Martin's DW

Posted by haley

http://www.nerds-feather.com/2025/06/film-review-phoenician-scheme.html

This is a solid, well composed entry in the Wes Anderson canon, though it lacks the emotional depth of some of his older films

Critiquing Wes Anderson films, in all their symmetric and stylized glory, has become similar to critiquing genre films—you have to understand and at least appreciate them to make a fair assessment. If you hate gore, spooky nonsense, and final girl tropes, you probably won't like a new horror movie. Similarly, if you despise Anderson's twee and color-saturated aesthetic sensibility, you'll probably never jive with an Anderson joint. And that's okay! We just have to know what we're getting ourselves into.

All this to say, of course, that I'm an O.G. Wes Anderson fan. I've been chasing the high of seeing The Royal Tenenbaums for the first time ever since I was 19 years old. Over the years, I have looked forward to whatever new and weird thing he's doing, resting assured that he's maintaining his style and peculiar sensibility.

The story

2025's The Phoenician Scheme is the latest entry in his oeuvre, and it centers on a ruthless business magnate named Zsa-Zsa Korda (played by Benicio del Toro). After a failed assassination attempt, he reevaluates his life, reaching out to his estranged daughter, Liesl, a novitiate nun played by Mia Threapleton (a nepo baby, I recently found—Kate Winslet's daughter!). As they reconcile, they hit the road to acquire some investors, accompanied by a Swedish entomologist named Bjørn (played by Michael Cera, but more on this development later). Traveling around the world, we encounter classic Andersonesque bit characters, from the elderly-yet-spry Sacramento Consortium to the classic Frenchness of Marseille Bob.

Like in Anderson's other films, there's a very strong Dad element to the plot. In this case, Liesl is coming to terms with her less-than-moral, long-missing father, who for some reason wants her back in his life. It's very clear throughout the movie that Korda is trying to make amends, though it comes across as a bit heavy-handed. Case in point: showing that he's growing as a character by saying lines like, "Fine, I won't use slave labor."

As you'd expect, there is the usual treasure trove of running gags, from Liesl's bejeweled corncob pipe to the dainty basket of artisanal hand grenades that Korda offers to everyone like fine cigars. These small bits absolutely scream Wes Anderson, and their inclusion helps make the world more whole. (The artisanal hand grenade bits reminded me of my love for Portlandia and the sketch with Jeff Goldblum selling handmade decorative knots.)

The characters

Del Toro's Korda just doesn't do it for me. It may be because I don't think he has a sense of humor. The entire time I just wished that Gene Hackman or Owen Wilson was steering the ship as Korda. Also, it could be something to do with portraying a selfish, Art-of-the-Deal-type protagonist in the current climate that makes it hard to escape into a fun movie.

The best characters that appear on screen are Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston as two business brothers from California. Korda challenges them to a game of basketball/HORSE with the winners fronting money for the scheme, and the resulting 5-minute scene is hilarious, charming, and almost surreal. The two brothers, sporting '50s-era Stanford and Pepperdine workout shirts, go to town on Korda and his associate, talking smack and taking names.

Because of Korda's near-death experience, he dreams often of heaven, God, and judgment, and in these brief black-and-white sequences, you can occasionally spot a silent Willem Dafoe, an enjoyable task kind of like finding Waldo in an artsy movie. In my screening, people were literally laughing and pointing every time he appeared.

Michael Cera's big Anderson debut

Just as Voltaire once said, "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him," so too, "If Michael Cera didn't exist, Wes Anderson would have invented him." I can't believe it's taken nearly 30 years to get him in an Anderson movie, but to be fair, in the early 2000s he was only a teenager.

In The Phoenician Scheme, he does a lot of heavy lifting, playing first a heavily accented, bespectacled Swedish tutor, then, it's revealed, an American spy, complete with a manly swagger and cigarette. He's an absolute delight, even when he's just standing awkwardly around in the background of different scenes—an anthropomorphic set piece expertly curated like so many other parts of the movie.

