OFFICIAL SELECTION – IN COMPETITION
For approximately 30 years, we have been receiving, in the form of eccentric messages tinged with distress, the works of Wes Anderson, who turned 56 on May 1. An American dandy long-settled in France and England, this master of whimsical adventure and vintage design has something about him that suggests he narrowly escaped some ineffable family saga.
Family, indeed, whether natural or blended, biological or friend based, is Anderson’s preferred subject. Dysfunctional by nature, often in Oedipal triangulation, quirky in its developments, ultimately supremely endearing. The mental chaos and absurdity of the resulting situations are contained by a rigorous ordering of the form that encompasses them. This leads to the theory that Anderson became a filmmaker precisely to frame the secret madness that haunts him – a basic Freudian hypothesis that no one is obliged to bet a penny on.
In any case, Anderson frames, organizes, categorizes, symmetrizes, models, automates, enumerates, colors, aligns and squares off a world that wobbles a bit too much for his liking. Frames, boxes, maps, lists, compasses, manuals, signs, diagrams, instructions, old typography, sets and chapter divisions all contribute to the rigorous ordering of things. All that remains is to name them, and Anderson is a genius at this: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The French Dispatch (2021). Who wouldn’t want to take a closer look?
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