---
title: "The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun"
year: 2021
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-french-dispatch-of-the-liberty-kansas-evening-sun"
fi1m_id: "the-french-dispatch-of-the-liberty-kansas-evening-sun"
imdb_id: "tt8847712"
tmdb_id: 542178
wikidata_id: "Q59551547"
fi1m_score: 68
critics_score: 70
critics_reviews: 33
published: "2026-09-30T21:24:18.769997+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-30T21:24:19.303234+00:00"
region: "IL"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun (2021)

Directed by Wes Anderson · 1h 48m · IFRB 12 · Drama, Comedy

## Identity

The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-french-dispatch-of-the-liberty-kansas-evening-sun
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-french-dispatch-of-the-liberty-kansas-evening-sun
- **IMDb ID:** tt8847712
- **TMDB ID:** 542178
- **Wikidata ID:** Q59551547
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8847712/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/542178, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q59551547

**Fi1m score: 68** · Critics 70 from 33 reviews

*In a sentence:* Every frame is a magazine cover and about a third of the articles are worth finishing

> Wes Anderson’s anthology is the handsomest thing he has made and the least sure of why we should care. One of its three stories works, one half works, and one has us checking the clock. Jeffrey Wright saves the last quarter of an hour.

## Synopsis

Ennui-sur-Blasé, France, in the twentieth century. Arthur Howitzer, Jr. (Bill Murray), the Kansas-born editor of *The French Dispatch*, a weekly supplement to the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun, has died at his desk, and his will orders the magazine closed after one last issue. That issue is the film. Herbsaint Sazerac (Owen Wilson) cycles us through the town’s rat-infested alleys and rooftop cats. Then the features begin. J.K.L. Berensen (Tilda Swinton) lectures on Moses Rosenthaler (Benicio del Toro), a murderer painting in prison with his guard Simone (Léa Seydoux) as his model, and on Julian Cadazio (Adrien Brody), the dealer who wants his work. Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand) covers a student uprising; Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright) files a food column that does not stay one.

## Review

Wes Anderson has made a magazine. Not a film about one, though it is that too, but a magazine: a cover, a travel column, three long features and an obituary, assembled as the final issue of *The French Dispatch*, the Kansas newspaper supplement that Arthur Howitzer, Jr. (Bill Murray) edited from a French town called Ennui-sur-Blasé until he died at his desk. It is 108 minutes long, and nearly every one of them is beautiful. Whether you will want to read past the pictures depends on which of the three stories you are in.

The craft is not in question. Robert Yeoman shoots most of the film in black and white and cuts to colour for a few seconds at a time, when a canvas is unveiled or a plate is set down, so that colour becomes a thing the film does to you rather than a thing it simply has. The frame narrows and widens as the stories demand. Adam Stockhausen builds the town in cross-section, a police station opened up like a doll’s house with the front wall taken off, a prison that is all corridor. Milena Canonero puts the prison guard in a uniform starched to attention and the students in tweed jackets that look inherited. Alexandre Desplat’s score is spare, mostly piano, and does not fight the images.

The first feature is the sturdiest. Tilda Swinton’s J.K.L. Berensen delivers it as a lecture, slides and all, and Swinton’s plummy hesitations are funnier than most of the written jokes. Benicio del Toro plays the painter Moses Rosenthaler almost entirely in grunts, Léa Seydoux gives his guard and model Simone a stillness the film badly needs, and Adrien Brody, as the dealer Julian Cadazio, talks about art the way other men talk about horses. The story has one idea, that money arrives to spoil a thing before the thing is finished, and it keeps finding new ways to say it. It ends before it wears thin.

The second does not. Frances McDormand’s Lucinda Krementz is a journalist who has decided to keep her distance from a student revolt and then does not, and Timothée Chalamet’s Zeffirelli and Lyna Khoudri’s Juliette are the students. The film is not interested in what they want, and neither, as far as we could tell, are they. Around this point we felt our attention drift off the people and on to the furniture, which is where Anderson seems to want it. McDormand does what she can with a woman who is mostly a typewriter. Chalamet has the hair and the cigarette and not much else.

