Do you have a plan, Mr. Fix, regarding the film "Phoenician Scheme"? - Paul Matyjasz discusses the film.
Modern world is ruled by antiheroes. The President of the United States is Donald Trump, the richest man is Elon Musk, the best showman is Kanye West, and in Russia, even Stas Mikhailov isn't the one aiming for the throne, but it's SHAMAN.
By 2025, this became so obvious that even Wes Anderson, an American director living in a world of his fantasies far removed from the brutal and mad reality, made the main character of his new movie an arms dealer.
The protagonist, impressively dressed and odious dealing conspirator by the name of Anatol "Ja-Ja" Cord, is played by the accomplished Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro Sanchez ("Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", "Traffic", "Sicario", "The Hateful Eight", "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Sicario: Day of the Soldado", "Star Wars: The Last Jedi", "The French Dispatch", "Casino Royale").
Ja-Ja starts his business journey on a first-class flight of an unnamed plane. The shot, as usual with Wes Anderson, is perfectly symmetrical, frontal, and so crowded with gentle and luminous details (this takes place in the 1950s). But in just a second, a massive hole appears in the right wing of the airplane, splitting some mysterious passenger in half, and the events take a chaotic turn.
After a few minutes, during which the drama and comedy are equally intense, the plane falls upon a cornfield. Cord manages to survive the sixth attempt on his life. Yet, he finds himself pondering the pointlessness of existence and sets out to compile his will and find a worthy heir.
Finding someone worthy doesn't take long—his nine sons live in a dorm across the street, while his oldest daughter he gave away to a convent long ago. Now it is this twenty-year-old bride of Christ who becomes the primary candidate for his vast fortunes and real estate empire.
Of course, the vastness of his fortunes and real estate, as well as the empire itself, soon come under question. Competitors of Cord, who are not only the heads of corporations but also some governments, have inflated the prices of fasteners and put the last promising venture of the cunning businessman, the one featured in the film's title, "The Phoenician Scheme," on the brink of bankruptcy.
In terms of ancient Phoenicia, this connection is quite distant. It seems that Cord's plans involve creating a transportation network of bridges and tunnels somewhere in the Middle East. So, the majority of the film is a journey of Ja-Ja and his daughter through exotic landscapes and complex negotiations with business partners.
Partners, as in ten previous films of Anderson, are played by some of the biggest and most renowned contemporary actors: Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Riz Ahmed, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Willem Dafoe, and Bill Murray. Murray appears on screen for less than a minute, but plays a wealthy man.
Previously, Anderson, far from politics, big business, and religion, preferred to focus on patients of mental health clinics, teachers, doctors, oceanographers, railroad workers, foxes, boy scouts, concierges, porters, dogs, journalists, artists, criminals, policemen, chefs, astronomers, photographers, cowboys, and even extraterrestrial beings. However, bureaucrats, oligarchs, religious leaders, as well as members of their pantheon - angels, saints, and God - were never mentioned by Anderson before.
It seems that something has disturbed the Hollywood prodigy, forced him to leave his ivory tower, pay attention to the grimy world, contemplate his soul, and make a movie about secret memorandums, cartel deals, corporate diversions, offshores, and the all-seeing heavenly eye watching over them. Obviously, each contract is signed with a feather quill, under the accompaniment of Igor Stravinsky, and every character wears a velvet coat and striped socks with at least three shades of ochre. However, drops of blood shatter this idyll, dripping unsightly, formless stains on the marble tabletop.
Even such a detached from reality aesthete as Wes Anderson, at the age of 56, seems to have cracked and stumbled. The world has become too ugly to continue ignoring it, hiding behind the cardboard decorations of the movie set. In "The Phoenician Scheme," for the first time in his career, Anderson lets darkness and genuine fear into his puppet theater—fear of death. Perhaps it's because he himself has become a father—his daughter is almost ten. And this movie, despite its baroque elegance, resembles not another flawless diorama, but an awkward, though sincere attempt to talk to a child about the real world.
Enjoy your viewing.
What else to watch?
Warm, Luminous Obituary in the Paper Press. Pavel Matyáš on the film "The French Dispatch"
[1]: "The French Dispatch" - Wes Anderson's New Masterpiece, CinemaBlend, www.cinemablend.com/news/2942859/the-french-dispatch-wes-anderson-new-masterpiece (Accessed 2023.04.17).
In this captivating film, "The Phoenician Scheme," directed by Wes Anderson, the story follows the life of Anatol "Ja-Ja" Cord, an arms dealer played by Benicio Del Toro Sanchez. The movie delves into the world of news, movies, and TV, entertaining viewers with its intricate plot and stellar cast that includes Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, and Scarlett Johansson, among others. As the movie progresses, Ja-Ja embarks on a journey to establish a transportation network, and in the process, he encounters various challenges, including threats to his fortunes and real estate empire, found in the realm of entertainment.
