6th March 2022 - Wes Anderson
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My first experience of a Wes Anderson film was The Royal Tennenbaums.
I was at a boarding school and the library had it there. Mentally, I
was struggling with the notion of failing and being arse at several
things. This came about in insomnia and numbness. Throw in the
internet being shut off at 10pm and watching DVDs was one of few
options I had. The film is a delight and one of his best films. As a
film, it ticks off near enough all of Wes Anderson's tropes. There is
a fairly unnaturally vibrant colour palette, damaged characters who
have complicated relationships to one another, long histories which
are revealed at the most dramatic moment, a very concious way of
framing each shot and of course a familiar set of actors. The Royal
Tennenbaums focuses on a family of gifted children after life has
battered them. They rejoin together due to the father becoming ill and
reevaluate their relationships. There is something in the mix of
writing and how things are shot which makes me feel. Some people feel
that Wes Anderson films are cloying and all about aesthetic. They are
right but they are focussed on a specific part and not the whole. Wes
Anderson makes me feel. It does not matter how numb I think I am,
watching such a film makes me feel something. It is a bit like
emotional healing in a way.
I forgot to mention the key trope for a Wes Anderson film. Well, one
of the key ones at least. Each film has to have a fantastic soundtrack
predominantly made up from 60s/70s rock. The Royal Tennenbaums is
where I first heard Nico's glorious voice. My searches to hear more
Nico lead to me to Velvet Underground and to so many more artists. One
of Wes Anderson's failures/not so popular films is The Life Aquatic
with Steve Zissou. It is an interesting film which is well shot but
just doesn't quite hit right. However, I own the soundtrack as it is a
delight. Seu Jorge was essentially asked to translate and perform a
series of David Bowie songs in his low key accoustic style with
Portuguese lyrics. It is delightful.
My favourite film by Wes Anderson is the Darjeeling Limited. It
follows 3 brothers who are on a journey following the death of their
father. They travel by train across India and that is about it really.
It focuses on their relationships (what a surprise!) and I love how it
brings details out althrough out the film. The soundtrack is a lovely
mix of the Kinks and classic Indian film instrumentals. Where I can
understand people not liking it is the ending. There is not a clear
end as such. However, if you reflect on the film as a spiritual
journey then it makes perfect sense.
I heartily recommend near enough all of the Wes Anderson films I have
seen. The only one I am wary of is Moonrise Kingdom. The film is about
a scout meeting a girl and they run away together. It is sweet in many
ways but feels slightly perverted in others. We are seeing a pair of
12 year olds find love and that being filmed feels wrong in a way. I
think I am applying safeguarding filters and struggling to seperate
that from the story. It would probably help if it didn't involve a
scout troop really. However, it is well shot etc and worth watching
still.
Today was a weirdly active and then not active day. I have cleared my
hall way of recycling which seems to have opened my mind. Add to that
the watching of Rushmore and Bottle Rocket and I seem to feel today.
Numbness is weird. It creeps up and I find it hard to realise. Then
the environment changes and reinforces the numbness. Life passes by
until a kink in the numbness armour appears. Some times it takes
several but eventually I find myself making those kinks bigger until I
am feeling again. It is weird and Wes Anderson films help make some
sense of it all somehow. I just forget about them when I shouldn't.
If you are still reading this dirge, reflect on how you feel and how
you perceive the past fortnight. If you feel that it is just passing
by without any associated emotion then maybe you are in a numb stage.
Put on a Wes Anderson film and see if that helps you find the kink you
need to get out of it!
