The Design Indaba Film Festival closed Sunday night with the South African premiere of Wes Anderson’s latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Watch five minutes of any Anderson film and his style will be easily recognizable.
Few filmmakers have such confidence and devotion to an instantaneously noticeable style. As such, he is a part of an elite group that includes Quentin Tarantino, Stanley Kubrick, and I would even argue Shane Carruth (despite only having made two films).
Signs of a Wes Anderson film: deadpan expressions, whimsical enchantment, wide-angle tracking shots, Bill Murray/the Wilson bros./Jason Schwartzman, straight-on camera shots, and primary colors (those magnificent blues and striking reds!).
Anderson is an auteur and master of design; thus, Budapest Hotel was a perfect and obvious choice for the film festival’s grand finale. Never have I been more artistically inspired than after I watch an Anderson picture.
Despite each of his film’s all-star cast – many of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities are eager to work with the respected filmmaker – Anderson, with his camera work and cinematography, is the real star. The director’s attention to detail and dedication to discovering new and creative ways to shoot a scene is a testimony of his passion for filmmaking. (His movies resemble that of a recently graduated film student eager to try the entire repertoire of techniques they just finished learning.)
Anderson makes movies not for the money or the fame, but because he has an unwavering love for film. His productions demonstrate the brilliance that can arise from risk taking and daring to be different.
By harnessing Anderson’s approach, design and innovation have limitless potential. A special thanks to the Design Indaba and the 2014 World Design Capital for providing Capetonians with what might be Anderson’s best film yet.
Keeping you up2date on Cape Town’s latest, I am Douglas Calvin Hinkel giving you one more reason why #welovecapetown
Wes Anderson is the director of eight feature films including The Royal Tenenbaums and Moonrise Kingdom; for both films, he received a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award nomination
