HOLDING COURT: The French Dispatch
Welcome to a new blog series here at The Fear of God. HOLDING COURT, a series by FoG Legal Counsel, Dave Courtney (get it?), where he plays both defense and prosecution, making airtight cases for the media he’s consuming; be it horrific, holy, or somewhere in the middle. Friends and FoGgers, all rise, because HOLDING COURT is now in session…
For many around the world “travel” has taken a necessary backseat to the pandemic, relegating such luxuries to the shadows of pre-pandemic memories. So when the Canadian government lifted restrictions for inter-provincial travel this past summer, my wife Jen and I found ourselves packed and ready to go soon after, mapping out a route from our hometown of Winnipeg through Ottawa, Toronto, and across to our final destination, Quebec City.
For those unaware, Winnipeg, Manitoba occupies the sometimes disputed center of Canada, with the closest destination of significance either East or West being between a 14 hour (Calgary) and 22 Hour (Toronto) drive away. And so from our perspective, being quite literally “stuck in the middle” of this single stretch of the TransCanada highway which unites our disparate communities coast to coast has left us feeling especially isolated during the pandemic. Another fun fact about our country- the relationship between Quebec and the rest of Canada has had a lengthy and often tumultuous history which would require a full length book to unpack. I bring this up only to say, one reason we chose Quebec City was precisely for the culture shock it provides us non-French speaking Canadians. Travelling there can feel like you are stepping off the plane somewhere in Europe, full of unique French-Canadian culture, cobblestone streets, old city walls, ancient buildings, stately Churches, markets, and quaint independent shops. As an area of Canada in which English is not the primary language, and where English can even be all but absent in rural Quebec, the province, and in particular this city, can be a true hidden gem for many Canadians looking to immerse themselves in something unique and different right in our own backyard. For Jen and I it was a way to shake off the imposed slumber and re-awaken our senses and lust for life. A way of getting unsettled again and challenging the status quo as we navigated a foreign land and brushed up on our 7th Grade French. Thankfully Jen, a chef turned culinary teacher, trained under a French chef, so she carried the burden of communication for both of us, at least when it came to the most important thing- the food. Which, yes, included poutine.
Accidentally Wes Anderson
Back in 2017, Brooklynite Wally Koval found himself craving a similar adventure. So he complied a list of interesting places to see with plans to then set out and visit them. What eventually became evident as he perused pictures of this make shift, rag-tag, short term bucket list is how many of these places seemed to evoke the same quirky sensibilities as his favorite Director, Wes Anderson. And so “on a whim”, set in motion by a momentary spark of inspiration, he started to compile these pictures on Instagram calling them “accidental captures” of Wes Andersons movies, a small personal project that eventually grew into a global entity and, as of 2021, a new full length book called Accidentally Wes Anderson, featuring photos and accompanying stories from places all around the world that fit this same quirky sensibility.
As an equally considered fan of Wes Anderson’s filmography I picked up the book upon release, which is actually what introduced me to Koval’s story and the broader fostered community now helping to motivate others to see and capture these accidental images present all around us, be it when we were travelling elsewhere or in our own backyard. Speaking of the project Koval writes, “it’s an invitation to look at the world through a slightly different lens, or step to the side and take something in from a slightly different perspective… There is so much beauty in the everyday – from the buildings we pass on our morning commute, to the overlooked stories we’ve never really investigated because… we never knew they were there.” The book has been a slow read for me, which simply means it is one I will be intentionally absorbing in small bites over the course of the coming year. A kind of daily devotional that helps to ignite that lust for life and a desire for the unexpected and unfamiliar. What’s exciting about the book is the way it helps remind me that every image has a story to tell, captured in these brief snippets of accompanying narratives that give the pictures context.
So what precisely does it mean for something to be accidentally Wes Anderson? In the forward Wes Anderson actually asks this vital question of himself- what does it mean to be accidentally myself? Koval describes it using the following words- beautiful, idiosyncratic, interesting, quirky, undiscovered, symmetrical, pastel hues, composed, unexpected, vibrant. Perhaps most aware is the phrase “stranger than fiction’, which conjures the idea of these places necessarily blurring the line between fiction and reality, challenging the ways we occupy these spaces and places as part of a larger narrative. In a way, Wes Anderson locates these images in his films and then works to uncover the stories hidden within, giving them presence and life and imagination. Similarly, Koval further writes about the accidental pictures and stories contained in his book,
“Visually each is set in the ‘real world’ while evoking somewhat imaginary qualities. And while the settings and scenes are all perfectly placed, the underlying narrative and the inner struggles of the characters are quite contrastingly complex… the fact that these ‘bigger than life’ locations can be found in our everyday is pretty incredible.”
