IA few years ago, Martin Scorsese declared that Wes Anderson was the new… Martin Scorsese. Wes Anderson did much better: he became Wes Anderson, an atypical filmmaker and artyeccentric author of eleven feature films and seven short films that are unlike any other: subtle miniatures, tragi-comedies or tragic comedies, films both disconcerting and familiar in which artifice (almost) never kills the 'emotion. Titles? The Tenenbaum Family, Aquatic life, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Asteroid City or the frame-by-frame animated film Fantastic Mr. Foxafter Roald Dahl.
Born in Houston in 1965, Wes Anderson wanted to become an architect or writer, before making small films with his friends. He loves Jean Renoir, Taxi DriverCommander Cousteau, France, Michael Powell, the tube AlineFrançois Truffaut, the big hotels, John Huston or Satjayit Ray… Pampered by the studios who sign him big checks, adored by the stars who line up for the slightest appearance in his films, Anderson, 55, stages his little imaginary theater, miniatures saturated with humor at 25e degree, and tinkered with the meticulousness of a goldsmith. In short, Wes Anderson is an author, even if he hates the expression. Certainly one of the most original talents to come from the United States.
Wes Anderson's cinema is based on family, melancholy, the passing of time.Christophe Narbonne
This elegant Texan is also a notorious obsessive who brings insane care to the sets, accessories or looks of his characters, a post-Bowie dandy always dressed to the nines, eternally dressed in tailor-made suits (tweed, velvet or seersucker in summer) but a bit too short. To celebrate the insolent talent of this adopted Parisian, the journalist Christophe Narbonne (23 years of good and loyal service to the magazine First) signs a monograph of nearly 300 pages, superbly illustrated, in the “La Totale” collection at Éditeur E/P/A.
The principle: review the entire filmography of a director, with for each film the genesis, the synopsis, the production, information, anecdotes, analytical leads… After two volumes devoted to Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg, here is this sumptuous Wes Anderson where Narbonne exhausts the subject, although it has already been the subject of several books. “Wes Anderson has no equivalent in today’s cinema. He is classified as a stylist with a very defined universe, with his obsession with symmetry, overload, and precise movements. He is a unique author, who shoots on 35 mm, does almost no digital special effects, surrounded by a wonderful family of actors. His cinema is based on family, melancholy, the passing of time. Even if they seem very light, his films are very deep, with existential questions.
Unpublished photos, testimonies from loved ones
To provide the keys to the work and try to resolve the Anderson enigma, Narbonne interviewed around ten of his close collaborators. “I was able to talk with Simon Weisse, his chief miniaturist, Erica Dorn, his chief graphic designer, Turlo Griffin, the concept artist, the musician Alexandre Desplat, and especially Anderson's historical cinematographer, Robert Yeoman, who told me helped in an incredible way, throughout the writing of the book, revisiting with me absolutely their entire filmography. Wes Anderson did not participate in the book, but I met him at his home in Paris to Fantastic Mister Fox. »
To successfully produce a beautiful work on Wes Anderson, you also need substantial iconography that pays homage to his visionary work, his obsession with detail or vintage wallpaper. “We have quite a bit of unpublished material: personal photos of Robert Yeoman, the mother of actor Owen Wilson, set photographer on Wes Anderson's first films, and French photographer Roger Do Minh. We were very lucky…” The result is splendor and will delight all fans of Anderson and beautiful books.
When, to conclude, we ask Christophe Narbonne which Anderson films he prefers, he in turn reveals himself to be nostalgic. “ I think my favorites are the ones I discovered when I was young, like The Tenenbaum Familywith his remarks on dysfunctional families, or Aquatic life. He has since taken The French Dispatch (2021) a turn towards abstraction which has earned it some criticism. But I really think he will continue to surprise himself and us. »
Wes Anderson, the totale, by Christophe Narbonne (Éditions E/P/A)
Available in bookstores, €39.95.
