The French Dispatch

The French Dispatch begins with a brief introduction to the universe built by Wes Anderson: Bill Murray portrays Arthur Howitzer Jr., the director behind The French Dispatch, a fictitious New Yorker-style magazine that started as a Sunday addition to the Evening Sun, Kansas, Liberty, which aims to bring the world back to Kansas."

The movie is a "portmanteau", consisting of a series of shorter stories. It features an editor's note, "The Cycling Reporter" by Herbsaint Sazerac (by Owen Wilson); the feature stories "The Concrete Masterpiece '' by J.K.L. Berenson (by Tilda Swinton); "Revisions of a Manifesto" by Lucinda Krementz (by Frances McDormand); and "The Private Dining Hall of the Police Commissioner" by Roebuck Wright (by Jeffrey Wright), as well.

The French Dispatch is an ode to France and traditional print journalism, especially travel writing. (As an editor, Howitzer Jr.'s famous mottos are "No sobbing" and "Just attempt to make it appear as if you did it on purpose."). It has everything we have grown to anticipate from Wes Anderson: meticulously designed aesthetics, flawless color palettes, and elaborate actor tableaus.

Year of Release: 2021

Stars: Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75%