Wes Anderson’s ‘The French Dispatch’ is an ‘art piece’ celebrating journalists, stars Henry Winkler and Lyna Khoudri say
Wes Anderson’s new film is so full of beauty it belongs in a museum, star Henry Winkler says.
Fans of the whimsical writer-director are in for his latest visual treat with “The French Dispatch,” which left the cast buzzing about creations from a filmmaker known for breathtaking set pieces like “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
“If you could put the entire film, after it’s over, in a frame, you would put it in the Museum of Modern Art,” Winkler told the Daily News. “It is an art piece.”
“The French Dispatch” — in select theaters Friday and opening wide Oct. 29 — centers on the whirlwind stories found within a fictional French magazine. Separated into three parts, each segment depicts one of the magazine’s stories.
One follows an art dealer, portrayed by Adrien Brody, who believes a convicted murderer, played by Benicio Del Toro, is the world’s next great painter. Winkler, who played Fonzie on “Happy Days,” trades in the leather jacket for a fedora in the film, portraying a financier who is asked to invest in the inmate.
“I look at that piece of art,” said Winkler, 75. “It’s a modern piece of art. There is supposed to be something in that piece of art. I see nothing.”
Another section focuses on French student revolutionaries, led by Timothee Chalamet’s Zeffirelli, who is writing a manifesto, and Lyna Khoudri’s Juliette, who disagrees with him at every turn.
Khoudri, 29, believes “The French Dispatch” is a “very special” film.
“It’s very complicated to describe a movie like that, but I would say it’s an homage to France, to journalists, to writers,” Khoudri told The News.
“If you like Wes Anderson’s style, you have to see this movie. ... It’s really a Wes Anderson movie.”
Anderson is a seven-time Oscar nominee whose previous films also include “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Isle of Dogs.”
The filmmaker enlisted an all-star ensemble cast for “The French Dispatch,” including Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Lea Seydoux, Elisabeth Moss, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton and Edward Norton.
“It’s unique to work with Wes because he’s of course a genius, and at the same time he’s very normal,” said Khoudri, who has starred in numerous French projects.
“The costume is so special. The set is so special. Everything is, like, magical. It’s a different world. But when you’re working on set with him, it’s very normal.”
The Manhattan-born Winkler also raved about the set of the movie, filmed in the French commune of Angouleme.
“He’s taken over the town,” Winkler recalled. “There are no sound stages. There are drafty warehouses that he has built these incredible environments in. There are no stand-ins, so you do your standing in for about three hours until the shot is ready.”
Anderson, 52, didn’t divulge much information about the movie’s plot as he worked with the actors, but communicated a clear vision for what he wanted with each character.
“Wes is so close to the vest, I think it’s tattooed on,” Winkler said.
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