The trailer for Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch is here. Nearly twenty-five years into his filmmaking career, Anderson has developed a style and sensibility that’s extremely distinct (too much so, his detractors would argue), yet difficult to truly emulate. Between his frequent use of ’60s and ’70s pop songs, perfectly symmetrical set pieces, steady-handed camera moves, and storybook framing, there’s no mistaking an Anderson film, even ones with plots as worlds apart as Rushmore, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Isle of Dogs.

His latest film, The French Dispatch, is described as a “love letter” to journalists and takes place at the French outpost of a fictional weekly American magazine in the 20th century. Scheduled to open in July, the movie stars several of Anderson’s more frequent collaborators, including Tilda Swinton, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Frances McDormand, and (of course) Bill Murray. That’s just the tip of the iceberg in this case, as evidenced by the sheer number of cast members listed in The French Dispatch’s poster and trailer, the latter of which has only just arrived.

Searchlight Pictures dropped The French Dispatch trailer online this morning, ahead of its premiere in theaters this weekend. You can check it out in the space below.

The French Dispatch and its characters were heavily inspired by Anderson’s love of The New Yorker, as the publication revealed in an article this week. For example, The French Dispatch editor Arthur Howitzer, Jr. (Murray) is based directly on TNY’s founding editor Harold Ross, while Wilson’s character, Herbsaint Sazerac, was similarly modeled after TNY writer Joseph Mitchell. Other characters are an amalgamation of real-life people, with Wright’s journalist Roebuck Wright - a writer from the U.S. South who writes about food - being partly based on James Baldwin. Even the stories published by The French Dispatch, which are presented as black and white segments in the movie, are inspired by TNY articles like Mavis Gallant’s 1968 piece “The Events in May: A Paris Notebook”.

Judging by its trailer, The French Dispatch won’t be hurting for Anderson’s trademark deadpan wit, nor any of the other elements strongly associated with his work. It looks pretty charming all the same - assuming you enjoy Anderson’s work - and it’s surely not an accident the filmmaker has decided to make a movie celebrating the importance of journalism at a time when members of the press seem to find themselves being verbally attacked by the Trump administration on a nearly weekly basis. Anderson has tackled timely issues in his movies before ( for example, The Grand Budapest Hotel dealt with the rise of fascism in Europe during the 20th Century), yet he usually finds a way to address those topics through an otherwise entertainingly quirky story. By the look of things, he may succeed in doing just that with The French Dispatch too.

Source: Searchlight Pictures, TNY

  • The French Dispatch Release Date: 2021-10-22