Just when you thought Wes Anderson had mined every last pastel-hued set piece and quirky-souled character from his curated cabinet of cinematic curiosities, along comes The Phoenician Scheme—a storybook espionage farce set in a fictional 1950s nation-state with the kind of detail you’d expect if Saul Bass redesigned a Cold War board game.
Before it unspools at indie cinemas from Rhinebeck to Rosendale, let us preview what may be Anderson’s most emotionally direct work to date, delivered, naturally, in his signature deadpan Technicolor.
The plot: Anatole “Zsa-zsa” Korda (Benicio del Toro), a louche industrialist and arms dealer with impeccable tailoring, has survived enough assassination attempts to make a Bond villain nervous. Realizing the sand in his hourglass is running low, he names his estranged daughter, Sister Liesl (Mia Threapleton, in her breakout role), as his heir—despite the inconvenient fact that she’s now a novice nun. Together they navigate the fraught terrain of inheritance, revolution, and failed fatherhood while attempting to complete a massive infrastructure project that may or may not destabilize an entire region.
The ensemble cast reads like a Criterion dinner party: Scarlett Johansson as Cousin Hilda, Michael Cera as a fumbling Norwegian entomologist, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, and Riz Ahmed sprinkled in like garnish on a delicately over-plated dish.
Shot at Studio Babelsberg in Germany, the film’s look is full Anderson: diorama-like sets, symmetrical framing, and textures you want to reach out and touch. A fun bit of trivia: Anderson created a full-length animated version of the film as a production guide, complete with voiceovers from the cast—essentially storyboarding the movie as a cartoon first. Leave it to Wes to animate the thing before filming it.
And yet beneath the layers of visual whimsy lies something warmer, even tender. Critics at Cannes praised the film’s emotional resonance, calling it one of Anderson’s most “narratively legible” works in years. Which is to say, this time the characters cry and you might care.
There’s also merch, naturally—Oliver Peoples will release a limited-edition sunglasses line based on the film’s eyewear. Just 10 pairs, so don’t blink.
The Phoenician Scheme begins screening soon at select Hudson Valley cinemas—theaters below. Arrive early. Dress fabulously. And maybe call your father.
At the Starr and Orpheum cinemas of Upstate Films beginning on June 5.
At the Moviehouse in Millerton beginning June 6.
At the Beacon movie theater beginning on June 6.
At the Overlook Drive-In Theater beginning on June 13.
This article appears in May 2025.
