Wes Anderson
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I watched my first Wes Anderson film this year – The Budapest Hotel – and had a great time! Stylistically, Wes Anderson is on a whole nother level.
My plan had been to watch The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, a short film adapted from the short story of the same name by Roald Dahl, and then watch Wes Anderson’s recommendations. The film received the Oscar for “Best Live Action Short Film” and I thought it would be really interesting to see what Anderson enjoys/is inspired by.
I then realised that there were actually four short film adaptations. I then watched each separately (as I didn’t realise there was a long form version which includes all four until after) and below are my mini reviews of each. All were released in September of last year (2023).
I will be watching the short film recommendations, but that will be it’s own post, so watch out for that if you’re interested!
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
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Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a rich man who lives a privileged, but humdrum existence, so finds his thrills in casinos. He stumbles across a book that details the story of Imdad Khan (Ben Kingsley), a man who claimed to see without needing to open his eyes. This leads story leads Henry Sugar to his own revelations.
This was absolute perfection! The cast and set design truly elevated this short story. I know that Wes Anderson is American, but everything about this felt quintessentially British and it was wonderful.
Incorporating Roald Dahl (played by Ralph Fiennes) as a narrator was super fun and having several characters narrate and also play different people was genius. The way they played to the camera and the integration of set/costume changes made this feel like a theatre production.
Side note, but also a very important note: Dev Patel is such a stunning man âĽ
The Swan
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This is devastating.
Peter Watson (Asa Jennings) is a young boy who is out birdwatching when he is set upon by two bullies. The events of the day are narrated by Rupert Friend who tells the story in a way that almost feels like a continuous take. At the end we are given a harrowing conclusion from Roald Dahl (Ralph Fiennes).
The Swan is a complete 180 from The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and I was not prepared. I know Roald Dahl wrote some heavy stuff, but I was not expecting to feel heartbroken by a short story at 10am.
The Rat Catcher
ââ.5
This film follows the story of two men who employ a rat catcher (Ralph Fiennes) and it is so uncomfortable to watch. The man is a rat-like person, who enjoys his job way too much.
Richard Ayoade’s narration is wonderful (that man is a national treasure) and Ralph Fiennes is so unnerving. The set design is a lot more subdued in this story, but it makes sense considering the subject material. This felt like a horror film…
Poison
âââ.5
Timber Woods (Dev Patel) discovers Harry Pope (Benedict Cumberbatch) in bed, holding incredibly still. After some confusion, Woods realises that there is a deadly snake taking a nap on Pope’s person under the covers.
Woods enlists the help of Dr. Ganderbai (Ben Kingsley) who tries several methods to save the man from a deadly bite.
The acting in this one was really good, and again the set design was quite simple, but the filming techniques/framing were wonderful. Not having read this short story, I was a bit confused by the ending… I wasn’t sure if the events were due to an illness and if the racist outburst was due to the effects of the medicine. The ending made me feel somewhat disappointed and sad, not at the film, but with the “Englishman” character.
Overall, my average rating was 3.75â which is still great, especially as individually I loved one, really like two and then disliked one.
Have you seen these short films? Which is your favourite? Would you also love to see Wes Anderson make many more short films?
Thanks for reading!
I hope youâre having a lovely day and staying safe âĽ
DramaRambles đ¸ 