Film, photography and architecture: symmetrical composition and the notion of architecturisation in Wes Anderson's films. Visual background of the film The French Dispatch

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/aris.78848
Keywords: cinema, journalistic chronicle, photography, Wes Anderson, architecturization
Agencies: This work has been financed as part of the Project R D i, entitled MEMORY (S), SOCIETY AND CINEMA IN ANDALUSIA: THE VIEW OF OUR ELDERS' VIEW of the R D i Grants Programme, on a competitive basis, in the field of the competitive concurrence, within the scope of the Andalusian Plan for Research, Development and Innovation (PAIDI 2020), Development and Innovation (PAIDI 2020), financed by the Andalusian Regional Government (Spain).

Abstract

Early Hollywood cinema has a characteristic symmetrical composition in its shots which, practically in parallel, was developed in other artistic movements that linked design, architecture and photography (such as the Bauhaus and Düsseldorf schools in Germany). Although since the 70s of the 20th century cinema has evolved towards another visual aesthetic, with a great prominence of new graphic forms of narration (shot-sequence, stabilizers, cranes, subjective shots, aerial shots, etc.), some directors have dared to break with this current trend and have wanted to return to the origins, also through the visual aesthetics of their films: we will focus on the films of Wes Anderson and his latest film The French Dispatch (2021). To achieve such a personal aesthetic, Anderson arranges volumes, portraits and forms in space by means of what we will call photographic architecturisation. We will analyze his latest film by focusing on the (symmetrical) visual composition of his shots and we will reflect on the set of visual stylistic resources that are articulated within his cinema, which bring him closer to other artistic disciplines, such as architecture, painting and photography, as well as dramaturgy, among others.

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Published
2022-06-27
How to Cite
Blanco-Pérez M. (2022). Film, photography and architecture: symmetrical composition and the notion of architecturisation in Wes Anderson’s films. Visual background of the film The French Dispatch. Arte, Individuo y Sociedad, 34(4), 1407-1426. https://doi.org/10.5209/aris.78848
Issue
Vol. 34 No. 4 (2022)
Section
Articles

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