‘The Fire Within’: the French masterpiece that influenced Wes Anderson
Throughout his acclaimed career, American auteur Wes Anderson has drawn from a wide range of creative sources while constructing his singular cinematic vision. Ranging from Rushmore to Moonrise Kingdom, Anderson’s eccentricities have contributed to his massive popularity among film fans on a global scale. However, there are some influences that he considers to be major factors in the development of his artistic sensibilities.
With recent projects like Asteroid City and the short Netflix adaptations of Roald Dahl, it has become somewhat apparent that Anderson’s obsessive style is now bordering on tedious. That’s exactly why many fans prefer the charm of his early works, especially gems such as The Royal Tenenbaums. The 2001 comedy remains one of his finest achievements, demonstrating a perfect balance between his demanding visual style and a poignant narrative.
During a conversation with The Telegraph, Anderson once elaborated on his love for French movies and how they impacted his own work. One director whom he repeatedly singled out was Louis Malle, the creative titan behind brilliant films like Elevator to the Gallows. Primarily known in the US for his 1981 movie My Dinner with Andre, Malle’s French output played a significant part during the crucial years of the French New Wave.
Anderson said: “I love French movies. I’ve got a strong prejudice in favour of them. A lot of my favourite directors are French, in particular, Truffaut, Renoir and Louis Malle – and Murmur of the Heart is probably my key Louis Malle movie. My first information on it was in a book of collected reviews by the critic Pauline Kael. But the first time I saw it was when it was re-released in America in the mid-Nineties. I was really ready for it – and I was blown away.”
While Murmur of the Heart left a lasting impression on Anderson, the Malle movie that directly influenced The Royal Tenenbaums was the 1963 film The Fire Within. Based on Pierre Drieu La Rochelle’s novel, it revolves around the meandering journey of a suicidal alcoholic who tries to gain insight into life by visiting his Parisian friends. A touching portrait of the modern malaise that dominated art from that period, The Fire Within is a notable addition to Malle’s filmography.
Influenced by The Fire Within as well as Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons, The Royal Tenenbaums also features moving explorations of deteriorating mental health in its quirky vision of a dysfunctional family. Not just that, it also contains a direct reference to The Fire Within in a line that was directly translated from the movie: “I’m going to kill myself tomorrow.”
Watch a segment from the film below.
