A Wes Anderson summer film festival

If you spend any time at all around our middle son, Harris, you will quickly discover his methodical nature.

He’s also a cinephile. He enjoys going down rabbit holes with specific genres, directors and series. Harris consumed the films of Quentin Tarantino and Denis Villeneuve as well as the Star Warses, Marvels, Godfathers, Harry Potters, Mad Maxes, Matrixes (sp), and Lord of the Ringses.

Harris is working a remote internship this summer, so he’s been under our roof since Mercer’s spring semester ended in early May. That has conveniently allowed us to enjoy watching shows and movies that my Darling Beloved, with whom I typically share streaming content, would not go near.

So what’s a methodical movie lover to do with a summer at home? A Wes Anderson film festival with dear old dad, of course.

In preparation for the release of Anderson’s latest project, The Phoenician Scheme, on May 30, Harris enticed me into watching all of Anderson’s movies in chronological order by release date.

In case you do not share an appreciation of Anderson’s distinctive filmography, here’s a quick rundown of his work by year of release:

• Bottle Rocket, 1996
• Rushmore, 1998
• The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001
• The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, 2004
• The Darjeeling Limited, 2007
• Fantastic Mr. Fox, 2009
• Moonrise Kingdom, 2012
• The Grand Budapest Hotel, 2014
• Isle of Dogs, 2018
• The French Dispatch, 2021
• Asteroid City, 2023
• The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More, 2024
• The Phoenician Scheme, 2025

You’ll be happy to know we made it through all the films before Father’s Day, and Harris, Barron and I enjoyed an afternoon screening of “The Phoenician Scheme” as my special Father’s Day outing. We did have to watch “Henry Sugar” on Netflix after and therefore out of sequence, but that’s OK for reasons I’ll get to later.

Whether Wes Anderson is your thing or not, I highly recommend Harris’ approach. Particularly with Anderson who employs similar techniques and actors in his stories, watching one a night for a few weeks gave me new insight into his work and new levels of appreciation of the humor. If you want to understand what it means to be “Andersonian,” this is really the best way to watch.

I hadn’t seen several of his films, and others I hadn’t viewed in a long time. Watching with Harris and seeing his enjoyment added to the experience. It also helps to have a conversation partner. There’s a lot to unpack about a Wes Anderson movie.

I’m sure you’re dying to know how I would rank the films, especially since you come to New South Essays as a trusted influencer on taste and culture. After our film festival, here’s what I decided (This was extremely difficult. How do you rank your children? Don’t answer that.):

• The Darjeeling Limited
• Moonrise Kingdom
• The French Dispatch
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Bottle Rocket
• The Phoenician Scheme
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Royal Tenenbaums
• The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
• Asteroid City
• Rushmore
• Isle of Dogs
• The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More

For the record, I enjoyed all of them, with the exception of “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.” I fell asleep. Also, “Isle of Dogs,” which was visually engaging and the voice work amazing, had trouble holding my attention.

“Darjeeling” topped my list because it was a revelation. I hadn’t seen it before, and it was about three brothers who take a train in India to visit their estranged mother after their father passed away. While I have never been on a train in India, I have three brothers. Their misadventures were compelling in a way that surprised me.

“Moonrise” will always be near the top of my list of favorite films from any director because I spent 12 years as a Cub Scout leader, and scouts are a major part of this story. So many hilarious violations of protocols of scouting, but that “was one of the best pitched campsites I have ever seen.”

As an erstwhile newspaper journalist turned blogger and dilettante novelist, I loved “Dispatch” because of its portrayal of a self-serious French magazine owned and operated by a Kansas publisher. The whole conceit is hilarious, and Bill Murray’s world weary editor shrugging off the shenanigans of his oddball writers gets me every time. It’s a series of stories rather than one narrative. It utilizes the construct of a magazine as a way to convey the stories.

I’ll spare you my analysis of all the rest, but if you are a Wes Anderson aficionado, I welcome dialogue at any time. If you are not, that’s OK, too. He can be an acquired taste. As for my review of his latest work, “Phoenician,” I will need to see it again to form a better opinion, but I laughed at loud many times, especially the scene when Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston portray industrialist brothers who resort to a game of H-O-R-S-E to settle a contract dispute with Benicio del Toro’s Zsa-zsa Korda (“I myself feel very safe.”)

Here’s the larger truth I took away from experiencing Anderson’s work this way: a running theme through all his work is family. I’m a family guy, so naturally this appealed to me. I’m also somewhat of a wordsmith so Anderson’s wordplay, often delivered deadpan no matter what the scenario, makes me laugh.

I love his use of miniatures, and his action set pieces are always hilarious. I can watch the prison escape scene in “Budapest” over and over. Also, watch for his use of signage. Some of the most comically obvious signs appear in his movies.

Who knows what’s next on my film festival agenda. Alas, the summer is winding down, and Harris will soon be back at college. I’d like to get to the Coen Brothers at some point, but I don’t think my Darling Beloved is up for it.

Have you ever indulged in a film festival? If so, in what categories? What films would you like to sit through a film festival for? What are your recommendations? If you’re a Wes Anderson fan, what is your ranking of his films? Leave a comment below and enlighten us.