The music issue

Alexandre Desplat is (as usual) in charge of the music in The Phoenician Scheme, but his score and picks skew more classical than modern pop. I know this was probably done intentionally, but when I think back to my favorite moments from Anderson films, they're tied irrevocably to absolutely cinematic and top-tier needle drops, from Nico's "These Days" in The Royal Tenenbaums to the plaintive chords from Seu Jorge's Bowie tributes in The Life Aquatic. Even Asteroid City has some classic Western bops to tie us into the setting's place and time. The Phoenician Scheme lacks all that—and consequently a firm grasp on the exact time period, as well, again most likely on purpose—resulting in much less emotional heft for me.

Overall

It was perfectly fine, though I didn't laugh nearly as much as I was expecting to. There are so many characters and plot throughlines that nothing gets very much explanation—everything is a mile wide and an inch deep. To be fair, though, this movie does a lot.

The end of the movie sees Korda's Phoenician Scheme to completion, with him sacrificing his wealth to make it work. As as result, he's lost all his money, and he, Liesl, and his sons move to Paris to open a bistro. Honestly, I was way more into this tiny aspect of the story, even though it was only on screen for a few seconds. I'd love to see the misadventures of a titan-of-industry-turned-chef and his ex-nun daughter running a successful restaurant in France, like a Wes Anderson version of The Bear. Who knows? Maybe that's next.

Nerd Coefficient: 7/10.

POSTED BY: Haley Zapal, NoaF contributor and lawyer-turned-copywriter living in Atlanta, Georgia. A co-host of Hugo Award-winning podcast Hugo, Girl!, she posts on Instagram as @cestlahaley. She loves nautical fiction, growing corn and giving them pun names like Timothee Chalamaize, and thinking about fried chicken.

http://www.nerds-feather.com/2025/06/film-review-phoenician-scheme.html

Posted by Phoebe Wagner

http://www.nerds-feather.com/2025/06/rebellions-are-built-on-hope-andor-s2e7.html

In "Messenger," we return to Yavin, where things have become much more official

In episode 2, we have a final shot showing the famous structures of Yavin after watching what remains of Maya Pei’s rebels destroy each other—and put Cassian at risk—with their infighting. Somehow, out of that, we see Yavin 4 has grown into something much more familiar. The organized, rebel activity mirrors what viewers have come to expect from Rogue One and A New Hope. Even so, that history of infighting still remains, and the sharp hierarchy, while helping to organize an army as opposed to Maya Pei’s grungy fighters, chafes against Cassian and other Luthen operatives who have come to Yavin.

Cassian and Bix have settled down at Yavin even though both are still operatives. Bix is in a more stable place of mind after killing the root of her traumas a year ago, and she and Cassian have a beautiful home, which is one of my favorite aspects of the Yavin scenes. In comparison to the gloomy bolthole of Coruscant where Cassian and Bix spent the previous year, the lush greenery of Yavin feels welcoming and peaceful, even as they work to build an army. It’s a glimpse into the type of world they are fighting for.

Wilmon returns with a message from Luthen, asking if Cassian is ready to work. He’s been organizing with the people on Ghorman, and now has a mission from Luthen to assassinate Dedra Meero, the destroyer of their hometown of Ferrix. At first, Cassian rejects the idea. He’s separated himself from Luthen as he helps to grow Yavin, while Wilmon is still dedicated to Luthen’s cloak-and-dagger approach. He accuses Cassian: “You act like Luthen’s the enemy.” But Cassian has a more measured approach to Luthen and says: “That would be easier.”

As I continue to rewatch and write about Andor, Luthen becomes more interesting of a character. He’s not a one-dimensional hero, nor are his tactics portrayed as a warning or villainous. He is a path toward organizing against the Empire. Not the only path, as Cassian is pointing out to Wilmon, but a path that made Yavin possible, even if Luthen left bodies in his wake. As Luthen says in his excellent monologue in season 1: “I’ve made my mind a sunless place. […] I’m damned for what I do.”

