THE FRENCH DISPATCH (Wes Anderson 2021)

[Chris Knipp]

Glad you liked it, but how could you not? Agreed it's up there and I happen not to like Budapest Hotel all that much, for all its accomplishment, as I've said. Next time I watch it (THE FRENCH DISPATCH, that is), I will look for the use of miniatures that you describe here, which I confess I was not prepped for and did not appreciate.


THE FIRST ISSUE OF THE NEW YORKER

Not only a homage to journalists but specifically to journalists of The New Yorker magazine, as was fully detailed in a 16-page freebie magazine-style pamphlet ("The French Dispatch, 149e Série, No 12, 200 Old Francs"), given to me when I bought my ticket at Century 16, Pleasant Hill, CA. Thurber and White are both famous NYer people, Thurber primarily but not only a cartoonist, White a writer but famously also an editor, witness the classic writer's bible, "Strunk and White", AKA The Elements of Style. Bill Murray's character refers to the NYer's first two editors, Harold Ross mostly and to some extent William Shawn. There are also references to specific NYer pieces, and Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand) is inspired by Mavis Gallant and Lilian Ross. Wes says the film is "not based on The New Yorker bur totally inspired by it" and that he has been an admirer and reader of the magazine, which dates from 1925, since the age of twelve, which would be around 1981.


THE FREEBIE COVER IS THE SAME AS THE POSTER, I GUESS

The freebie magazine also lists films that inspired or influenced THE FRENCH DISPATCH. There are 32 films - I just counted them A lot are French but there are also POolanski, Wilder, De Sica and Coppola. You can see why I treasure this little pamphlet they gave me.

I too plan to see it again but so far have not been able to due to other interesting new films to see (here anyway, in the Bay Area) in theaters, such as THE RESCUE, TITANE, PASSING, SPENCER, THE SOUVENIR: PART II and today, TICK,TOCK, BOUM! THE FRENCH DISPATCH also (largely chronicled in that magazine) refers to many other real-life personalities beside. Attendance has been sparse at these: at THE RESCUE and SPENCER I was the only person inn the audience. But I am very happy that theaters are open and I can see these excellent films on a BIG SCREEN. Most people's home "big screens" are actually about 1/200th the size, at best.

[cinemabon]

You my friend have a treasure. Thanks for putting in the link. I can't believe Wes Anderson went through the trouble of printing an actual magazine to promote the film. I couldn't believe the detail they included, especially the cast as it is a long list of luminaries.

I know this will sound strange as an analogy but it reminded me of a Miyazaki animation, such as Howl's Moving Castle, where you have so much going on in a single shot held for just two seconds that overwhelms the visual senses. It's impossible to take in all of the detail unless you see it again and again. Even then, you need the DVD to stop and look at a shot to realize how much detail fills the frame to appreciate it... and this makes me wonder why a filmmaker does this. If it's only on the screen for a second or two, why so much detail? The only explanation I can conjure is that the filmmaker wishes to enrich the overall experience of the film... not just gentle waves lapping against the shore, but translucent ones where we can see different stones in the water, varying depths of the water, the narrow band sand along the shore and accompanying this, narration by Jean Simmons who says, "When you get old, all you want to do is look at the scenery..." What complexity within something so simple!

As to home cinema, I will never be locked out of a movie theater again. I'm going to invest in a laser projection system that will fill one entire wall of my living room. If I can't go to see a film the way it was intended, then by god I'm going to have a similar experience at home, if I have to. I realize they're very expensive (the one I'm considering is around $2.5K), but it's the closest thing to having a large enough image while also having similar clarity. That doesn't mean I won't support my local cinema(s). I know the managers!

[Chris Knipp]

I think he enjoys the craft for its own sake. Some artists perhaps don't care whether all the work they do is seen. It's 'art for art's sake.' That's the explanation of things like the "magazine" freebie. It is seen by a few, but not necessary, an extra, a spinoff. It is a treasure - I have tried to keep it perfect - and I wish it was available in an online form, but that might defeat the purpose (stay tuned though).

I'm sure Miyazaki is an excellent example. Unfortunately I'm not very familiar with Miyazaki, but I believe you.

Having one whole wall to project on sounds fun. My walls are too busy. And I kind of like watching movies on a 13" or 22" computer screen - or in a movie theater, which is where I want to go as often as I can now because I see they need the business.

[Chris Knipp]

I spent years as a printmaker (see my website, but those are only later ones). Printmaking is very labor-intensive and printmakers don't really expect viewers to see all the time and effort that has gone into crafting the plates.