The Freaking Film Fanatic with Nathan Unck
The Phoenician Scheme Rated: PG-13 for story elements, brief nude artwork and language.
It's no secret that I am a huge Wes Anderson fan. I have loved just about all of his movies, with the exception of The French Dispatch, which is the only Wes Anderson film where I felt that the film was slow, and his trademark sense of humor couldn't save it. Most of his films have a lot of deeper meaning behind his crazy plots and stories. If you take his films at face value, you get a silly film that is just weird. However, if you try to pull back the layers, there are a lot of great lessons you can learn or are a reminder of truths about family and feelings and how complex they can be.
I am happy to say that The Phoenician Scheme is a return to form Wes Anderson film. The story is about a man named Zsa-Zsa Korda, played by Benicio Del Toro, who is a wealthy man, who is tied up trying build a large infrastructure containing a dam, a railroad track and tunnel and a canal in a made-up European country called Phonesia. He is trying to work with other wealthy partners to get things built, but he is also trying hard to weasel his way out of having to put any of his own money in the project, which creates animosity with the other business partners. Not only that, but he also has nine adopted boys, and a daughter named Liesl, who is a nun. Zsa-Zsa goes to visit Liesl for the first time in six years and wants her to be the heir to his whole estate when he passes away.
When the film opens, we learn that Zsa-Zsa has had many assassination attempts and close-calls with death. He states that he is an atheist, but as the film goes on, and he has many attempts on his life, the film goes into black and white, and he is visiting heaven, and then being brought back to life. We see many scenes where he is trying to get out of paying for the large infrastructure. Liesl joins him on this trip, but there is a "tutor" for her, played by Michael Cera, who may or not be whom he says he is. The other businessmen, played by a long cast of very popular actors, such as Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Willem Dafoe, Rupert Friend, Benedict Cumberbatch. and even a small cameo with Bill Murray.
The plot can be a little messy at times, but the individual scenes that make up the film are very funny and clever. While the story isn't Wes Anderson's best story, it hits all of the other points that make all of his other films work just right. It may not be The Grand Budapest Hotel or Fantastic Mr. Fox, but it's a fun adventure worth taking.
I think that when all is said and done, it's a fun film to watch, but there is a deeper meaning about family and legacy, and the way Zsa-Zsa interacts with Liesl really show how much he wants her to be his heir and legacy, especially with all of his near-death experiences. He goes from being an atheist to believing there is something more to life and death besides money and how rich and powerful someone can be, while at the same time trying to pass his legacy on so that he is never really forgotten, and I think it's a great thing to remember while you are busy laughing at the chaos that ensues.
As far as the PG-13 rating goes, it's mostly played for laughs, but the story is a little more adult, not in a dirty way, but just a story that children won't really understand. There is hardly any bad language in the film, but there is some, and there is a brief shot of a few renaissance art books with nude artwork on them, but it's a "blink and you missed it" shot, so there really isn't anything to dwell on.
I know that Wes Anderson's films aren't for everyone. Some people think he's brilliant, while others find him pretentious. I critique his films on a film-to-film basis, and for the most part, I really do enjoy his films. They are fun and silly, while at the same time reminding you of family and relationships, and how important they are in this life, and in the next. If you are a fan of Wes Anderson, you will have a good time.
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