It was a busy week at work, but I managed to stick to my routine. I went running twice and played in a football game. I only made time to watch a movie, it was The Phoenician Scheme, from one of my former favorite directors, Wes Anderson.
I came across this movie by chance but I had been following Anderson’s cinema for a long time; his films like The Darjeeling Limited, Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Hotel Chevalier and The Grand Budapest Hotel caught enjoyed me in terms of cast, cinematography, mise-en-scène, and narration. However, with The French Dispatch and his most recent short movies, I felt he had lost some narrative depth and flow.
The Phoenician Scheme is also visually impressive. The cinematography, mise-en-scène, and sense of humor reflect Anderson’s style. Yet, the story lacked depth and a good narrative flow. It felt like distinct stories were brought together and disconnected from one another.
On the other hand, there was one thing special in this movie and it sparked my curiosity about the Auteur: the subject of this movie and characters like Zero Moustafa in The Grand Budapest Hotel reflect some cultural references.
This movie is dedicated to Fouad Mikhael Maalouf and it helped me build up some connections in my mind. I haven’t researched this extensively, but Amin Maalouf and Ibrahim Maalouf have Lebanese origins, so it seems likely that Fouad Mikhael Maalouf, Wes Anderson’s father-in-law, also has connections with this region. This provides a suggestive clue about the cultural influences that may inform Anderson’s storytelling.
In short, while The Phoenician Scheme offers a powerful visual experience with lack of good narrative flow, I find the film valuable for the clues it offers into Anderson’s cultural references.