Then Jeffrey Wright arrives and the film finds its pulse. His Roebuck Wright is a food critic on a television chat show, reciting a profile of Nescaffier (Steve Park), the police chef who cooks for the Commissaire (Mathieu Amalric), and the joke, delivered without a wink, is that he remembers every word he has ever written. Wright plays the man’s loneliness underneath the elocution, and the segment is the only one in which somebody’s insides matter more than the set. It moved us more than we thought this film had in it. There is an exchange near its end, between two men who have each come a long way to be here, that we will not quote, and it is the reason to sit through the middle.

Andrew Weisblum cuts the whole thing fast, stories inside stories, a freeze frame every time a character is introduced, an animated chase when the live action will not do. The speed is the trouble as much as the design is. [*The Grand Budapest Hotel*](https://film.one/film/the-grand-budapest-hotel) (2014) had one story and a grief running under it, and gave both room. [*Rushmore*](https://film.one/film/rushmore) (1998) had one boy. This has three features and an editor, and the affection goes to the magazine, the mastheads and the house style and the sign on the wall forbidding crying, rather than to the people who wrote for it. We admired the pages more than we read them.

See it, if you like him, and see it at home, where you can stop the picture and read the headlines Stockhausen has painted on the shop fronts. Skip nothing in the last twenty minutes. It runs 108 minutes and carries a 15 certificate, mostly for a nude painter’s model and some cheerful violence in the kitchen.

*Fi1m score 68, published 30 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like it, and several call it among Wes Anderson’s best or most accomplished films. The praise settles on the same things: the density of detail in Adam Stockhausen’s production design, the precision of the compositions, and the way the film moves between magazine page and screen. Jeffrey Wright’s segment is singled out more than any other, and even critics cool on the rest find his performance affecting.

The reservations are about structure and feeling. Many find the anthology episodic and scattershot, and a recurring complaint is that the surface pleasures bury the characters and leave the film emotionally remote. The spread is wide: The New Yorker calls it perhaps Anderson’s best, Polygon his least successful. The Los Angeles Times finds it overstuffed and distant, and The Guardian often exasperating. Even the admirers concede the distance; they simply forgive it.

## Straight answers

**Is The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun worth watching?**

*The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun* is worth watching for anyone who already likes Wes Anderson, and we scored it 68. Of its three stories one works, one half works and one drags, so the pleasure is uneven. Jeffrey Wright's final segment is the reason to stay, and watching at home lets you pause to read the painted shop fronts.

**How long is The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun, and what is it rated?**

*The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun* runs 1h 48m and is rated 12 by the IFRB in Israel. It is a drama and comedy film.

**Where can I watch The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun in Israel?**

*The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun* is available to rent from Apple TV from ₪16.90. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun, and is it suitable for children?**

*The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun* is a 15 in the UK and is not made for children. The certificate is earned mostly by a nude painter's model and some brisk violence in a police kitchen, played for comedy rather than fright. Teenagers may sit through it; younger viewers will find little to hold them in a film built like a magazine.

**How does The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun compare to The Grand Budapest Hotel?**

*The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun* is the handsomer film and [*The Grand Budapest Hotel*](https://film.one/film/the-grand-budapest-hotel) is the better one. The earlier film has one story, one hotel and a real grief running under the comedy; this one has three features and gives its affection to the magazine rather than the people writing for it. Start with *The Grand Budapest Hotel* if you know neither.

**What should I watch after The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun?**

After *The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun*, try [*The Grand Budapest Hotel*](https://film.one/film/the-grand-budapest-hotel) (2014, Fi1m 86): Anderson with one story, one hotel and a proper sadness underneath the pastry. Then [*Playtime*](https://film.one/film/playtime) (1967, Fi1m 88): Tati builds an entire Paris to get lost in, and the jokes are architectural too; and [*Amarcord*](https://film.one/film/amarcord) (1973, Fi1m 82): Fellini’s small town remembered in episodes, warmer and ruder than anything here.

