The journey of the film "The French Dispatch. Supplement to the newspaper "Liberty. Kansas Evening Sun"" to our screens was long and thorny. Was the wait worth it, or has Wes Anderson's filmography seen a misfire?

Synopsis

"The French Dispatch," as is clear from the film's full title, was a supplement to the American newspaper "Liberty. Kansas Evening Sun," on whose pages a variety of unexpected stories from the life of the fictional town of Ennui-sur-Blasé were published.

The viewer is invited to familiarize themselves with the contents of the last issue, after which the supplement was permanently closed. Funny, sad, beautiful stories, presented to us by the authors themselves, weave into an intricate and ornate pattern that perfectly illustrates all the grotesqueness and eccentricity of our lives.

The Wes Anderson Actor Hangout

I think many fans of Wes Anderson's work already have a pretty good idea of who will appear on screen as a matter of course. Bill Murray? Check! Jason Schwartzman? Check! Owen Wilson? Check!

In fact, even beyond all the aforementioned actors, this film can boast a huge number of renowned actors who simply enjoy interacting with the director. And it shows. But how organically do they fit into the narrative?

In such a motley crew, there are both pros and cons.

Pros – each actor has to figure out how to make their brief screen presence memorable. Who succeeded? Undoubtedly the brilliant Tilda Swinton, the restrained professional Jeffrey Wright, the refined Adrien Brody. Personally, I found the character of Benicio Del Toro the most interesting; he once again proves that with good material, he can shine in any, even the most dazzling, company.

Cons – too little screen time for certain actors leaves a feeling of hunger. Frances McDormand should have had more. Edward Norton should have had more. Timothée Chalamet definitely should have had more (at least in terms of character development). It gave the impression of a whirlwind tour of Europe.

(By the way, this is the second film this year with a criminally underused Willem Dafoe and the second film this year with a cameo by the very funny Alex Lawther. Coincidence?)

"The French Dispatch" as an Anthology

Expanding on the "whirlwind tour of Europe" theme. In essence, "The French Dispatch" is simply a collection of loosely connected stories, i.e., an anthology. Like notes of declarations of love to France that Anderson found in his desk, deemed insufficient for a full-length film, and therefore decided to frame with a unified magazine article format.

There are several great ways to make an anthology interesting for the viewer. You can invite different directors for each novella (as was done, for example, in the film "Four Rooms"), or unite all the novellas with a common theme.

However, here we see roughly one style of storytelling, roughly similarly directed, and roughly similarly acted. Perhaps this serves well to unify the novellas, but it becomes a bit tiresome by the end.

A single story, sustained in Wes's symmetrical, semi-theatrical style, can look logical and beautiful (take "The Grand Budapest Hotel," for instance). But getting used to a new set of characters each time, who are introduced to the viewers in the same fragmented and eccentric manner, is a bit exhausting.

About the Film in General

Does the film become bad after all this? Of course not. "The French Dispatch" is undoubtedly good, and the complaints mentioned above are nitpicks. Like parents demanding much more from an A-student than from a C-student. If you love Wes and his signature framing and storytelling, then "The French Dispatch" is simply the quintessence of everything that set Anderson apart from the host of other directors.

Perhaps like no one else, he knows how to be witty in details and is not afraid to use visual humor. The blending of almost childish antics with strikingly dark tones gives the film a very specific atmosphere that few manage to achieve.

Conclusion

In an ideal world, I would have liked the film to be a bit more cohesive (and it's not about the disjointedness of the stories, but precisely the lack of any thematic continuity). To have slightly fewer actors, but with more screen time for them. For it to be presented more diversely.

But.

We don't live in an ideal world, and the film remains surprisingly funny, endearingly silly, slightly melancholic, very artistic, and simply interesting. It's pleasant to watch. It's pleasant to think about and analyze. I am sure that after some time, the internet will be filled with analyses of the color accents of the film "The French Dispatch. Supplement to the newspaper "Liberty. Kansas Evening Sun"." And it will be well-deserved.