While so many characters shine in season 2, I haven’t spent much time talking about Syril Karn, one of the most fascinating characters of this season. On Ghorman, he’s living his dream of being an ISB spy for the empire and working under his girlfriend, Dedra Meero. He’s successfully infiltrated the Ghorman Front, but his position is put at risk when a supposed rebel attack occurs. The Ghorman Front claims not to have done it, but every news outlet is reporting “another terrorist attack overnight” and a continued “terror campaign.” Of course, the use of this word “terrorist” brings to mind the previous episode where Krennic has the great line: “My rebel is your terrorist, something like that.” Of course, Krennic understands the power of propaganda as, in the first episode, he hired a media team to control the story around the Ghorman.

Indeed, Krennic’s plan is coming to fruition, and Pendergast alerts Dedra that they are moving forward with the original plan to mine the planet in such a way as to destroy it. The Ghorman people will be forced to relocate, as the planet will be destabilized.

Dedra and Syril’s relationship feels the strain of this situation. He’s being manipulated, but he doesn’t understand how much he’s actually being shut out as he has no idea the planet is going to be destroyed. His Ghorman Front contact slaps him when he tries to explain the situation, and he begins to realize more is going on than his girlfriend told him. Dedra tries to smooth it over by saying they’ll be rewarded, but his desire to know what is about to happen overwhelms his trust in her.

Meanwhile, the Ghorman Front is struggling. Mirroring the Maya Pei scenes from the first arc, the members are fracturing as they try to decide what to do. Their leader, Carro Rylanz, is only in favor of peaceful protest: “Peaceful resistance is not pretending. It’s the only thing that carries any dignity.” The younger members of the group are looking for more direct action as the Imperial occupation grows worse. Lezine ultimately brings the group back together, reminding them of their shared love for Ghorman.

We also get a quick glimpse of the bellhop, Thela (Stefan Crepon), from when Cassian came to Ghorman to investigate the Front. He’s now joined the group, and when Cassian returns to Ghorman along with Wilmon to take on Luthen’s mission, Thela recognizes him. He warns Cassian about a protocol they have at the hotel in terms of alerting the Imperial occupiers of new arrivals. Like Lezine, I love Thela’s character because he’s a regular person working a service job who still wants to stand up for what he believes in. These characters are powerful inclusions in anti-fascist storytelling because it gives the average viewer an entry point. Not everyone will be Cassian, but anybody can be the bellhop who doesn’t follow procedures exactly and keeps his mouth shut about seeing Cassian come in under a different alias.

I’ll end on a small scene that, like so many of the quieter moments, not only builds out the world, but corresponds closely with leftist/organizing circles. At the beginning of the episode, Cassian is dealing with a blaster wound that isn’t healing properly. Bix tries to convince him to visit a “Force healer” (unnamed but played by Josie Walker), which he wants nothing to do with because he thinks they are all fakes. While they are arguing within the vicinity of the Force healer, she senses his presence and walks over. She offers to try to heal his blaster wound, and she successfully helps him. She also senses via the Force that Cassian has an important part to play in the rebellion and appreciates his clarity of vision: “All that you’ve been gathering, the strength of spirit.”

What I enjoyed about this scene was how it recontextualizes the Force as an alternative or subversive spiritual practice. In many leftist circles, there’s this reach for something spiritual or holistic beyond Judeo-Christian beliefs. Sometimes, this takes the form of returning to older spiritual practices that have been destroyed by empire, such as Indigenous ways of knowing or pagan/heathen practices. Placing Force-sensitive people like the healer or Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen) from Rogue One in this framework is an interesting addition to the worldbuilding in the way it mirrors actual leftist spaces.

The Force healer also has one of the most beautiful descriptions of Cassian when talking to Bix about what she felt through the Force: “Most beings carry the things that shape them, carry the past. But some, very few, your pilot, they’re gathering as they go. There’s a purpose to it. He’s a messenger.”

Of course, within the context of Rogue One, we know what message he has to carry, but this line also has much more immediate implications for Ghorman.

POSTED BY: Phoebe Wagner (she/they) is an author, editor, and academic writing and living at the intersection of speculative fiction and environmentalism.

http://www.nerds-feather.com/2025/06/rebellions-are-built-on-hope-andor-s2e7.html