Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kanas Evening Sun is arguably one of the best films of last year. I was admittedly not a huge Wes Anderson fan. I've only seen one other film of his, The Grand Budapest Hotel, which I enjoyed but didn't feel strongly enough to go back through his past filmography. Yet, I left the theater after watching this movie and desperately wanting to see it again. I couldn't stop thinking about its original cinematography , catchy score, flawless production design, and outstanding dialogue. This film felt personal, not just to its director but to me as well. It's a film that celebrates writers and writing, which is something that I want to pursue in my own career. It also takes place in France, a place I have a strong affinity for. The French Dispatch felt like it was made especially for me which is why I felt so connected to it. I know I'm not the only one who felt this way. Many film publications listed the movie as one of the best films of 2021. Indie Wire reviews it as such, "The French Dispatch” endearingly saluted the field of journalism through the ultimate aesthetically pleasing collection of vignettes. Set in a fictional French town, the fantastical “French Dispatch” stars Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Owen Wilson, Frances McDormand, Léa Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, and Bill Murray, among other A-listers in the ensemble cast. Come for the beloved actors, stay for the exquisite cinematography, and remember it as Anderson’s latest display of mastering the frame." When the film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival it was a huge hit. However, when the 2022 Academy Award nominations rolled out a few weeks ago, The French Dispatch was nowhere to be found.
I was stunned by the complete omission of the film as were many others in the film community. It seemed like a massive over-sight considering that Wes Anderson was, to me at least, a favorite of the Academy's. On subsequent viewings, I found the movie only got better with more rewatches. So what was I seeing that academy voters weren't? Wes Anderson has been criticized in the past for being a filmmaker who values style over substance. The French Dispatch tells three different main stories highlighting the writers Anderson admires. Within those vignettes, smaller stories take place. Some of it is absurd or surreal but all of it makes sense in context and adds a lot of entertainment value in the process. Again, I don't know many of Wes' films but this movie felt like it was saying a great deal about society through the writer's and their writing style displayed on screen. A piece by The New Yorker notes that "The emotional power, the ingenuity, the insight of “The French Dispatch” is pretty close to that of “Licorice Pizza,`` and''Zola `` isn’t far behind. But the extreme stylization of “The French Dispatch,” like most of Wes Anderson’s work, makes it uniquely dependent on the quality of production design, hair and makeup, and costumes, without which it would fall like a failed soufflé. At their best—and “The French Dispatch” may well be Anderson’s best to date—his films are comprehensive creations of the very stuff of movies, from acting to cinematography to writing to editing to the very nature of drama. Its surpassing directorial achievement is inseparable from the high accomplishments in the various other creative categories."
I'm still racking my brain on why The French Dispatch was shut out of the Oscars. There wasn't much love for the film in the other award shows that act as precursors to the Academy awards like the Golden Globes or the SAG awards. At least there were some nominations for the film in those spaces. The French Dispatch seemed like a lock for many Academy nominations just a few months ago but now it's not even in the conversation. I don't think I'll ever know why academy voters didn't resonate with the film. I do know that audiences certainly had a connection with it in a profound way, which might be all that matters in the end. I've gone back and forth on the significance of award shows like the Oscars who without fail, consistently sideline some of the greatest film releases each year. Ultimately The French Dispatch's snub is surprising but nevertheless on par with what most people have come to expect from an Academy that still under-appreciates unique and boundless story-telling. For me, The French Dispatch is a beautiful example of innovative filmmaking and has finally made me a true Wes Anderson fan.
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