In Wes Anderson’s latest film “The French Dispatch,” the director turns the real life city Angouleme into the fictional town of Ennui. The film shows off the delightfully whimsical oddities of this fake French city.
This clip, released by Searchlight Pictures, really shows how much goes into creating even little vignettes of Wes Anderson‘s projects. Having so much vision can be both a blessing and a curse.
In the first thirty minutes of the film, each line takes place in a new setting, which is as fun for the editor as it sounds. “Each shot is defining a new set,” says production designer Adam Stockhausen. Your eyes may have trouble settling in as you watch the film.
However, there will always be something to look at, whether it’s the vibrant room colors or the smallest detail in a character’s costume.
This is really where Anderson shines, in taking the real and structural cues from a well-known place. Yet, he creates a wondrous playground for each character to interact with and run around. The slightly-off nature of the coloring and architecture only highlights the diverse and amusing cast of characters.
Perhaps what drew Anderson to construct these pieces was the ability to create a new set for each scene. In fact, he tends to get carried away with it.
In the film, he seems unsure on whether he wants to depict a scene in color or in black-in-white.
Personally, I was comfortable with a majority of the scenes without color. Once it switched back to the color, I was nearly overwhelmed by how much more is visible within the frame.
The back and forth does keep up with the director’s pacing, but again, it can be a doozy on the eyes. Be sure to keep this in mind if you plan on entering the wonderful world of Wes.
