The mention of the name Wes Anderson is expected to delight movie lovers with specific preferences. His films always have perfectly composed images, bright and pastel colors, and we can even describe this type of film in the Wes Anderson style.
Today we'll sort all 11 Wes Anderson movies that have been released, so let's see what your favorites rank!
11. Bottled Rocket (1996)
Oscar Best Director Martin Scorsese saw Anderson's debut feature film "Rocket in a Bottle" and immediately became his fan. Anderson, he later wrote, "knew how to vividly and richly convey the simple joys and interactions between people." This sensibility is rare in movies. ”
Owen and Luke Wilson play buddies Digenham and Anthony, the former freeing the latter from a mental hospital and giving him an elaborate 75-year heist plan that will benefit both of them for life. They start small, but during a small robbery, Anthony is attracted to a lover and the alliance between the two begins to unravel.
It's a compact and characterful calling card that shows the first signs of Anderson's later unique style – it's delightful and well-crafted in its own right, but also a prelude to a much larger work.
10. Isle of Dogs (2018)
From a purely hilarious point of view, "Isle of Dogs" can be considered Wes Anderson's funniest movie.
His unique burlesque rhythm in reality shooting is even more exciting in his animated films.
It's a rare Wes Anderson film that leans toward science fiction, imagining a corrupt, authoritarian Japanese mayor banishing all dogs to a world where they are thrown over to garbage islands after the outbreak of "dog flu," where they compete for the tastiest trash scraps thrown over.
Brian Cranston, Bob Balaban, Jeff Goldblum, Ed Norton, and Bill Murray voice a group of villains who stumble upon Koyu Rankin, a young human who is searching for his lost dog, Spotts.
It's a beautiful work by any standard (look at the sushi assembly scene again and you'll be amazed), but the accusations of appropriateness aren't entirely inaccurate, and it's a relatively lighthearted one of Wes's films.
9. Crossing Darjeeling (2007)
Wes Anderson's fifth film is less durable than his other works: it features the confusing short opening "Hotel Chevalier" starring Natalie Portman, mostly less flattering characters, and uncomfortably ill-thought-out colonial politics.
It is generally accepted that this is a secondary work of Weiss. But "Across Darjeeling" doesn't have to be limited in terms of fun. The film was shot in real locations in Rajasthan, India, with beautiful pictures, rich colors and coordinated camera angles.
In addition, as always, the soundtrack is always an unforgettable element in the work of this director, and here the soundtrack plays its most part, a wonderful fusion of East (original soundtrack from the classic Satya Jit Ray film) and West (including three deep cuts by the band "The Kinks").
Anderson also develops a nostalgic romance for the train in the title in the film, especially in the recurring slow-motion shots of last-minute runs, where Owen Wilson, Adrian Brody and Jason Swarzman are truly free of some emotional baggage.
8. Mission in France (2021)
Anderson liked a frame narrative, and as he matured, he began moving the frame over his movie mantelpiece. The French Mission isn't just Anderson's first live-action film in seven years: instead, Anderson mimics the fictional magazine in the title by telling the unique story contained in the fictional magazine.
First, Owen Wilson introduces Annuil-Sulbrazer on his bicycle, and then we see the violent prisoner Moses Rosenthaler (Benicio del Toro) become a phenomenon in the art world, but in the process loses his source of inspiration (Léa Cedú).
Then, a student uprising led by the revolutionary Zeferelli (Timothy Chalemed) was covered by an obsessive journalist (Francis McDormand), and the last policeman (Jeffrey White) recalled a kidnapping.
This anthology approach makes the film more unbalanced than most of his work, but it's amazing how skillfully he tackles so many stories and characters.
7. "Life in the Water" (2004)
After a second career apocalypse with Lost in Tokyo, Bill Murray's mocking, haggard anti-charismatic image became the compass for Anderson's attachment-filled aquatic adventure.
He plays Steve Gisu, a burnout, waning oceanographer who wants to find the "desert jaguar" that eats his partner Esteban. But the search for the shark monster and the arrival of Steve's "son" Ned (Owen Wilson) reignited everyone's passion, as did journalist Jane (Cate Blanchett), who became part of a love triangle between a father and son journalist.
It's a very interesting film, and you can see some of the first hints of where Anderson will be going in this relatively early stage.
There's a stop-motion animated stop-motion animation of crabs and other creatures that hint at his impulse to get into animation, and an absolutely stunning shot sequence of us circling Steve's ship – a work where the photographer reached the pinnacle of his career.
6. "Asteroid City" (2023)
Anderson's latest work elevates medieval America to interstellar level, turning a small astronomy enthusiast event in the desert into a completely different close encounter.
Tom Hanks and Scarlett Johansson joined Anderson's crew for the first time, and Johnson in particular performed well: worldly and fragile, with a bitter aftertaste.
