The French Dispatch, the latest film by Wes Anderson, is a story about an English magazine based in the French town of Ennui. The movie is a series of vignette stories directly based on sections of the magazine (art, politics, food etc

While the stories are short, this film could be seen on the same grand scale as “The Darjeeling Limited” or “The Grand Budapest Hotel” simply due to the maximalist scope of casting, story and theme. This movie is the most Wes Anderson of Wes Anderson movies; his most penultimate work to date. If you love him, you’ll love it, and if you hate him, best choose something else.

The story starts with magazine “The French Dispatch” being discontinued due to the death of the Editor in Chief, and most of the film is told in flashback. A central theme of the movie is, much like the name of the provincial town, a sense of ennui. All of the stories revolve around the characters’ sense of longing and tragedy in the face of life. The snappy and non-naturalistic dialogue gives way to deeper introspection and angst.

I think the cleverness is in contemplating whether this is the real struggles and feeling of the director, or whether it’s a tongue in cheek satire of the French “je ne cest quoi “ mindset.

But then again how many times has Wes knocked on that old chestnut

The French dispatch contains all of Anderson’s greatest hits, from light, witty dialogue to the painting-like framing of most shots. However Wes does away with his trademark over-saturated colour palette to incorporate some black and white filters; his use of which is dependent on time frame.

If you want student revolutions, insane artists and death by poison radishes then give The French Dispatch a watch. Even if you lose track of the plot, you can at least point at the screen for all the actors you recognise in cameo-like small roles.