There is something about Wes Anderson's films that bundle me up into a little time capsule and take me away; he takes his audience to imaginary places that seem to have really existed somewhere in time. The familiar culture or environment might tell you that you are somewhere on the New England coast if you are hiking thru Moonrise Kingdom or somewhere in the Swiss Alps if you are being transported to the Grand Budapest Hotel. There is magic in Anderson's ability to invent of a unique location taking place in a time we can all relate to using details like currency and train tickets. I love details but what really grabs me is the set design and the magic you feel when you watch the characters come alive in each space.
The Grand Budapest Hotel is a place where my inner child would love to run thru the halls. I would take rides in the dumbwaiter elevator and play the New girl hot lava game "True American" in the lobby. There is something majestic and sad in the aged hotel as it goes from 1968 to 1932. The 70's furniture and excessive signage was rockin and simple yet drab and dreary compared to the exotic and grandiose elegance of the 1930's GB. The emotion that Wes was able to capture thru furniture is what really captured me. It is the same emotion that I want to create in my own living space. A room should make you come alive from plants and art to a love seat or swing, there should be surprise in the functionality or even the impracticality of something.
Moonrise Kingdom is another favorite of mine as it takes you into life of a Khaki scout member of Camp Ivanhoe. I always wanted to do boy-stuff as a kid, like camping and hiking using a compass and a map I drew myself. Life in a perfectly compact and miniature tent with plaid interior would have been exquisite. This "eccentric pubescent love story" features two young characters in emotional turmoil. The boy, an abandoned orphan and the girl, the runaway. They fall in love with one another via love letters and plot the ultimate escape into the wilderness. I had a romantic streak as a youth, wrote a few love letters in my day and might even say I was gutsy, but a real life pen pal and a well calculated rendezvous in the name of love is dedication beyond the maturity of my younger self.
With aesthetics and emotional Anderson's movies make we want to take an adventure but I know it isn't just me. He has a way of directing which not only leaves his viewers anxious to see his next creation but also his actors eager to be a part of the next great production. His movies have a very similar string of cast members that continue to come back for more. I love to see how each actor is able to take on multiple characters in the midst of the magic of Wes Anderson. If you want more from Wes check out two more of my favorites, The Darjeeling Unlimited and The Royal Tenenbaums. Next up on my list are short films Castello Cavacanti and Hotel Chevalier and Rushmore.