that). It is the post-WWII France of the bicycle, baguette, Bardot and beret, albeit without nearly enough cigarettes. Not the 1930's era of Miller and Hemingway in Paris, unfortunately, as that would not have fit use of an American/The New Yorker point of view device. But the less interesting 1950's-60's period. Strangely enough with no detectable nod by Andersen to the most influential cultural export of the time -- French film.

Overall Dispatch is a worthwhile viewing. Certainly for the technical adherence to Anderson's own single occupancy genre. The quirkiness has a bit of a forced element to it. But not artificial or crammed in, not overly so. The main problem is instead of turning pages, as one would do reading The New Yorker, there is more of a feeling of being in a labyrinth without Ariadne's thread, or a general disjointedness.

7.5/10.