Searchlight Pictures has unveiled the first official trailer for Wes Anderson’s latest film, titled The French Dispatch. The comedic drama follows a group of journalists at an American newspaper bureau set in a fictional 20th-century French city.
The latest from the iconoclastic filmmaker stars a stacked cast that ranges from Bill Murray to Saoirse Ronan. The French Dispatch is “a love letter to journalists set at an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city”, centering on three storylines of varying styles. The film is inspired by Anderson’s love of The New Yorker, with several characters and events in the film being based on real-life equivalents from the magazine including the May ’68 student occupation protests of France.
Check out the first trailer for The French Dispatch below:
Unsurprisingly, the trailer is a delight. Displaying Anderson’s trademark unique style in which every composition has something to indulge in. Many harsher critics might think this “schtick” is getting a little long in the tooth when it comes to Anderson’s almost obsessive style, but it says something that he has such a recognizable style at all. This is a filmmaker that creates unique and wholly lived-in worlds and arguably made his best film just a few years ago. So, yes, The French Dispatch is most assuredly a Wes Anderson movie. Plan accordingly as you already know if you’re going to catch it in theaters or not.
The trailer also has no shortage of recognizable names including Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Steve Park, Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson. The film’s supporting cast features several of Anderson’s recurring collaborators, including Liev Schreiber, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, and Anjelica Huston, among others.
The French Dispatch represents Anderson’s 10th directorial effort and his fourth working with Searchlight Pictures, with his previous projects for the studios including The Darjeeling Limited, multiple Oscar-winner The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Isle of Dogs. Now that Disney owns Fox, The French Dispatch will be his second Disney film after The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, which was produced by Touchstone Pictures back in 2004.
You can also check out the first poster for the film which spotlights the familiar animation style from Anderson’s illustrations and concept art (including the Criterion Collection covers that house many of his films for home video release).
The French Dispatch hits theaters starting July 24th, 2020.
Source: Searchlight Pictures
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