### Reviews we read (33)

- **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (95/100, inferred): Brody calls it perhaps Anderson’s best film and certainly his most accomplished, praising its exuberant, complex cinematic energy. He especially admires how its elaborate artifice gives style and substance to stories of resistance, heroism, and journalism. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-french-dispatch-reviewed-wes-andersons-most-freewheeling-film)
- **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (A-): Dowd finds the film a dizzying, poignant, affectionate tribute to journalism and the art of reporting. He especially praises its precise visual compositions and intricate, playful details. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/with-the-french-dispatch-wes-anderson-pens-a-dizzying-1847910399)
- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (Critics Pick): Debruge praises the film as a lively, original tribute to literary journalism and finds it less safe than Anderson’s earlier work. He especially admires its intricate craftsmanship and ensemble, which make its carefully controlled world feel human. [Read](https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-anderson-1235012718/)
- **IndieWire**, Eric Kohn (B+): Kohn finds the film an endearing, engrossing salute to storytelling, though its scattershot vignettes do not always cohere. He particularly praises Jeffrey Wright’s segment and its lyrical, haunting imagery. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-anderson-1234650346/)
- **Empire**, Ian Freer (82/100, inferred): Freer finds the film a joyful, intricately crafted delight, though its episodic structure leaves it less fulfilling than some of Anderson’s narrative films. He especially praises its dense detail, comedic invention and exquisitely controlled filmmaking. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-french-dispatch/)
- **Evening Standard**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (4/5): O'Sullivan finds the film below Anderson’s best but still a winner compared with most films. She praises its zesty dialogue and tender portrait of crumpled writers. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-anderson-timothee-chalamet-movie-b959514.html)
- **Little White Lies**, Hannah Strong (4/4/5): Strong praises the film as a bold, beautifully rendered celebration of storytelling, though its intricate style may not win over Anderson’s detractors. She singles out the final reporter’s story as especially moving. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-french-dispatch)
- **The i Paper**, Kaleem Aftab (80/100, inferred): A strongly positive review calls it Anderson’s most technically innovative and beautiful film yet, while noting its sensory overload. It especially praises the visual design and the way the film blurs the boundaries between magazine pages and screen. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/the-french-dispatch-cannes-film-festival-review-bill-murray-timothee-chalamet-wes-anderson-1099996)
- **Total Film**, James Mottram (4/5): Mottram finds the film dazzling and says Wes Anderson fans will delight in its imaginative, anthology-style storytelling. He praises its exquisite visual detail, accomplished craft, and large cast, while noting it may feel slight to detractors. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-anderson-cannes/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Pat Brown (3/4): The critic finds the film fascinating and visually inventive, but says its busy style weakens its emotional impact. They praise Anderson’s intricate narration and composition, while noting that cameos and stylistic flourishes bury the wistful ending. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-anderson/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (70/100, inferred): Rooney finds the film a beguiling, if episodic, curio that may strike some viewers as self-parody. He especially praises Adam Stockhausen’s ingenious production design and the film’s handcrafted visual detail. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-french-dispatch-cannes-2021-1234977451/)
- **Vulture**, Alison Willmore (70/100, inferred): Willmore finds the film an almost unbearably on-brand but ultimately comforting and affecting work, despite one feature she finds intolerable. She singles out Jeffrey Wright’s performance and the heartache and compassion of his segment for praise. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/wes-anderson-french-dispatch-review.html)
- **Sight and Sound**, BFI (65/100, inferred): The critic finds the film an inventive, joyful but overstuffed distillation of Anderson’s style, with limited emotional and political depth. They praise the meticulous visual craft and lively Desplat score, while noting that the abundance of surface pleasures can overwhelm its characters. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/french-dispatch-wes-anderson-love-letter-journalism)
- **Screen Daily**, Tim Grierson (64/100, inferred): The page identifies this as a review, but the review text is behind a paywall, so its verdict cannot be determined. The available text does not reveal what the critic singled out for praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-french-dispatch-cannes-review/5161518.article)
- **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page is blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint is available from the page. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/movies/the-french-dispatch-review.html)
- **Film Comment**, Steven Mears (60/100, inferred): Mears finds the anthology overly finicky but ultimately capable of genuine grace. The standfirst singles out those moments of grace amid its polished, star-packed approach. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/polished-drafts-wes-anderson-the-french-dispatch-review/)
- **Time Out**, Eurico de Barros (3/5): Time Out rates the film 3/5, indicating a moderately favorable verdict. The available page text gives its premise but does not reveal a specific point of praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/pt/filmes/cronicas-de-franca-2021)
