FINE PRINT

SET AROUND A FICTIONAL MAGAZINE, WES ANDERSON’S COMIC ANTHOLOGY THE FRENCH DISPATCH IS A TRIBUTE TO BOTH A BYGONE ERA AND THE WRITTEN WORD. TOTAL FILM LISTENS UP AS THE CAST AND CREW GIVE THE LOW-DOWN ON THE DIRECTOR’S MOST AMBITIOUS MOVIE YET.

- JAMES MOTTRAM AND DAMON WISE

Let’s start at the end. As the credits roll on Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, he pays tribute to a dozen or more writers whose work appeared in The New Yorker. It was the publication that shaped his tastes, long before he became the celebrated filmmaker of Rushmore, Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel. “So many writers who I loved happened to be published there,” the 52-year-old writer-director explains.

Now it’s the inspiration for his newest masterwork. Set in the mid20th century around the (fictional) French town of Ennui-sur-Blasé, the titular French Dispatch is a supplement of a Kansas newspaper dedicated to bringing European art, politics and cuisine to readers back home. With the magazine edited by the eccentric Arthur Howitzer Jr. (played by Bill Murray), the film primarily takes the shape of three short stories – articles from the latest issue.

‘The Concrete Masterpiece’, penned by J.K.L. Berensen (Tilda Swinton), recounts the tale of an incarcerated artist (Benicio Del Toro), his affair with a prison guard (Léa Seydoux) and the machinations of an art dealer (Adrien Brody). ‘Revisions To A Manifesto’, inspired by the May ’68 protests, sees dogged reporter Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand) profile quirky student activist Zeffirelli (Timothée Chalamet). Finally, ‘The Private Dining Room Of The Police Commissioner’, by Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright), delves into a culinary curiosity involving a chef (Stephen Park) and a police commissioner (Mathieu Amalric).

So sit back for a little oral history, as TF prepares to take you through Wes Anderson’s latest dispatch…