Five scenes that prove Wes Anderson is a cinematic genius
Calling someone a cinematic auteur is a unique form of praise too often lobbed around as if it were any old form of adulation. Yet, to be called an auteur is to be praised for your unique individualism in an industry that has seen tens of thousands of filmmakers enter its realm, with only such directors as Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Claire Denis, Kelly Reichardt and Wes Anderson being worthy of the title.
Indeed, Anderson is one of the very first directors young movie fans are drawn to, largely for his sheer unabashed expression of identity, using style as substance to explore some of the most haunting and existential questions in human existence. Ever since 1996 and the release of his feature debut, Bottle Rocket, it was clear Anderson was an obvious talent, with Scorsese naming the film as one of his favourites of the decade, stating: “I loved the people in this film who are genuinely innocent in this film, more than even they know”.
Decades later and with seven Oscar nominations to his name, Anderson is considered one of the modern century’s greatest minds, making some of the era’s most inventive movies, from 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums to 2023’s Asteroid City. Though each film boasts his iconic and eccentric visual aesthetic, his knack for narrative storytelling gets better and better as his filmography grows.
Explore the five scenes that prove Anderson is a cinematic genius below, where his filmography is explored and dissected from top to bottom.
Five superb Wes Anderson scenes:
The Car Chase – The French Dispatch (2021)
One of the best features of Anderson’s filmography is his cinematic versatility, being able to channel his style into several different forms of filmmaking, including animation. While his entirely animated movies Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs impressively show this off; it’s the moment in 2021’s The French Dispatch when the visual style suddenly switches to mimic hand-drawn 2D animation that truly impresses.
Done so as if merely a creative flourish by the filmmaker, the moment in The French Dispatch feels almost egotistical, demonstrating to the world quite how far his range as a filmmaker extends. The European animation style that evokes the eye-popping pace and exploration of Hergé’s Tintin works perfectly to provide a gorgeous conclusion to the movie, showing that the director can work in two different modes of filmmaking almost simultaneously.
The Jaguar Shark – The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
Neither the aforementioned French Dispatch nor 2004’s Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is considered the very best of Anderson’s filmography, but there is no doubt that the movies are stuffed with the same level of care and attention as the rest of his filmography. Such can be seen in the climactic scene of the 2004 film when Steve Zissou, played by Bill Murray, and his crew travel to the depths of the ocean to find the mythical shark that killed his partner.
Yet, once they travel miles beneath sea level, they find the Jaguar Shark in its natural habitat, gliding through the water as if dancing for its onlookers. “I wonder if it remembers me,” Zissou asks before emotionally falling apart in one of Anderson’s most profound moviemaking moments that combines his deft ability to get to the heart of life’s hardest concepts and his passion for handcrafted filmmaking.
Meet Max – Rushmore (1998)
The release of Rushmore in 1998 was monumental for Anderson’s career, with the movie jolting audiences and critics to the attention of the burgeoning filmmaker. Starring Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, the film, telling the story of Max, a teenager at an Academy who falls in love with an older teacher and engages in a love triangle with a middle-aged industrialist, may be one of the director’s funniest and most accessible movies.
One of its finest moments is its opening scene, something that Anderson is remarkably consistent at executing, with Max being introduced through a dream sequence that perfectly sets the personality for his character and the tone of the movie’s comedy. Not only is it impeccably written, but it also contains many of Anderson’s visual flourishes, snapping with ferocious energy and creative verve.
Meeting the Wolf – Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Having taken to animation on two occasions, Fantastic Mr. Fox is certainly his most accomplished piece of work of the duo and may, indeed, be his best film period. Adapted from the Roald Dahl book of the same name, the film perfectly brings the mood and warmth of the author’s tale to life while merging with Anderson’s liking for existential characters. Somehow, the two ingredients mix effortlessly.
The culmination of these efforts leads to the best scene in the movie when George Clooney’s Fox and his gang of friends come across a majestic black wolf in the wild. Though he is scared of the beast, he treats it much like Zissou treats the shark in Anderson’s aforementioned 2004 film, being struck by its beauty and freedom in the great open plains of the wild.
Raising their fists in unison, they share an affinity with the sheer liberty of nature despite being on either side of its reality.
Opening Scene – Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
A tale of young romance, childish wonder, and ceaseless creativity, 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom is one of Anderson’s many masterworks, following Sam and Suzy, who run off with each other into the wilderness, prompting a search party to be sent out. Starring Edward Norton, Bruce Willis and Kara Hayward, the film captures the freedom of youth with utter perfection throughout the film, yet, no moment does more to bottle the frenetic excitement of youth than the opening scene when we explore the lighthouse and family home of Suzy.
Handling the camera with gentle care but also tenacious confidence, Anderson explores the home as if it were a children’s doll house, peeking into each neatly arranged room that is framed with a familiar symmetrical feel. The sound of ‘The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’ by Benjamin Britten fuels the entire exploration, and Anderson ingeniously captures the frenetic pleasure of escape and exploration in just the opening sequence.