- **The Guardian**, Wendy Ide (35/100, inferred): Ide finds the anthology uneven and often exasperating, though she sees more to admire in its other sections. She praises the final food-review-turned-heist story as the most satisfying segment, especially Jeffrey Wright’s charming narration and performance. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/23/the-french-dispatch-review-exasperating-wes-anderson-portmanteau-picture)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Katie Walsh (20/100, inferred): Walsh finds the film an overstuffed, emotionally distant disappointment, with Anderson’s signature style working against it. She praises its intentions as a love letter to print journalism but says its visual fuss obscures any message or emotional connection. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-10-21/review-french-dispatch-wes-anderson-timothee-chalamet-bill-murray)
- **Collider**, Rafael Motamayor (A-): Motamayor finds the film a near-perfect, exuberant encapsulation of Wes Anderson’s style, though it can feel emotionally distant and overwhelming. He especially praises the inventive visuals, Jeffrey Wright’s performance, and the care evident in every frame. [Read](https://collider.com/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-anderson/)
- **/Film**, Hoai-Tran Bui (9/10): Bui finds the film breathlessly stylish, visually overwhelming, and ultimately delightful. She praises its hidden emotional warmth beneath the intricate, overstuffed images and stories. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/635548/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-andersons-stylish-love-letter-never-buries-the-lead/)
- **Consequence**, Jesse Hassenger (85/100, inferred): Hassenger argues that this funny, strange film is not a minor entry in Wes Anderson’s work. He praises its bold formal play and elaborate visual invention, while noting that some roles are brief and one animated passage is uninspired. [Read](https://consequence.net/2021/10/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-anderson/)
- **NME** (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it top-tier Wes Anderson and his funniest film in years. They praise the strong ensemble, whose fresh performances balance the film’s familiar, highly stylized touches. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-anderson-3076108)
- **The Ringer**, Israel Daramola (80/100, inferred): Daramola finds the film a lively, inventive expression of Anderson at his maximalist best, warmly praising its collaborative ensemble. He singles out the cast’s comic energy and the film’s sincere affection for journalism and storytelling. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2021/10/21/movies/french-dispatch-wes-anderson-review)
- **The Skinny**, Patrick Gamble (★★★★): Gamble finds the anthology a rich and absorbing delight, especially for viewers drawn to Anderson’s style and continental culture. He praises its recreation of the pleasure of losing yourself in a long read. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-french-dispatch)
- **The Playlist** (75/100, inferred): The headline presents the film as a dazzling success. The accessible page provides no further detail about the critic’s verdict or what they praise. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/the-french-dispatch-wes-anderson-dazzles-cannes-review-20210712/)
- **Paste**, Brianna Zigler (8.5): Zigler sees the film as a creative, visually inventive evolution, though its storytelling gimmicks leave character depth lacking. She praises Anderson’s striking formal experiments and distinctive artistry, while noting the weaker emotional pulse. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/wes-anderson/the-french-dispatch-review)
- **Den of Geek**, David Crow (3.5/5): Crow finds the film worthwhile but uneven, with its visual richness sometimes outshining weaker stories. He praises the sumptuous compositions and intricate visual details, while noting that some vignettes feel cluttered or underdeveloped. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-anderson/)
- **Eye for Film**, Andrew Robertson (60/100, inferred): The critic finds the film an intricate, playful extension of Anderson’s style, though its self-conscious form may not win over anyone who is not already a fan. They praise its carefully constructed sets, visual details and recurring elements for producing moments of surprise and delight. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-french-dispatch-2021-film-review-by-andrew-robertson)
- **The Wrap** (60/100, inferred): The critic finds the film entertaining and hugely impressive, but exhausting and scattershot. They praise its meticulous, jewel-box visual style while questioning whether its episodes add up to a larger whole. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/the-french-dispatch-cannes-review-wes-anderson-owen-wilson-bill-murray/)
- **Deadline**, Todd McCarthy (50/100, inferred): McCarthy finds the film an entrancing, visually distinctive exercise in Anderson’s eccentric style, but ultimately an unsatisfying meal. He praises its meticulous visual and rhythmic stylization while faulting its incoherent narrative and thin emotional life. [Read](https://deadline.com/2021/07/review-the-french-dispatch-wes-anderson-cannes-film-festival-1234790664/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Jo-Ann Titmarsh (35/100, inferred): The critic finds the film visually inventive but ultimately flimsy and lacking substance. The intricate sets and tiny visual details are singled out as its principal pleasure. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-french-dispatch-review/)
- **Polygon**, Robert Daniels (30/100, inferred): The critic finds it Anderson’s least successful film, visually impressive but narratively remote and mainly appealing to devoted fans. Jeffrey Wright’s vulnerable performance and the sincere memorial to Howitzer are singled out as the film’s most affecting moments. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/22740988/the-french-dispatch-review-wes-anderson/)

## Details

- **Director:** Wes Anderson
- **Director:** Wes Anderson
- **Screenplay:** Wes Anderson
- **Story:** Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola, Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
- **Cinematography:** Robert Yeoman
- **Editor:** Andrew Weisblum
- **Music:** Alexandre Desplat
- **Production design:** Adam Stockhausen
- **Costume design:** Milena Canonero
- **Producer:** Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales
- **Cast:** Benicio del Toro as Moses Rosenthaler; Adrien Brody as Julian Cadazio; Tilda Swinton as J.K.L. Berensen; Léa Seydoux as Simone; Frances McDormand as Lucinda Krementz; Timothée Chalamet as Zeffirelli; Lyna Khoudri as Juliette; Jeffrey Wright as Roebuck Wright
- **Runtime:** 1h 48m
- **Certificate (IFRB):** 12
- **Release (Israel):** 2 December 2021
- **Genres:** Drama, Comedy
- **Budget:** $25 million
- **Box office:** $46 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DOp3A_2fIM

## Where to watch in Israel

- Apple TV: rent ₪16.90, hd
- Apple TV: buy ₪44.90, hd

*Checked 2026-09-30.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *The Grand Budapest Hotel* (2014), Fi1m 86: Anderson with one story, one hotel and a proper sadness underneath the pastry. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-grand-budapest-hotel.md)
- *Playtime* (1967), Fi1m 88: Tati builds an entire Paris to get lost in, and the jokes are architectural too. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/playtime.md)
- *Amarcord* (1973), Fi1m 82: Fellini’s small town remembered in episodes, warmer and ruder than anything here. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/amarcord.md)
- *Wild Tales* (2014), Fi1m 83: An Argentine anthology where every story has a fuse and lights it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wild-tales.md)
- *Almost Famous* (2000), Fi1m 82: A young writer, a magazine deadline and an editor who actually reads the copy. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/almost-famous.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-french-dispatch-of-the-liberty-kansas-evening-sun