Wes Anderson

In a commercial film industry increasingly dominated by derivative fare, writer-director Wes Anderson is a beacon of creativity and inspiration. Anderson established himself as a force with his first feature film, 1996’s “Bottle Rocket,” and his follow-up movies – including “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” – have been equally unique and appealing. His latest, “Moonrise Kingdom,” is set in 1965 and tells the quirky story of Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward), troubled 12-year-olds who run away together and hide in the countryside of a New England island. 

The sparse dialogue in Wes Anderson’s films captures detachment and suppression – a part of all human relationships. Yet, his films also portray misfortunes and difficulties we encounter with those closest to us in a warmhearted, positive light. His films manage to capture the joys of relationships, despite their challenging complexities. Anderson’s success rides largely on his unique depiction of these two conflicting sides of human behavior -- our social tendencies and our hermetic ones. 

Even the most highbrow of highbrows needs to relax and, on certain days when a retreat to the solarium in a favorite alpaca sweater while sipping on a red from the Bordeaux region simply doesn’t cut it, there is another outlet. The comedic offerings of film from across the ages to relax the wary mind burdened with the world’s problems.  The highbrow thinkers of  the world can indulge in film entertainment between solving global warming by using algorithms from a Harvard library window and discussing why James Joyce hated punctuation over tea at 4 o’clock Greenwich time.