First of all, this is great cinema in the non-traditional sense. Whimsical and visually simple yet technically executed and perfectly acted, this movie may not be at the same standards as the rest of the Highlander-like Wes Anderson's oeuvre, especially The Grand Budapest Hotel; nevertheless, it is a pleasure to watch for almost the entirety of its runtime. I say "almost" because I felt ennui in some of the scenes.

Ennui is the name of the city in France where Anderson frames his tale.

The usual ensemble cast graces the screen, with many of my idols (and soon-to-be peers - positive patience a la 6hourism) in the thespian ranks. The names speak for themselves:

Benicio del Toro - The Collector in the MCU [Moon Knight drops on March 30 - get ready for an overdose of drama], the cop in Traffic

Adrien Brody - The Pianist remains his only movie I've seen

Tilda Swinton - The Ancient One in Doctor Strange; a bit in Constantine

Léa Seydoux - the current "Bond girl" ; exemplary in Inglorious Basterds

Frances McDormand - "a force of nature," as Sam Rockwell rightly said - Nomadland - 3 Billboards - the OG Fargo - TIL she is married to another auteur, Joel Coen of the Coen brothers - I could go on and on about her...

Timothée Chalamet - Dune, of course, and Interstellar, plus Homeland

Lyna Khoudri - I did not know of her before I saw the French Dispatch

Jeffrey Wright - Westworld, The Batman, Watcher in the What-If...? MCU

Bill Murray - the one, the only, the Lost in Translation Ghostbuster

Owen Wilson - the Mobius strip of Loki, one of the Shanghai Knights

Christoph Waltz - another Inglorious Basterd and all-round heavy actor

Edward Norton - Fight Club, which is right behind me, and many more

Jason Schwartzman - most frequent collaborator with Wes Anderson

Anjelica Huston - a legend of legend, descended from Hollywood royalty

Most of them have been part of one or more Anderson projects, which makes total sense: a shared vision is essential for achieving it on screen.

As I walk through this waking life ennui and reach the credits, I see (in the penultimate frame) a "Special Thanks" section, full of creative luminaries (some of whom I knew by name): Steven Spielberg (too many masterpieces to list), Joel Coen (H/O Ms. F McD, above), Rick Linklater (Waking Life, above, A Scanner Darkly - Keanu Reeves + Robert Downey Jr.), Brian Grazer (Imagine with Ron Howard, AD).

So that brings me to the end of a decidedly funny but not entirely rapt movie, which bears watching for aficionados of neo-French eccentricity.

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