NYFF 2021: THE FRENCH DISPATCH

My first day of The New York Film Festival found films selecting a multimedia stance in the stories that they wanted to tell. Where The Velvet Underground found much of its multimedia through music and video, The French Dispatch, written and directed by Wes Anderson, found it through print and screen – the final printed word of a renowned magazine coming to life through the stories of those who captured them.

Another Anderson Success

The French Dispatch opens on the factory process of magazine printing, the machinery clearly defined but far from rigid. There is a character that emerges from the conveyer belts full of papers, the clippings of articles moving along the screen speaking to the liveliness and resilient nature of the press. The news never stops moving. While the camera holds steady, the audience learns of the life and death of the magazine’s beloved editor Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray). His death represents the subsequent life that resides in both man and machine soon to be extinguished, the life of the magazine snuffed out as the heart beat of its editor no longer exists.

In a fast and sharp editing style synonymous of Anderson, audiences are “introduced” to many of the magazine’s staff, some through only the viewing of their feet, while others briefly, and at times, from a distance. It speaks to the personalities of each of the writers, while some are more present, others find their strength in their process. Following their introductions, and the humorous understanding of the magazine’s process, viewers are welcomed to experience the publication’s final issue before the dissolution of the company.

Told through the pages of the magazine, The French Dispatch launches its final issue with Herbsaint Sazerac’s (Owen Wilson) cycling around the French town of Ennui feature, hilariously reciting both the ups and downs of Ennui through the journalistic viewpoint of “must sees” and “not to be missed” destinations and sights throughout the city. Short editing brilliantly choreographed sees Wilson’s Sazerac create the reverberating feeling of the city, as well as the journalistic commitment both himself and his fellow journalists commit to in the film’s following pages. It is this opening feature, much like a magazine, that lures the audience in and sets the mood for what is to follow.

The primary composites of The French Dispatch are the long features that follow the introduction. Art, food, lifestyles and a teenage revolution illuminate screen and page, recounting what each journalist not only witnessed but found themselves at the center of. Each story feels cohesive to the one before and the one that follows, yet different, speaking to the difference in the writing and storytelling styles of its characters. Though the most telling moments of the magazine are when each of the segments concludes, a momentary display of the relationship between journalist and editor reinforcing the true heart and soul of the magazine.

Success is in the Craft

The French Dispatch is quirky, unusual, and speaks to the heart of Anderson‘s filmmaking style. Without knowing what to expect, it’s exactly what you would hope for. The colors are sharp, the lines encompassing clean and concise. There is as much thought that goes into the story as does its set. There is almost a whimsical nature it creates, welcoming audiences to the experience of the film, never telling them what to feel but rather letting their acted features speak to you.

Throughout The French Dispatch, one of the biggest changes from the clean and bright colors was the utilization of black and white. Just as clean and concise, the film switches continuously, its editing snapping back and forth between the brightness audiences have come to expect from Anderson to the just as vibrant hues of its black and white. There is a feeling that resonates when the color is reintroduced, not of euphoria but almost a futuristic sense of clarity and an escape, or event return, of realism.

But the change from color speaks beyond just that, lending a nod to the film’s framework. The use of black and white is brilliant as it represents the black and white print of the magazine. While color illuminates parts of the story, manly cover photos, black and white images, and type fill in the rest. The French Dispatch goes beyond just the representation of print in its colors, but reached further in its capacity to wield multimedia. Animation is included for a portion of its story, the animated cartoon not only speaking to the just as would be expected of the comics section – both children, political, and cover – but to the added layer of humor, it provides to the film and to this feature.

Conclusion: The French Dispatch

The French Dispatch boasts an eclectic cast both of Anderson veterans, as well as a multitude of newcomers – each with their own moment to shine. They each contain their own quirks, bringing their magazine features to life in their performances as much as the world on the page. They are illuminating and engaging, further compounded by the humor they wield. No one outshines another, each cohesively bound within this collaboration.

The French Dispatch is a lighthearted and quirky film that is sure to entertain. With an eclectic cast and unique form of storytelling, The French Dispatch is one of the most light-hearted ventures of the year.

The French Dispatch played at New York Film Festival on October 3, 2021.