The French Dispatch: Wes Anderson’s love letter to “The New Yorker” and to the written word in general is utterly delightful in its gentle melancholy. After all, the film is essentially the visual telling of the last issue of a magazine, the obituary of the editor responsible, and his life’s work, as both come to an end at the same time. Furthermore, it’s a love letter to someone who protected his writers and gave them the freedom to do as they wanted; in other words, uncompromised storytelling. The film itself, other than the prologue and epilogue, consists of 4 independent episodes, each narrated by its writer. The voices of Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, and Jeffrey Wright read the beautifully written words, which would be enticing even if played over a black screen.

But this is Anderson, and what pops up on the screen is magical. The film is inspired by everything from Jacques Tati to François Truffaut to Hergé, mixing film stock and aspect ratio; his usual suspects below-the-line (production designer Adam Stockhausen, costume designer Milena Canonero, cinematographer Robert Yeoman) contribute with top-notch work once more; the work is meticulous and unique-looking, as usual, with plenty to look at at any given moment. Composer Alexandre Desplat’s original score is playful and beautiful, drinking from Georges Delerue’s score for La Nuit Américaine.

About five issues of “The French Dispatch” could be written alone about the film’s cast. It is gigantic, and they are doing lovely work: Bill Murray, as the magazine’s editor, is quietly touching; Swinton, McDormand, and Wright, as the three authors writing the main stories, give incredible emotion to the narration and the performances are very engaging. Jeffrey Wright has to mentioned as the highlight, with Frances McDormand a close second. Léa Seydoux and Timothée Chalamet also leave a mark in their smaller roles.

Anderson directed the animated music video for “Aline”, a song present in the soundtrack that doubles as a lovely piece of marketing for the film.

Read what I wrote before: The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun