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The Phoenician Scheme

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The Phoenician Scheme
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWes Anderson
Screenplay byWes Anderson
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBruno Delbonnel
Edited byBarney Pilling
Music byAlexandre Desplat
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • May 18, 2025 (2025-05-18) (Cannes)
  • May 29, 2025 (2025-05-29) (Germany)
  • May 30, 2025 (2025-05-30) (United States)
Running time
105 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United States
  • Germany
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million[2]
Box office$35 million[3][4]

The Phoenician Scheme is a 2025 espionage dark comedy film produced, written and directed by Wes Anderson from a story he conceived with Roman Coppola.[5] The film features an ensemble cast that includes Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, F. Murray Abraham, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Willem Dafoe, and Bill Murray. It was produced internationally between the United States and Germany by Anderson's company American Empirical Pictures and Steven Rales's company Indian Paintbrush.

Anderson talked about the film in June 2023 while promoting Asteroid City; he said it had already been written before the 2023 WGA strike began. That September, he revealed that del Toro and Cera were planned to join the cast, and he hoped to begin filming soon after the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike ended. The rest of the cast signed on between January and June 2024. Filming took place at Babelsberg Studio in Germany, between March and June 2024, with cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel. Frequent Anderson collaborator Alexandre Desplat returned to compose the score.

The Phoenician Scheme had its world premiere in the main competition of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2025,[6] and was released theatrically in Germany by Universal Pictures on May 29, 2025, and in the United States by Focus Features on May 30, 2025. The film received generally positive reviews.

Plot

[edit]

In 1950, arms dealer and industrialist Anatole "Zsa-Zsa" Korda narrowly survives an assassination attempt. While unconscious, he enters the afterlife, where a divine court judges his worthiness to enter Heaven. Knowing he cannot run from assassins forever, Korda tries to mend his relationship with his only daughter, Catholic novice Sister Liesl. He asks Liesl to quit the Church and take over his business. Korda and Liesl have a testy relationship, as Korda had sent Liesl away to a convent at the age of five, and is rumored to have murdered Liesl's mother, although he denies this. Liesl also meets Bjørn, a Norwegian entomologist and Korda's administrative assistant.

Governments around the world want to stop Korda's unethical business practices. An opportunity arises when Korda stakes his fortune on a risky scheme to overhaul the infrastructure of Phoenicia with slave labor. Government agent Excalibur conspires to drive up the price of building materials, which threatens to bankrupt Korda.

With Liesl and Bjørn in tow, Korda meets with, and attempts to swindle, his investors. He deceitfully asks Californians Leland and Reagan to sign a contract increasing their financial contribution without telling them about the change, blackmails French nightclub owner Marseille Bob, and threatens to kill East Coast businessman Marty in a suicide bombing. Although his investors are enraged, Korda worms his way out of each scenario. However, the investors agree to cover only 50% of the budget shortfall.

During the trip, Liesl and Korda explore their odd relationship. After taking a bullet for Marseille Bob, Korda meets Liesl's mother in the afterlife; she tells him that he is not Liesl's father. Korda realizes that all he had to offer his family was money, not love. In addition, during his confrontation with Marty, a guilt-ridden Korda admits he knew Liesl's mother was having an affair with his estranged half-brother Nubar. To get back at her, he faked a story that she was also having an affair with Nubar's assistant, which prompted Nubar to kill her. He also admits he still does business with Nubar, who has also invested in the Phoenician scheme. Liesl is outraged at her father's amorality, but agrees to continue helping him so that she can send Nubar to jail.

In a last-ditch attempt to avoid asking Nubar for help, Korda offers to marry his cousin Hilda, an heiress to the Korda armaments fortune. She accepts his proposal but refuses to increase her investment. On the flight back home, saboteurs destroy Korda's plane. The wreckage reveals evidence that Bjørn is a spy working for Excalibur's consortium. However, he agrees to switch sides, as he has fallen in love with Liesl. Korda explains to Liesl that their family has been dysfunctional for generations. Disturbed, Liesl resolves to quit the family business and return to the Church. A group of guerillas rescue the party and take them home, where Liesl's mother superior dismisses her from the order, explaining that not everyone is destined for the religious life.

Korda's investors gather at the Desert Oasis Palace hotel to witness a presentation of his scheme. Korda, Liesl, and Bjørn finally meet with Nubar, who announces that he is withdrawing his entire investment. He reveals that he is not Liesl's father either and that he was the one trying to kill Korda all along, reasoning that life is a game of "who could lick whom". Nubar tries to kill Korda in a brawl, but Korda defeats him.

Korda decides to change his ways: he converts to Catholicism, pays his workers, and throws his entire fortune into completing the Phoenician scheme, reasoning that finishing a worthy project will give his life meaning. Although he is bankrupted, Liesl is impressed and agrees to accept him as her father. The two retire to a simpler life running a small bistro. Hilda has her brief marriage to Korda annulled and gives the ring to Bjørn, who proposes to Liesl; she accepts. At the end of the day, Liesl and Korda play cards together as a family.

Cast

[edit]

Other actors in the film include Donald Sumpter as the US government chairman, Scott Shepherd as a field reporter, Karl Markovics as a hermit, Tonio Arango as the desert assassin, and Stéphane Bak and Aysha Joy Samuel as Radical Freedom militants.

Production

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Development

[edit]

Anderson decided to write a story about the Near East after the death of his father-in-law, Lebanese engineer Fouad Malouf, to whom the film is dedicated. Anderson remembered Malouf as "an amazing kind of larger-than-life figure ... wise and very intelligent, but a little bit scary."[10] He wanted to make a movie where a father "realizes that actually his giant business plan is a ritual, a scheme to get [his daughter]."[11] When Malouf's health began failing, he showed Anderson's wife a series of shoeboxes he had used to organize his files and memories. Anderson adapted the shoeboxes for his film, where Zsa-Zsa Korda uses shoeboxes to organize his business plans.[12]

For the character of Zsa-Zsa, Anderson drew on real-life industrialists of the period, saying that he wanted a character who could have "walked out of an Antonioni movie with his sunglasses."[13] Zsa-Zsa's lavish palazzo, fondness for art collecting, and nickname "Mr. Five Percent", are borrowed from Armenian oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian.[12][14] In addition, the name, look, and British manner of Zsa-Zsa's brother Nubar are borrowed from Gulbenkian's son Nubar Gulbenkian.[15] (Another influence for Nubar may be the title character of Mr. Arkadin (1955).[16]) Anderson mentioned businessmen Aristotle Onassis, Stavros Niarchos, Gianni Agnelli and William Randolph Hearst as additional influences.[17][13] The mechanical diorama that features at the climax of the film references The Rules of the Game (1939), another film lampooning the rich and marking the end of an era for the European elite.[16]

Anderson chose to focus the film on religion, while admitting that he personally believed only "roughly" in God.[12] He explained that his high school had Episcopal influences and that "if you grow up being given this religion, it's sort of always there".[18] The film's afterlife sequences have been compared to Powell and Pressburger's film A Matter of Life and Death (1946),[19] and the surname Korda may be a reference to the Hungarian-British filmmaker Alexander Korda, who produced many Powell and Pressburger films, though not A Matter of Life and Death itself.[12] The film's religious sequences were also inspired by Luis Buñuel.[18]

Anderson's longtime collaborating producer Steven Rales and his company Indian Paintbrush produced the film.[20] Alexandre Desplat returned to compose the score, his seventh collaboration with Anderson.[21]

Casting

[edit]

In May 2023, Michael Cera and Benicio del Toro were the first cast members rumored to be part of Wes Anderson's next film.[22][23] Anderson first talked about the film in June 2023 while promoting Asteroid City, calling it a "three-hander" adventure and saying that it had already been written before the 2023 WGA strike began,[24] working with Roman Coppola.[25] He confirmed del Toro's involvement saying that the film would feature him in every shot, and that it involved a father-daughter relationship in a dark espionage tale.[26] He later said that del Toro was the only actor considered for the role.[10] In September 2023, Anderson confirmed that Cera was planned to feature alongside del Toro in the film, and he hoped to begin filming soon after the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike was over.[25] Bill Murray joined the cast in January 2024.[27] Riz Ahmed was announced as part of the cast in April 2024.[28] In May 2024, Screen Rant reported that F. Murray Abraham joined the cast.[29]

The rest of the cast was announced on June 6, 2024, including Tom Hanks, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson, Willem Dafoe, Bryan Cranston, Mia Threapleton, Tonio Arango, Imke Büchel, Imad Mardnli, Jaime Ferkic, Antonia Desplat, Aysha Samuel, and Sabine Hollweck.[30] With the announcement of the release date, it was revealed in February 2025 that Mathieu Amalric and Jeffrey Wright were part of the cast.[31]

Threapleton has been a fan of Anderson since she watched Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) when she was eight or nine years old.[32] When she was thirteen, she wrote on her journal, "Watching Moonrise Kingdom (2012) again, bloody love this film. Would love to work with Wes Anderson one day."[33] She landed the role of Sister Liesl after a long audition process that began in May 2023, when she sent Anderson a self-shot audition tape without knowing anything about the character that she would portray. Her tape stood out among over a thousand of auditions that Anderson had watched at that point, "She just seemed like she was in a documentary about the scene. I could see her thoughts. You could tell she was really listening, reacting, thinking about what was happening in front of her. Which isn't always the case", he said. Anderson then asked her to meet with him in London and later for a reading and two-day screen test with del Toro. Both Anderson and del Toro (who plays her character's father in the film) agreed that she should be cast for the role.[32] Del Toro, who endorsed Threapleton after their first reading together,[32] said, "When she walked out, I remember telling Wes, 'I think she can go toe to toe; she might be short, but she's terrific'".[34] Anderson said that Threapleton already had the role five minutes into the second day of screen test. "And when you saw her read against Benicio... I mean, he's a very imposing figure, and about a foot-and-a-half taller than Mia, for one thing. But if you were to say who seemed to have the power in the relationship in the scenes, you would tend to lean towards the nun."[32] Anderson said he only discovered that Threapleton is Kate Winslet's daughter after he had watched her audition video a few times and then looked her up to check her previous work.[32]

To prepare for her role as a nun, Threapleton, who is not Catholic, talked to a Deacon and studied Catholicism in Rome with the help of the film's costume designer, Milena Canonero, who is based out of Rome.[35]

Filming

[edit]

Principal photography began on March 12, 2024, at Babelsberg Studio in Germany, and wrapped on June 3 of the same year.[36][37]

French cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel shot on 35 mm film, marking his first feature-length collaboration with Anderson.[38] This was the first live-action film to not be shot by his regular cinematographer Robert Yeoman.[39] The film used the unusual 1.5:1 aspect ratio.[12]

Artwork

[edit]
Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Enfant Assis en Robe Bleue was loaned to the production.[40]

Anderson used several real-life paintings as props, including Renoir's Enfant Assis en Robe Bleue, once owned by Greta Garbo, and Magritte's The Equator, from the collection of the Berlin State Museums.[40] A painting by Juriaen Jacobsze also appears. However, some paintings were replicas, including a Rubens.[14]

Release

[edit]

In February 2025, Focus Features acquired worldwide rights to the film, with its parent Universal Pictures handling international distribution.[31] The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on May 18, 2025.[41][6] The Phoenician Scheme was released theatrically in Germany by Universal Pictures on May 29, 2025,[42] and had a limited theatrical release in the United States on May 30, 2025 before expanding nationwide on June 6, 2025.[31]

Reception

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 78% of 258 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "A caper made with all the intricacy of a Rube Goldberg machine, The Phoenician Scheme doesn't deviate from Wes Anderson's increasingly ornate style but delivers the formula with mannered delicacy."[43] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[44] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B-" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it an 81% positive score, with 62% saying they would definitely recommend it.[45][46]

Tim Grierson of ScreenDaily wrote that while the film "is transporting", "the narrative proves to be fussy rather than delightful."[47]

William Bibbiani of TheWrap declared the film "a serious work of art that plays like a boondoggle."[48]

Davide Abbatescianni of Cineuropa billed it "another elegant yet forgettable chapter in Anderson's filmography," which "ticks the boxes of visual and narrative quirkiness without delivering any substance."[49]

Accolades

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Institution Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival May 24, 2025 Palme d'Or Wes Anderson Nominated [50]

Notes

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Phoenician Scheme (15)". BBFC. April 15, 2025. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  2. ^ "You Won't Believe How Many A-Listers Are In Wes Anderson's 'The Phoenician Scheme', Hitting Theaters May 30". Thought Catalog. May 8, 2025. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  3. ^ "The Phoenician Scheme". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  4. ^ "The Phoenician Scheme – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  5. ^ "Wes Anderson's 'The Phoenician Scheme' to Start Filming in April". World of Reel. January 11, 2024. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "The Screenings Guide of the 78th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. May 8, 2025. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  7. ^ "The Phoenician Scheme: Wes Anderson's sense of an ending". New Statesman. May 2025. Anderson wrote the film for him and didn't consider anyone else for the part. His character is modelled quite closely on the tycoon and art collector Calouste Gulbenkian (1869–1955), dubbed "Mr Five Per Cent" for his custom of retaining that much interest in every deal he put together.
  8. ^ "Wes Anderson Talks 'The Phoenician Scheme' and the Legacy of Capitalist Icons". Mundo America. May 19, 2025. There is another character that I find more interesting and that is definitive: Calouste Gulbenkian. He is remembered as a philanthropist, but before anything, he was a great capitalist.
  9. ^ "The Phoenician Scheme" (PDF). Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Galuppo, Mia (May 13, 2025). "Wes Anderson on 'The Phoenician Scheme,' His Cannes Party Bus and Why You Should Always See His Movies Twice". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  11. ^ Puchko, Kristy (June 6, 2025). "Wes Anderson on the personal inspirations for 'The Phoenician Scheme'". Mashable. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d e Adams, Sam (June 6, 2025). "In Wes Anderson's New Movie, He Examines His Own Limitations". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  13. ^ a b Shafer, Ellise (May 30, 2025). "Benicio del Toro Calls 'The Phoenician Scheme' Role a 'Gift' as Wes Anderson Says 'He Was the Only One I Ever Considered': 'Actors Dream of Moments Like This'". Variety. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  14. ^ a b Greenberger, Alex (May 30, 2025). "Wes Anderson's 'The Phoenician Scheme' Features a Real Renoir and a Salient Spoof of Art Collecting". ARTnews.com. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  15. ^ Bradshaw, Nick (May 23, 2025). "The Phoenician Scheme review". BFI. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  16. ^ a b Brody, Richard (May 29, 2025). "Is "The Phoenician Scheme" Wes Anderson's Most Emotional Film?". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  17. ^ Wallace, Rachel (May 21, 2025). "An Exclusive Look Inside 'The Phoenician Scheme,' Wes Anderson's Zany New Film". Architectural Digest. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  18. ^ a b Shaffer, Marshall (May 30, 2025). "Wes Anderson and Michael Cera on 'The Phoenician Scheme'". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  19. ^ Aftab, Kaleem (May 16, 2025). "Review: The Phoenician Scheme". Time Out. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  20. ^ Matt, Grobar (March 11, 2024). "Wes Anderson Shares Why He Was Absent From Oscars & What He Would've Said Following Win For Netflix Short The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  21. ^ "Alexandre Desplat Scoring Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme". Film Music Reporter. February 11, 2025. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  22. ^ Girolamo, Dan (May 12, 2023). "Michael Cera Joins Wes Anderson's Next Movie Cast". ComingSoon.net. Evolve Media.
  23. ^ Paz, Maggie Dela (May 20, 2023). "Benicio del Toro Joins Wes Anderson's Next Movie Cast". ComingSoon.net. Evolve Media.
  24. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 14, 2023). "Wes Anderson On Building Asteroid City, His Next 'Three-Hander' Film & Working Again With Bill Murray – Crew Call Podcast". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
  25. ^ a b Wise, Damon (September 18, 2023). "Wes Anderson Talks About Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Teases His Next Movie, And Claims: "I Don't Have An Aesthetic"". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
  26. ^ Fuge, Jonathan (June 26, 2023). "Wes Anderson's Next Movie Is a Dark Espionage Tale With Benicio del Toro Featuring in Every Shot". MovieWeb. Valnet Inc. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023.
  27. ^ Grobar, Matt (January 11, 2024). "Wes Anderson Sets Bill Murray, Michael Cera & Benicio Del Toro for Next Feature". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
  28. ^ Kit, Borys (April 16, 2024). "Riz Ahmed Joins Wes Anderson's Latest Film (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation.
  29. ^ Gearan, Hannah (May 7, 2024). "Exclusive Phoenician Scheme Image Is Wes Anderson's Latest Fraught Father-Child Relationship In A Nutshell". Screen Rant.
  30. ^ Pearce, Leonard (June 6, 2024). "Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme Adds Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Willem Dafoe, Benedict Cumberbatch, Charlotte Gainsbourg & More". The Film Stage.
  31. ^ a b c Lang, Brent (February 11, 2025). "Wes Anderson's Next Film 'The Phoenician Scheme' Gets May Release Date, Focus Features to Distribute". Variety. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  32. ^ a b c d e Fear, David (May 24, 2023). "Mia Threapleton Idolized Wes Anderson. Then She Became the Breakout Star of His New Movie". Rolling Stone.
  33. ^ Seth, Radhika (May 20, 2025). "The Phoenicin Scheme's Mia Threapleton on Crying During Her Standing Ovation and Mom Kate Winslet's Cannes Advice". Vogue.
  34. ^ Jones, Emma (May 20, 2025). "'She might be short, but she's terrific': The sensational break-out star of The Phoenician Scheme". BBC News.
  35. ^ "Mia Threapleton on Preparing for Role in 'The Phoenician Scheme'". Today Show. May 29, 2025 – via YouTube.
  36. ^ Calnan, Ellie (March 12, 2024). "Wes Anderson shooting new film The Phoenician Scheme in Germany". Kemps Film and TV Production Services Handbook. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  37. ^ Ruimy, Jordan (June 6, 2024). "Wes Anderson's 'The Phoenician Scheme' Adds Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Willem Dafoe, Benedict Cumberbatch, and more". worldofreel.com.
  38. ^ Desowitz, Bill (March 12, 2025). "20 Movies Shot on Film in 2025: Separate Safdie Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, and More". IndieWire. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  39. ^ Sharf, Zack (January 9, 2018). "Robert Yeoman Looks Back on Filming Six Wes Anderson Films: 'We Always Find a Way of Pulling it Off'". IndieWire. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  40. ^ a b Zuckerman, Esther (June 6, 2025). "In Wes Anderson's New Movie, Real Masterpieces Get a Starring Role". The New York Times. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  41. ^ Keslassy, Elsa; Shafer, Ellise (April 10, 2025). "Cannes Film Festival Unveils 2025 Lineup". Variety. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  42. ^ "The Phoenician Scheme". Cineuropa. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  43. ^ "The Phoenician Scheme". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 28, 2025. Edit this at Wikidata
  44. ^ "The Phoenician Scheme". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  45. ^ "Home". CinemaScore. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  46. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 7, 2025). "'Ballerina' Targeting $26M-$30M As 'Lilo & Stitch' Laughs To No. 1 With $32M-$34M – Friday PM Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  47. ^ Grierson, Tim (May 18, 2025). "'The Phoenician Scheme' review: Benicio del Toro and Wes Anderson unite for espionage comedy-drama". ScreenDaily. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  48. ^ Bibbiani, William (May 18, 2025). "'The Phoenician Scheme' Review: Nobody Wes Andersons Like Wes Anderson". TheWrap. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  49. ^ Abbatescianni, Davide (May 20, 2025). "Review: The Phoenician Scheme". Cineuropa. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
  50. ^ "The films of the Official Selection 2025". Festival de Cannes. April 10, 2025. Archived from the original on April 10, 2025. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
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