The French Dispatch
With the recent release of Wes Anderson’s latest work, The French Dispatch, I found the book afforded me a whole new level of appreciation for his craft. I found myself attuned more acutely to the images he evokes within the film and the way he uses these images to tell a bigger story, one populated by characters, experiences and with context ready to be extrapolated. Now, this is purely my personal assessment, but I think it would be fair to describe this film as the most "Wes Anderson" Wes Anderson film Wes Anderson has ever made. Which is a mouthful, but also a pointed and accurate statement when it comes to considering what it is for him to be accidentally himself- quirky, highly artistic, at times non-sensical, colorful (which is apt given the film is also awash with a glorious use of black and white aesthetics and sequencing), and bursting with a fervent energy. It could also describe a film that might be seen by some as a bit pretentious and lacking in emotional gravitas (read: cold, distant and calculated) when compared to some of his previous efforts. That though would be diminishing the ability of its images to tell the story it desires to tell, which merits much reward for the attentive and invested viewer. When paired with this excellent book the film becomes an exercise in seeing that which has been on display throughout his career, and, truth be told, Anderson's attention to detail, set design, symmetry, and function has never been more evident and more celebrated than it is in The French Dispatch. This film is a true wonder to behold in its clockwork like precision, the hand of a master innovator moving us in and out of scenes as it embodies the daily grind of its dominant New Yorker motif, looking to tell these stories about the world and the people contained within it, creatively bringing the page to life through varied sequences that move from studied newsroom hustle and bustle to sequences that evoke things like grand stage productions and even a wonderful and stunning animated detour.
This New Yorker motif becomes clear from the opening scenes, which breaks this film down into sections, each with its own story representing a page (or pages) in the newspaper. This has the effect of telling the story the article is telling while also telling the story of the writer of the particular column in focus at the same time. Here Anderson is definitely interested in weaving the disparate parts of these different images and chapters, or pages, together using a cohesive narrative imagination, recognizing recurring and intersecting themes/characters such as the presence of existential questions and concerns, the contrasting of life and death, the contrasting of past and present, all of which comes through in his attention to detailed objects, and more importantly objects which are seen and depicted within the particular moments he is trying to capture. One noticeable through line is the use of these expressionist artists who are navigating the larger world the news magazine is trying to cover, be it the tortured painter stuck in prison, the misunderstood and underappreciated cook, the somewhat lost and confused political activist, or any number of the adjacent characters who are also trying to figure things out on the fringes. What's so incredible is how Anderson imagines each story from the voice of its distinct writer, equally artists honing their craft and attempting to create the ideal story, playing around with varied styles that set each section apart and give it its unique identity. Which is really where he ultimately draws all of this together, building a team of journalists/writers all working together and contributing to a final product. Within this comes the unmistakable imprint of Wes Anderson's craft, populating this film with ideas, objects, buildings, rooms, history, escapades, references and relationships.
This is where the intentionality of the established emotional distance is bridged using a detailed and richly submersive commentary exploring what these subjects and objects the reporters and columnists are covering have to say to us about the call to then participate, as readers and viewers, within the world they, and subsequently we, observe. And, as we see in the film, just as individual works of art gain their meaning from conversation, from participation in community, so does the world find its meaning in participation together, even in the confusion and the muddiness of some of its more visible working parts. To observe the mess is to discover the beauty, and to participate in the world is to imitate this beauty by way of its ongoing inspiration.
Thus the question here of why create, why write, why do, is as prominent as the question for us as viewers; why respond, why be inspired, why participate. The answer is the same; so that meaning can be breathed into the objects and spaces we encounter and thus occupy together. So that the symmetry gains a purpose in our relationship to it, or perhaps more aptly considered, so that we can step into the purpose the symmetry holds for us as an embodied practice and function of life and society, breathing that perceived worth out into community and welcoming the stories of the other into participation within a shared space and time. To capture it as a still image so that we can then learn to move with its rhythms and be formed and shaped by the patterns, gaining a greater sense of awareness of our own lives at the same time. It's within this then that we can pick up on the deeper nuances of the films stories within a story approach, finding appeals to social concern, an invested historical imagination, and a cleverly layered and often satirical (giving this film its humorous undertones) voice. Pay attention to the ways in which Anderson shoots these images with the camera often moving where people are still and with people moving within still images. It’s a profound way of stating this truth in visual form.
Moving With the Still Image: Uncovering the Joy of the Accidental In Our World
I truly believe this is one of Anderson's best works, and yet it's hard to measure this against his previous efforts because it also feels very different, at least experientially. The emotional breadth of his style and design might be more evident elsewhere, but it has never had a more intricately crafted and expertly built framework to exist within, which is truly this film’s crowning jewel. It’s something that forces you to stop and pay attention, much in the same way we see his accidental vision at play in our world. The call of this film arrives in tandem with Koval’s insightful global project, which is to grow in our awareness of the beauty that surrounds us in the unexpected, the quirky, the unusual and the unassuming images and patterns that make this world an exciting and invigorating place to occupy. So herein lies the challenge of this film and this book; Pay attention. Look up, look around. Take note. Capture the image, dwell on the stories. Let it inform your/our perspective. Let it ignite a greater awareness of the story that surrounds us in the everyday, and let it bring joy and passion and wonder to our lives in every moment. And then let these stories draw us together. Our world, this life, full of its diversity, uniqueness and its creative tenacity, is one waiting to be discovered.
