I just watched the Phoenician Scheme here in the theatre and I loved it. To me it’s such a clear example of Wes melding different qualities from different eras of his film-making; this had elements of the self-aware theatrical (Asteroid City) and, at the same time, it had the character narratives and performances of a Wes Anderson picture from a decade ago.
For me, this film helped reinforce the fact that Wes has, in fact, evolved quite a bit over the course of his filmmaking career.
Just caught Resurrection at Denver film fest, what I took from it was that its a film-about-film that uses a dreamlike structure to function as a resurrection of 20th-century history though a culturally Chinese lens. It presents the dreamer as a spectator experiencing a series of vignettes, each adopting the style of a specific genre to act as a "cultural barometer" for its era, reflecting the distinct struggles of the times—from the post-WWI trauma of German Expressionism to the post-WWII brooding cynicism of Noir thrillers, to the mid-century spiritual guilt of minimalist fables, the heart-on-the-sleeve reaction to '80s neo-liberal soullessness, and the final apocalyptic nihilism of the '90s vampire reimagined as a romance of mutual desctruction. The capitlist realism of end times. Then the film loops back around to the beginning and starts over, ressurecting old dreams as the narrator, like the audience, actively searches for meaning.
"and though the world has already collapsed..." we use these tools to keep the flame going, repeating the dreams of our past. Art never ends.
Hey I really loved this writing!
I just watched the Phoenician Scheme here in the theatre and I loved it. To me it’s such a clear example of Wes melding different qualities from different eras of his film-making; this had elements of the self-aware theatrical (Asteroid City) and, at the same time, it had the character narratives and performances of a Wes Anderson picture from a decade ago.
For me, this film helped reinforce the fact that Wes has, in fact, evolved quite a bit over the course of his filmmaking career.
Just caught Resurrection at Denver film fest, what I took from it was that its a film-about-film that uses a dreamlike structure to function as a resurrection of 20th-century history though a culturally Chinese lens. It presents the dreamer as a spectator experiencing a series of vignettes, each adopting the style of a specific genre to act as a "cultural barometer" for its era, reflecting the distinct struggles of the times—from the post-WWI trauma of German Expressionism to the post-WWII brooding cynicism of Noir thrillers, to the mid-century spiritual guilt of minimalist fables, the heart-on-the-sleeve reaction to '80s neo-liberal soullessness, and the final apocalyptic nihilism of the '90s vampire reimagined as a romance of mutual desctruction. The capitlist realism of end times. Then the film loops back around to the beginning and starts over, ressurecting old dreams as the narrator, like the audience, actively searches for meaning.
"and though the world has already collapsed..." we use these tools to keep the flame going, repeating the dreams of our past. Art never ends.
Excellent. So excited for this year of cinema