Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme” Splits Cannes Critics but Dazzles Visually

Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival to a mixed critical response, landing a modest 2.3 average on Screen’s Cannes jury grid. While Le Monde’s Mathieu Macharet gave it a glowing four-star rating, Time’s Stephanie Zacharek rated it just one star, calling it one of Anderson’s weaker efforts. The espionage comedy, featuring a star-studded cast including Benicio Del Toro, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Hanks, outperformed Anderson’s 2023 Asteroid City on the grid, matching the score of 2021’s The French Dispatch. Despite the divided reviews, Anderson’s latest entry still generated buzz for its distinctive visual style and narrative daring.

The film centers on Del Toro’s Zsa-Zsa Korda, a billionaire industrialist in 1950s Europe whose outlandish infrastructure scheme—“The Phoenician Scheme”—is part business venture, part surreal adventure. Enlisting his reluctant daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton), a nun-in-training, to inherit his empire, Zsa-Zsa sets off on a global tour to convince wealthy allies to back his plan. Along the way, Anderson introduces a vivid lineup of eccentric characters, from gangsters and princes to shipping magnates and railroad barons. The film’s tone is more focused than his recent work, drawing comparisons to The Life Aquatic and echoing real-world figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump in its depiction of unchecked power and narcissistic ambition, reviewed by Deadline.

Shot largely on soundstages at Studio Babelsberg in Germany, the film boasts lush cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel, exquisite production design by Adam Stockhausen, and a whimsical score by Alexandre Desplat. Anderson’s trademarks—stylized visuals, droll dialogue, and fastidious detail—are on full display, but this time anchored by a strong central performance from Del Toro, who masterfully channels Anderson’s rhythm. Newcomer Threapleton and Michael Cera (as an insect-loving tutor) round out the emotional core. While some critics found it too mannered or self-indulgent, others praised it as a bold, timely satire—suggesting that Anderson’s fictional worlds might be getting uncomfortably close to our own reality.