let's hear it for dads (and the phoenician scheme!)
a salute to all fathers, but mostly zsa-zsa korda
While everyone was busy doing The Materialists discourse last weekend (I already did my time), I spent Father’s Day the way god intended: at the movies with my dad. We’re both big fans of Wes Anderson and thus decided to see The Phoenician Scheme, neither of us knowing that it would be the perfect film for the occasion.
As it turns out, The Phoenician Scheme isn’t just my favorite Wes Anderson movie in years — it’s my favorite movie of the year so far. And, more importantly, it’s a shining new addition to what I call the Dads Rock Canon.
But First: The French Disconnection
Before we dive in, I just want to go on the record as a Wes Anderson Enjoyer. In fact, I would go so far as to say The Grand Budapest Hotel is one of the best movies of the 21st century — and it’s definitely one of my favorites! But I’ll admit that I didn’t really connect with his two more recent works, The French Dispatch and Asteroid City. (I did watch the latter on a flight, though, and I’m sure that had something to do with it not quite working for me.)
That said, I do not agree with the weird trend of insisting that Wes is long overdue for a change to his distinct directorial style. You’re telling me you want one of the most singular, stylistically self-assured auteurs working today to…change it up? Just to please the cinephile thought leaders over on the app formerly known as Twitter? Let a man be twee, for god’s sake!
What I’m getting at here is the French, who booed The Phoenician Scheme when it premiered at Cannes, do not deserve Wes Anderson. Nor do they deserve most good things. I digress…
As the Daughter of a Father of a Daughter
The Phoenician Scheme is good in all of the ways that we’ve come to expect from a Wes Anderson feature. And by that, I mean it’s visually stunning with indelible performances from some of our greatest living actors. (Although relative newcomer Mia Threapleton almost steals the show AND the title of My Favorite Cinematic Nepo Baby, currently held by Lewis Pullman.)
As in many of Wes’ movies, underneath the gorgeous visuals and whimsical score lies an exploration of some truly deep emotional themes: religion, imperialism, and the dubious ethics of the ultra wealthy, just to name a few. Since I haven’t converted back to Catholicism for the bit quite yet, I’m unqualified to discuss basically all of those topics.
I am, however, a daughter. And The Phoenician Scheme is chiefly a movie about fathers and daughters, and daughters of fathers, and, of course, daughters of fathers of daughters.
Without getting too deep into spoiler territory, The Phoenician Scheme revolves around a wealthy businessman, Zsa-Zsa Gabor (Benicio del Toro) and his elaborate plan to finance a grand infrastructure project in Phoenicia. Unfortunately, people keep trying to assassinate him. These repeated near-death experiences inspire him to try to repair his relationship with Liesl (Mia Threapleton), his only daughter.
The only problem? Zsa-Zsa sent Liesl to a convent when she was 5, and she’s since fully devoted herself to her Catholic novitiate training. The other only problem? “They” say Zsa-Zsa had Liesl’s mother killed. (An accusation that Zsa-Zsa vehemently denies in one of many funny scenes in this movie.) After some persuading, Liesl agrees to a “trial period” as Zsa-Zsa’s heir and accompanies him on his journey to finance the titular scheme.
The plot unfolds from there in increasingly convoluted ways, some of which involve a truly lights-out performance from Michael Cera as Bjorn, Zsa-Zsa’s entomology tutor. (Please, Wes, if you’re reading this — and I’m sure you must be — put him in all of your movies going forward.) But the heart and soul of The Phoenician Scheme is the relationship between Zsa-Zsa and Liesl: how it starts, how it grows, and where it ends up.
Devoted GATM readers will recall that I’m a regular listener of The Big Picture (#DobbMob), and I absolutely loved the show’s discussion of The Phoenician Scheme and subsequent interview with Wes Anderson. Sean Fennessey opened the conversation by asking Wes why he felt compelled to center a father-daughter relationship in the movie, and Wes explained that it was an organic part of the creative process, perhaps inspired by him and his key collaborators all being Girl Dads™️:
“Without those daughters, I don’t think the movie would be the story we ended up telling.”
A complaint that I hear over and over again about Wes Anderson’s newer movies is that they’ve lost the heart of his older films; that he’s reached the self-parody event horizon, so to speak. To that, I simply say: HUH????
You mean you watched The Grand Budapest Hotel and didn’t come away with an ache in your heart about the impermanence of things — and how it’s still worth loving something, no matter how brief your time with it may be? Even my Delta in-air viewing of Asteroid City was enough for me to understand that the movie is an exploration of moving on from grief and finding meaning in the absurd, and I’m hopeful that I’ll connect with those themes even more when I eventually rewatch the movie.
The Phoenician Scheme is the most emotionally rich, rewarding film I’ve watched so far this year. I was genuinely touched to see Zsa-Zsa change for the better to win Liesl over, and to see how Liesl learns to love him in return. Their scenes together are charged with so much emotion — things left unsaid, regret, hope — but it’s never saccharine or insincere. (Insincere is worst thing a movie can be, besides boring.)
I suppose I can see how The Phoenician Scheme might be harder to connect with if you aren’t a father of a daughter of a father, or daughter of a father of a daughter. But isn’t that the point of Movies With A Capital “M”? To understand experiences that we may not directly relate to? To experience empathy in a way we may not have expected to?
I watched Moonrise Kingdom — one of the first Movies I remember being excited to see, before I even knew I liked Movies — at the theater with my dad, and I think it’s pretty special that we’re still seeing Wes Anderson movies together at that same theater. I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say this movie’s ending made my dad tear up. And I think that Wes would be happy that my key takeaway from The Phoenician Scheme is that dads rock.
Mostly my dad, but Zsa-Zsa Gabor too.
The Dads Rock Canon
Without further ado, I proudly present what will henceforth at GATM be referred to as the Dads Rock Canon:
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) - The blueprint.
The Birdcage (1996) - More of a Dads Slay movie, but still.
Finding Nemo (2003) - Arguably the greatest father in animated cinema.
Pride & Prejudice (2005) - DONALD SUTHERLAND AS MR. BENNET YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS!!!
Mamma Mia! (2008) - Featuring not one, but THREE dads who rock.
Twilight (2008) - Charlie Swan. Need I say more? Fine. Carlisle Cullen.
The Phoenician Scheme (2025) - See the preceding 1,000 words.
Honorable mentions: Dirty Dancing (1987), Beauty and the Beast (1991), True Grit (2010), Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), Little Women (2019)
The Birdcage 💅🏻
<sniff> I liked it, too.
You nailed the movie. Laughed and cried. Also, Tom Hanks -and- Bryan Cranston??