The Phoenician Scheme: A Wes Anderson Classic

Earlier this year, the critically acclaimed writer and director Wes Anderson, put out yet another incredible film, the black comedy, The Phoenician Scheme. The film is set some time in the 1950’s, in a fictional middle eastern country called ‘Phoenicia’. It follows arms dealer and industrialist Anatole “Zsa-Zsa” Korda, a man who is consistently narrowly surviving assassination attempts. The movie opens with him surviving a terrible plane crash and, while unconscious, enters the perfectly symmetrical, black and white, afterlife where a court of angels, judge his worthiness to enter heaven. When he inevitably survives, he realizes he cannot run from his fate forever, and decides to make amends with his only daughter, a catholic sister in the process of becoming a nun, Liesl. He asks her to quit the church and become his sole heir, despite having 9 sons that he keeps in a boarding school across the street from his mansion. They visit on Saturdays; Liesl is convinced Korda killed her mother, which makes their relationship extremely testy. She also meets Bjorn during this time. Bjorn (portrayed by Michael Cera) is an entomologist whom Korda hired to teach him about insects. He also acts as Korda's administrative assistant, and we later find out he is a spy sent from the United States to gather information about Korda's unethical business practices. The story follows the three of them, Korda, Liesl, and Bjorn, on a journey across ‘Modern Greater Phoenicia’ as we watch them deal with family secrets, more assassination attempts, and wild investor meetings. The film, of course, is shot in classic Wes Anderson style—meticulous, often symmetrical framing, interesting props such as “shoebox documents,” corncob pipes, and beautiful color grading. It walks the line between absurdity, and pure artistry. It plays as a satire of capitalist greed and patriarchal control, echoing the likes of The Grand Budapest Hotel in its stylized depiction of political power games. This film will rope you in, break your heart, and make you laugh at the same time.

5/5 stars on my scale.