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Moonrise Kingdom – 2012 Wes Anderson
- I think the first hour may be the pinnacle of Wes’ style
- The entire thing is a singular confident vision that’s perfectly executed
- Heavy brown and wood color—the fake “New Penzanc” island is a perfect world for Wes for create and diorama-fy
- Nostalgia and true love- well-earned formally- the emotional resonance

- As a strict formalist- I love how Wes pulls apart the various pieces in the Benjamin Britten music and then reconstructs
- I took this from Bordwell but I love how Suzy’s book on children looks like a Saul Bass poster—there’s also a postage stamp that looks like Edward Norton- this level of detail in the mise-en-scene makes for thoroughly rewarding study and dissection
- Cartography— and a tendency to fix the camera at right angles with characters staggered in profile or at angles
- This filmed turned back a lot of critics who felt justified in not liking Wes through the Darjeeling and life aquatic phase- lots of “best since Rushmore” in the reviews
- Rolling tracking shots in the opening are stunning- it’s all done within perfect symmetry in the mise-en-scene. This is Peter Greenaway—it’s a moving painting

- Letter writing- auteur mark/trait—another is the mentor/father/family issues—a dead dog
- The shot of Suzy in the tower is a stunner as well
- There’s another actual play in the film- again another reoccurring trait in Wes-world- rich detail- clearly it’s pointing to the storm/flood as it’s Noah’s ark
- Wes is clearly in love with the preparation of camps and scouts—“maybe we should take an inventory”—but she’s a singer and he paints
- Murray’s pants
- Very 1960’s/70’s cinema zoom-heavy in the inlet
- That dancing scene is just so damn sweet

- Multiple times with have split screen usage with juxtaposing rich mise-en-scene(s)—stunning work

- I missed it before but there is slow motion here- leaving the makeshift chapel after the marriage
- That first hour before the storm— I feel like after the storm the film gets a way a little
- Another level of detail is the ongoing love between Norton and the phone operator- multiple viewings
- 16mm which I find hard to spot- it looks too gorgeous to me
- The film opens and closes perfectly- blending painting with actual location (Suzy’s family’s red cottage house to open then the “moonrise kingdom” inlet to end)—so perfectly bookmarked
- A masterpiece
Drake2020-07-03T10:30:57+00:00
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Who gives the best supporting performance in this film. Bruce Willis or Edward Norton?
@Malith- I think it is Willis
They are both very good, but I prefer Norton. I’d say the two best performances in the film are him and Kara Hayward, the lead girl.
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