"Narrative Summit" Releases 2025 Recommendations to Cement Egypt's Position as a Global Tourism Destination    Egypt, S.Arabia step up trade ties through coordination council talks    Egypt reviews progress on $200m World Bank-funded waste management hub    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    SCZONE, Tokyo Metropolitan Government sign MoU on green hydrogen cooperation    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt's FM, Palestinian PM visit Rafah crossing to review Gaza aid    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Wes Anderson makes indelible endings a trademark
Published in Daily News Egypt on 21 - 01 - 2010

As the credits of Fantastic Mr. Fox began to roll and the Bobby Fuller Four s Let Her Dance blared through the theater at a recent showing of the movie, a young girl leapt to her feet and joined the on-screen characters, dancing in the aisle.
Much has already been said about Wes Anderson s stop-motion animated film, a likely Oscar nominee and potential competitor to Pixar s Up in the best animated film category. But it s also the latest Anderson film to leave moviegoers - young and old, alike - with a memorable, final flourish.
The endings of his films - from Bottle Rocket to The Royal Tenenbaums - constitute some of the most indelible final reels in recent moviemaking. Collectively, they almost uniformly conclude in a poetic moment of togetherness, perseverance and, often, a wink of mischief.
Anderson s endings - where emotion soars and music plays - get at a particular joy of moviegoing: exiting the theater with a warm feeling and dancing in the aisles like a toddler - or at least tapping your foot.
Anybody who knows my movies, they could probably spot one of my endings, Anderson chuckled in a recent interview at the National Board of Review Awards, where he was honored for achievement.
(Those wary of spoilers to these films, including Mr. Fox, may want to stop here.)
In a Wes Anderson ending, characters come together - to dance to the Faces Ooh La La at the end of Rushmore, or get back on the train at the finish of The Darjeeling Limited.
There s a sense of undaunted spirit, like in Dignan s (Owen Wilson) wink in his slow-motion walk into prison at the end of Bottle Rocket, Anderson s first film. Or in The Royal Tenenbaums, when Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) remains undimmed even in death - his gravestone amusingly etched in a blatant lie that he died trying to rescue his family.
Music is often woven into the concluding scenes. Though it s set in India, The Darjeeling Limited ends in 60s French pop star Joe Dassin s Champs Elysees.
After a film dotted by David Bowie covers, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou concludes with the real thing. Bowie s Queen Bitch rings out as Zissou (Bill Murray) elegantly (again in slow-motion) descends a staircase with a boy on his shoulders. In an homage to the cult film Buckaroo Banzai, Zissou s team assembles around him as he marches down a pier.
In adapting Roald Dahl s Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson (who co-wrote the script with Noah Baumbach), added bookends to Dahl s story. The plot essentially remains the same: The daring Mr. Fox (George Clooney) leads his family and friends into trouble when he picks a fight with neighboring farmers.
After a long battle both with the farmers and within his fractured, idiosyncratic family, Mr. Fox - though scarred - triumphs. His family is still stuck underground, but Mr. Fox discovers how they ll survive. The film ends with the group dancing in the aisles of a grocery store, owned by the same farmers bent on the animals destruction.
The ending came from Dahl s original manuscripts, not the published version.
It was only when we had the song did I get, Here s what the mood is, here s what we re going to walk out of the theater with, says the 40-year-old director. The scene exists because of the song.
The tune, Let Her Dance, is a forgotten classic by Fuller, and Anderson says the song had been on our list since his frequent music supervisor, Randall Poster, played it for him about 10 years ago. The song s sock-hop exuberance - tinged with sacrifice - matches the Fox family s celebration perfectly.
For me, that s the whole reason for getting into it in the first place, says Anderson. The feeling when you re walking out of the theater and the whole thing has hit you - and usually there is something musical happening at that moment - and you re taking it all in.
Anderson s endings are almost like distillations of his entire work. Again and again, he meticulously creates characters of wit, audacity and melancholy. They teeter on the edge of keeping it together, but in the end they always do: They preserve the family, they get back on the train.
The consistency isn t intentional, Anderson says. Rather, the hundreds of decisions involved in making a movie has a tendency of digging into your unconscious in ways that you re not entirely in charge of.
At the end of it, you step back and you feel like, Well, I ve shown my hand again, says Anderson, smiling. At that point, I m sort of standing with the characters, looking out at the camera a bit - seeing it from that point of view. -AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.