Wes Anderson’s ‘Asteroid City’: outstanding staging, brilliant sense of humor

“Asteroid City”

Director: Wes Anderson

Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson and Tom Hanks.

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One of the things that recurs in Wes Anderson’s cinema is the idea of ​​representation, which in most cases is formulated as: matryoshka: ideal world encapsulated in the real world. Hence the tent in the living room (“The Tenenbaums”), the children’s show in “Moonrise Kingdon” (2012), or the fish in Steve Zissou’s glass (“Life Aquatic”). In ‘Asteroid City’ he goes even further and turns that idea of ​​representation into the heart of the story. in a way sophisticated and brightThe film changes two planes.

On the one hand, the process of preparing and writing a television broadcast (black and white) play. On the other hand, in color, the representation of the work itself. More precisely, staging, in a desert citythe ideas and emotions that flow and collide in the preparation of a work and are related to the text as well as the text. fragility the parties involved (from the writer of the script to the actors who will interpret it).

A beautiful ode to fiction and those who made it, Anderson transforms this clash of egos, insecurities, and flashes of intelligence into a tapestry of unconventional character and human (and not just human) relationships set in the city of Asteroid City. And there it works its magic. All the good stuff about Anderson is in that place. more mature stadium with renewed ideas: outstanding staging, meticulous planning in these times, an unusual love for color and detail, an excellent sense of humor, the defense of the musical moment and the ability to continue to produce scenes and images to remember.