A few weeks ago Dr. Fiancée and I went to see the new Wes Anderson film, The Phoenician Scheme (2025). I’ve long been a big fan of Wes Anderson’s unique style, but Dr. Fiancée has never seen any of his films. For the first twenty or so minutes of the film, I was thinking, “Good Lord, what I have done to her?” But her first outing into the world Wes Anderson went well, and she enjoyed the film.
I was definitely throwing her into the deep end of the pool, but the film was quite fun. It’s an international caper involving madcap attempts to obtain funding for the titular “scheme.” Benicio del Toro stars as Zsa-Zsa Korda, an international magnate and daredevil pilot who manages to survive multiple attempts on his life, including plane crashes. Korda needs to cover “the gap,” a substantial amount of missing funding necessary to fund a major development project in the Near East. “The gap” is “everying [Korda] own[s]—plus a little more.”
As Korda embarks on this high-stakes escapade of international funding, he recalls his daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), home from the convent, where she is soon to take vows to her order. Korda offers the pious Liesl all of his fortune and assets, but requires her aid to fund the Phoenician scheme. Liesl, for her part, plays hardball with her father, demanding (among other things) that he allow his nine sons—Liesl’s brothers—to move out of their dormitory across the street and into the main house with Korda. She also insists that he not use slave labor on the project, to which Korda agrees.
Thrown into the mix is Michael Cera, portraying a Norwegian entomologist, who acts as a tutor for the boys and as Korda’s personal secretary. A panoply of Andersonian misfits and characters don the screen.
The Phoenician Scheme is Wes Anderson’s most Catholic film, and not just because Liesl is a nun-in-training. The movie is shot through with religious imagery. Every time Korda has a near-death experience (which is frequently), he has Biblical visions. He often describes their task as “Biblical” in scope. Liesl worries about her father’s heart, and slowly opens and softens it, to the point that Korda and his nine sons are baptized (although partially to get the pope’s support for the scheme). Korda’s transformation is remarkable over the course of the film, and is akin to a redemption.
The flick is also the story of a father seeking to repair his relationship with his daughter, and going to great lengths to do so. Liesl lacks her father’s resources, but possesses his tenacity and will—as well as a deep and profound faith. While she does claim that when she prays, she’s not sure God (portrayed by Bill Murray!) Is Answering, she prays nevertheless. In doing so—and through refusing to compromise her beliefs or morals for her father’s sake—she convinces a powerful man to humble himself and to seek out what is right—and to seek out God.
The Phoenician Scheme is a bit dense at points, and I really want to see it again. So does Dr. Fiancée. We both think there is a lot there that we missed the first time. The film works on a basic level as a fun, quirky caper, but there’s much more going on in this instant classic. Check it out—I highly recommend it!