THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME (2025)

Genre: Drama
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: 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
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Violence and Sexual References)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 5 June 2025

Synopsis: 1950. Anatole “Zsa-zsa” Korda (Benicio del Toro), enigmatic industrialist, one of the richest men in Europe, survives another attempt on his life (his sixth plane crash). Korda's wide-ranging, wildly complex, and ruthless business practices have made him an enemy to not just rival enterprises but also governments of every ideology across the globe -- and a target for assassins. Now he is in the final stages of a decades-long, career-defining project (Korda Land and Sea Phoenician Infrastructure Scheme), the expansive exploitation of a potentially-rich/long-dormant region. The risk to his personal capital has become incalculable. The threats to his life are ongoing. He chooses this moment to appoint and prepare a successor: his twenty-year-old estranged daughter Liesl (currently, a nun). With personal tutor Bjorn (Michael Cera) in tow, Zsa-zsa and Liesl sweep across Modern Greater Independent Phoenicia meeting their assorted partners on a mission to close The Gap (a rapidly expanding financial shortfall) which Zsa-zsa quantifies as: "Everything we got -- plus a little bit more." Along the way: Liesl investigates the unsolved murder, a decade earlier, of Zsa-zsa's first wife (her mother). 

Movie Review:

Watching a Wes Anderson film feels like strolling through an art gallery. You wander from one artwork to the next, pausing to take in each piece — its splashes of colour, abstract doodles, or indecipherable brushstrokes — reading the captions, trying to grasp the artist’s intent. You're not always sure how you feel about what you're seeing, but you keep going, absorbing the experience one frame at a time. When you exit the gallery, you aren’t sure what you’re supposed to feel about the whole experience.

Anderson’s 13th feature film makes this analogy more fitting than ever. Marketed as an espionage black comedy, this isn’t your typical action-packed ride you can passively watch. Instead, it demands your full attention like the auteur’s films before this. Each frame is meticulously crafted, almost screaming for you to examine every detail. Meanwhile, the plot unfolds in layers, challenging you to follow along as the characters drift through scene after scene, leaving you both intrigued and unsure — but always captivated.

We’ll be honest — we had never heard of the Phoenicians before this. If you’re in the same boat, they were an ancient Semitic people who lived in the city-states of Phoenicia, located along what is now modern-day Lebanon and the Syrian coast.

So why is the film titled The Phoenician Scheme? Because it’s set in a fictional Middle Eastern country named after the ancient Phoenician civilisation. The “scheme” refers to a grand plan dreamed up by the film’s protagonist, Zsa-zsa Korda (yes, that’s really his name!), played by Benicio del Toro. He travels the globe in pursuit of funding, all while trying to teach his daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), the fine art of doing serious business. Naturally, in a story co-written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, Liesl also happens to be a nun — because of course she is. Going along for the ride is Bjørn, a Norwegian entomologist and tutor to Korda's nine sons, played with absolute charm by Michael Cera.

One of the most talked-about aspects of Anderson’s films is his ability to assemble an enviable ensemble cast — A-listers galore, often appearing in supporting or even blink-and-you’ll-miss-it roles. Watching one of his films feels like going stargazing at the cinema.

This time around, keep an eye out for Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Benedict Cumberbatch Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Riz Ahmed, and Rupert Friend — all popping up as delightfully eccentric characters. And really, who could ever tire of seeing Willem Dafoe on screen? As for Bill Murray playing God? Say no more — we’re sold.

Another hallmark of Anderson’s films is the emotionally subdued — almost deadpan — performances from his actors. That’s very much the case here too. Many scenes unfold in a wonderfully goofy manner, peppered with genuinely chuckle-worthy moments. But at its core, this seems to be a story about family. Over the course of the film’s 101 minutes, the relationship between father and daughter evolves into something awkwardly tender and unexpectedly touching.

Still, one can’t help but wonder if Anderson is hinting at something deeper. Perhaps there's more to uncover — if you're willing to peel back the layers of his eccentric narrative. Then again, even without overthinking it, there’s plenty to enjoy in the film’s trademark visual flair.

Movie Rating:

(A star-studded affair that's a treat for the eyes - especially if you love  meticulously composed shots that look like they belong in an art gallery)

Review by John Li