It's by far the most advanced example of Anderson taking his beloved framing narrative approach, and it's also the most advanced example of laying them out everywhere: we also get the story of a troubled playwright who is deeply obsessed with his male lead and tries to piece together a story before opening.
Just as at the beginning of the Anderson era, Jason Schwarzman as a widowed photographer Augie has been a key figure in keeping everything in order and, as always, has done the job perfectly.
5. "The Amazing Papa Fox" (2009)
This is a work directed by Anderson based on the story of Roald Dahl, with George Clooney and Meryl Streep voiced Mr. Fox and Lady Fox, which shows how high Anderson's prestige is.
When the Fox family moves to their new home, they become targeted by notorious anti-fox farmers Borgess, Bunce, and Bin.
Anderson adds many of his own features to Dahl's story: Mr. Fox retires from the burglar industry to become a newspaper columnist, and his relationship with his children is strained, which gets worse when his high-achieving cousin Christopherson moves in.
Mr. Fox wants to regain his fighting spirit, and the only way is to steal the farmer's belongings without her knowledge. But Christopherson is arrested, and Mr. Fox needs to find a way to get him out.
The film shows Anderson's most carefree and lively side, and his meticulously designed and handcrafted stop-motion animations are stunning, not only as nuanced as his live-action films, but also full of creativity.
4. Kingdom of the Rising Moon (2012)
This story about lovers who fled their homes is the closest Anderson has come to making a genre film to date (although Anderson's film is a genre in its own right).
It's a classic coming-of-age story: The orphan Sam and the rich but somewhat scary Susie are two gifted 12-year-olds who met at summer camp in 1964 and couldn't stand the idea of separation.
So they eloped together and set up their own camp. But the adults chase them, led by Captain Sharp, played by Bruce Willis.
However, it's not your traditional coming-of-age story either. As a wonderful montage of their letters to each other shows, Sam and Susie are silently full of anxiety, burning kennels and smashing glass windows, with a feeling that a particular fall, innocent American style is being hunted by them.
The film has beautiful graphics, with Jared Gilman and Carla Hayward perfectly grasping the roles as the young lovers.
3. "Youth" (1998)
The importance of Jason Schwarzman's role as a fearfully motivated but academically deficient student Max Fischer to the entire Wes Anderson program cannot be underestimated.
Schwarzman perfectly portrays Anderson's tone, playing the very nervous student Max, who is about to be expelled from his prestigious school, but when he falls in love with the widowed Rosemary (Olivia Williams), decides to pursue her.
However, he was only 15 years old and was defeated by local businessman Herman Bloom (Bill Murray, who at the time reinvigorated his troubled career through eccentric little roles).
However, Max isn't going to be knocked down, and the war between him and Bloom escalates quickly, giving us Anderson's best soundtrack moments: an unexpected attack, a destroyed bike and a severed brake, accompanied by The Who's "Quick Finish When He Leaves."
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
In Wes Anderson's films, there are many amazing cast choices. But when he paired Ralph Fiennes with Mr. Gustav, the concierge head of the charming Grand Budapest Hotel, he opened up a real treasure.
Mr. Gustav charmed an older customer in the restaurant and was presented with a valuable painting in the will of one of his lovers. Unfortunately, her son was furious, and he accused Gustav of murder and arrested him.
Despite the film's prison break and multiple murders, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" could have been a dessert — literally: the plot stop included a recipe for making cream puffs and custard — but the romantic plot and Gustav's deep love of the restaurant make the story more realistic.
For many, the film is Wes Anderson's most outstanding work.
1. "The Trenbaums" (2001)
The Trenbaums was Wes Anderson's breakthrough film and quintessential independent film for a generation, still regarded as his greatest work.
Rude, stubborn and unapproachable New York family elder Royle Tenerbaum (played by Gene Hackman, his last truly great character) gathers his children together when he announces that he is dying—they were once geniuses, but now emotionally lost.
Chas (played by Ben Stiller), a former mathematical genius, is now a father and widow who is too protective of his children.
Margot (played by Gwyneth Paltrow with Nico-style eyeliner) hasn't written a successful theatrical production in years, while former tennis prodigy Richie (played by Luke Wilson) wanders around after experiencing a breakdown.
The results of the film are laughable, humorous, and sometimes heartbreaking. Wes Anderson sometimes gets some criticism for being too pretentious, but the film really touches people's hearts, especially for the tormented Richie, where the deep humanity negates all perfectly polished style.
The opening of the movie, accompanied by the music of "Hey Judy", is also the pinnacle of Wes: simple, good-looking, interesting and rich and multi-layered.
epilogue
In this era of Disney domination of Hollywood, Wes Anderson is one of the few oddities. Thanks to him, we don't get caught up in obscure and esoteric college art films and boring superhero sequels with only visual effects.
His films are like between a heavy roadside stall and a suspended elegant high-end restaurant, a fresh and not greasy little dessert, warm and moisturizing us.
Which of your favorite Wes Anderson movies is there? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss!