December 2021

The French Dispatch: La Vie Littéraire

Unit photography by Roger Do Minh. Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures. The eighth collaboration between director Wes Anderson and cinematographer Robert Yeoman, ASC, The French Dispatch is the latest step in a creative evolution that began in 1996 with the feature Bottle Rocket. The teaming yields increasingly ambitious results with each new outing, and their latest is presented as a series of magazine articles from the titular publication, brought to life onscreen. The story begins with the death of the fictional magazine’s editor, Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray), whose passing inspires recollections of highlights from Dispatch history. These include the tale of an imprisoned, brilliant, and possibly insane painter (Benicio Del...more