photo credit:http://wordpress.hotpress.com/screenlover/2012/05/24/wes-anderson-season-in-the-ifi-june-2-24/
When you watch
certain movies you can tell who’s behind the camera, whether it’s the
cinematography, dialogue, editing, or maybe even sound. This is definitely the
case for American film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, and Academy Award
winner, Wes Anderson. His name is echoed throughout many film buff’s mouths and
folks, there’s definitely a reason why. I had the pleasure of being introduced
to Anderson’s brilliance through his 2012 Academy Award winning movie for best
screenplay movie, Moonrise Kingdom.
Moonrise Kingdom takes you on a journey
of two runaway children who plan a whole scheme to live together in solitude
and happiness, escaping the world they know. In their desperate attempt to
escape their impact on the world they so dreadfully want no part in is
unmistakable. The relationships they hold, destroy, and create with their
families, friends, camp counselors and even local police officers is an
intriguing experience that takes you in and does not let you go. Anderson has
this way of creating a whole new world through film. In Moonrise Kingdom these kids naiveté and goals are all completely
believable. It is as if Anderson creates a peep hole to some alternate
universe, one where nothing but the safety and love of these kids becomes
priority to the viewer and the characters that revolve around them. Moonrise Kingdom received a fresh rating
of 94% on rottentomatatoes.com and you can pick it up on blu ray now.
Like Moonrise Kingdom before it, The Royal Tenenbaums takes you into a
whole new world, you get to peep into the life of the Tenenbaum family, an
intriguing and complicated family (but then again who’s isn’t). What makes this
such an “Anderson” film is the camera
work. If you’ve watched any of his movies you might already know what I’m
talking about. Anderson pans the camera like a mad man, by this I mean he moves
the camera up, down, left, and right in a specific and purposeful manner. In The Royal Tenenbaums he pans in order to
introduce the family moving the camera with no cutting to each level of the
house. While this style is no trademark of Anderson he definitely uses it
enough to call it his own. It is such a
specific thing to do that you can’t help but notice the shot. The Royal Tenenbaums received a fresh
rating of 80% and with its star studded cast, you should definitely check it
out.
Fantastic Mr. Fox is a little different
from Anderson’s portfolio as it is a full-length animated feature. In this stop
motion epic featuring George Clooney and Meryl Streep the Fantastic Mr. Fox goes through dangerous and adventurous depths to
provide for his family and the community at large. It is definitely tradition
for Anderson to break the fourth wall in a quirky and informal kind of way.
While it completely breaks the tension or mood of the scene it is necessary as
he does this to inform the audience. In Fantastic
Mr. Fox Anderson does this when introducing Mr. Fox’s three obstacles to a
better life, he creates a kind of live portrait of these three farmers with all
sorts of dangerous attitudes towards scavengers such as Mr. Fox. Fantastic Mr. Fox received a 93% on
rottentomatoes.com and is an animated feature that has pixar worrying.
While we haven’t
gone through every Wes Anderson movie we have analyzed a majority of his styles
and what makes his movies special. He creates a story that brings you into a
whole other world filled with interesting camera work and breaking of the
fourth wall.
Who's your favorite director?
Who's your favorite director?
