TW: Mental Illness/Suicide/Violence/Death
After a long awaited arrival, The French Dispatch, by well-loved director Wes Anderson, finally dropped on HBO Max. The film illustrates three of the stories in the last issue of the newspaper before editor-in-chief Arthur Howitzer Jr’s sudden death. In his final wishes, he states that the article should stop being produced after he dies, and the whole newspaper team comes together and publishes their last three articles together. So, I’ve decided to review each story presented, along with the cinematography and messages within each one. This fictional movie about a newspaper article seemed fitting to watch, as I happened to be writing a newspaper article myself.
Before I get into the three stories, every story, as well as the newspaper, is set in the fictional town of Ennui, France, as told by Owen Wilson’s character, Sazarac. He provides an overview of the town, and what occurs in it. The town of Ennui translates to “a state of boredom and lack of enthusiasm.” I found this to be ironic, because each of the final three stories turn out to be incredibly complex, especially with the dead bodies that have to be fished out of the water every other day. With that last sentence in mind, let’s get into the first story!
Story #1: What the Concrete Masterpiece Says About Modern Art,
written by J.K.L Bernesen, walks you through the life of a suicidal and “deranged” artist named Moses Rosenthaler, who lives in a mental institution (it also happens to be a prison). Tilda Swinton’s character provides an excellent retelling of her encounter with Moses, and his art production. Each piece of artwork he created included hidden figures shaped like someone he loved. When Moses would paint them, the screen would light up as they moved into different poses. I found this to be very clever, and I enjoyed the way my screen changed colors, because it kept me focused on my television. It also helped push the story along as that section of the movie progressed. I was then able to make connections between the art and the story—the connection being “love conquers all.”When one is in love, that love is all one can think about, just as Moses only thought of his lover and made them into art. Love can make you crazy, even when you actually are.
Story #2: What Revisions to a Manifesto Says About Revolutionary Ideals and Idols, written by Lucinda Krementz, played by Francis McDormand, is about a young school boy named Zeffirelli (Timothee Chalamet), who is protesting a rule at his school. I greatly enjoyed this story, as it described a child and their own desires. Chalamet was able to portray Zeffirelli perfectly;his stature and body language depicted a student whose ego is incredibly large, but one who has an understanding of society and how the world works. I relate to his character. I also think I know everything about the world, but actually am clueless. Zefirelli was a passionate individual in my eyes, and I could feel his passion and stubbornness radiate through the screen. The cinematography fit this story perfectly in my opinion; it conveyed a sense of melancholy and naivete. The message, to me, would be to live in the moment, especially as a teen, because you may never know what will happen to you. Hopefully that doesn’t spoil too much! I actually consider this story to be my favorite out of the three, and Timothee Chalamet was a plus.
Story #3: What The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner Says About Being an Expatriate Living Abroad. The story written by Roebuck Wright was originally meant to review the courses by the chef and police chief, Nescaffier, but it drifts off into deep topics (for one to find out when watching the movie).
However, there’s one topic I will discuss, that being Wright’s and Nescaffier’s lives. They found common ground when it came to their life stories, because they both lived in Ennui as foreigners. Now, I won’t dive into full detail, but I found this story made me a little emotional, and I found myself rethinking the entirety of the story, and its meaning. It made me realize that there can be so many emotions that people may feel, but they never express them due to possible backlash and violence towards them. I also thought about how we never know where people may come from; we don’t understand how they’ve been hurt, or if they are still hurting. With this in mind, let me speak on cinematography once again! This part of the film moved from black and white panels to colored panels. I found they fit the setting of the story, because it shifted between deeper topics, to their lighter counterparts. This story captured my eye the most because I could relate to Wright when it came to his backstory. (Although I’ve never moved to a foreign country!)
All in all, the film contained multiple underlying messages, such as the love illustrated within Moses’ art, Zefrelli’s innocence, and finding solace in pain with Wright and Nescaffier. The cinematography of the film was quite aesthetically pleasing; the screen faded from black and white film to color. The pictures on my phone and the television screen would light up, and it made me feel nostalgic. My rating for this movie would be a good 9 out of 10. It was crafted beautifully, but I found myself needing to focus and think! Props to Wes Anderson and his team for this charming movie.