The French Dispatch
Movie, 2021, The 2020s, Set in Ennui-sur-Blasé
The French Dispatch is #10 of 13 in release order and #10 of 13 in chronological order in the Wes Anderson.
The story
The staff of an American magazine based in France puts out its last issue, with stories featuring an artist sentenced to life imprisonment, student riots, and a kidnapping resolved by a chef.
The French Dispatch recap
The French Dispatch (2021) presents the last issue of an American magazine's Paris-style outpost as a set of filmed stories after its editor dies. Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray) dies in 1975 in Ennui-sur-Blasé, and his will closes the magazine after one farewell issue. Herbsaint Sazerac (Owen Wilson) tours the town by bicycle. J.K.L. Berensen (Tilda Swinton) tells of Moses Rosenthaler (Benicio del Toro), a jailed murderer who paints his guard Simone (Léa Seydoux) and is made famous by a dealer (Adrien Brody). Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand) covers a student uprising and secretly edits the manifesto of its leader Zeffirelli (Timothée Chalamet). Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright) recalls a dinner with the police commissioner that turns into a kidnapping case, solved with the help of the police chef Nescaffier (Stephen Park). Wes Anderson directs from a story he developed with Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness and Jason Schwartzman. His tenth feature, it follows Isle of Dogs.
The French Dispatch ending explained
The French Dispatch ends with the staff writing Howitzer's obituary for the final issue. Rosenthaler's long-awaited work proves to be frescoes on a prison wall, which are later airlifted to a Kansas museum. Zeffirelli dies fixing a pirate radio tower and becomes a symbol of the revolt. Nescaffier saves the commissioner's son with poisoned food, eating some himself, and tells Wright about being a foreigner. The credits dedicate the film to writers and editors, many from The New Yorker, the magazine on which the Dispatch is modelled.
Post-credits scenes
No. The French Dispatch has no post-credits scene; the credits play over the magazine's covers.
Where to watch The French Dispatch
The French Dispatch is streaming on fuboTV, YouTube TV, and FXNow in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.1/10, Rotten Tomatoes 75%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Isle of Dogs, before Asteroid City.
- Chronological order: after Isle of Dogs, before Asteroid City.
Cast
- Benicio del Toro as Moses Rosenthaler
- Adrien Brody as Julian Cadazio
- Tilda Swinton as J.K.L. Berensen
- Léa Seydoux as Simone
- Frances McDormand as Lucinda Krementz
- Timothée Chalamet as Zeffirelli
- Lyna Khoudri as Juliette
- Jeffrey Wright as Roebuck Wright
- Mathieu Amalric as The Commissaire
- Steve Park as Nescaffier
- Bill Murray as Arthur Howitzer, Jr.
- Owen Wilson as Herbsaint Sazerac
Directed by Wes Anderson.