The French Dispatch: An Ode to Journalists

Wes Anderson's new film, The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on July 12. It essentially is a clever adaptation of a newspaper issue consisting of short stories – articles.

The film has three storylines united by a single theme. For example, Tilda Swinton plays the famous art critic who tells the story of the convicted murderer Moses Rosenthaler (Benicio del Toro), who had a muse named Simona (Léa Seydoux). Frances McDormand plays the writer Lucinda Krementz, who has an affair with the young revolt leader Zeffirelli (Timothée Chalamet).

This highly detailed film is a tribute to true journalists, featuring lectures, unexpected animation, newspaper stories, and television interviews. The director even said it was an ode to his love for journalism and the journalists with their own rules, ideals, and rituals.

The glory and sadness of The French Dispatch are that the true journalism of the old times is now dead. The times when you could recognize a personality of a great journalist behind their material are long gone.

Wes Anderson's style is unique, expressive, and easily recognizable. He mixes colors, alternating between black and white and color, English and French, and sometimes includes animation inserts into the story.

However, the movie is not just beautiful – it illustrates a whole range of complex human relationships. The stories in the movie are Anderson's way of understanding this world, which is deep and complicated. The director touches upon such topics as love and death, but in his own unique manner.

It is unlikely that the general public will widely recognize The French Dispatch, but if you are a real movie lover, this film is a delight for the soul.