The director has presented ‘The wonderful story of Henry Sugar’ at the Mostra, which is not only his second film of the year -just two and a half months ago he released ‘Asteroid City’- but also his second adaptation of a story by Dahl after the masterful ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ (2009)
Like almost any sensible person in this world, Wes Anderson considers it a mistake that Roald Dahl’s books have been rewritten to eliminate words once included in them by the British author and today considered offensive. “No work should be modified by anyone other than the author himself, especially if the author is dead; What’s more, I don’t even like an artist to modify their own work& rdquor;. Today, Anderson has presented at the Mostra ‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’, which is not only his second film of the year -just two and a half months ago he released ‘Asteroid City’- but also his second adaptation of a story by Dahl after the masterful ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ (2009). In just 37 minutes of footage, it tells the story of a wealthy man who discovers the story of a guru who can see without using his eyes and decides to develop the same skill in order to swindle casinos.
Actually, considering the new film an adaptation is inaccurate, since it is more about an almost word-for-word recitation of the storyoriginally published in 1977. Contemplating it offers the sensation of attending a live theatrical performance, in which the sets and props change in real time and, addressing the camera directly, the actors simultaneously act as narrators and characters as they speak, as has become customary in Anderson’s cinema, full-speed.
The cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, Rupert Friend and Richard Ayoade, among other performers and, given that the film is a Netflix production -and that Netflix is one of the several studios accused of being guilty of the current strike of actors in the United States-, none of them has accompanied Anderson today in the presentation of the film in the contest.
The director will also receive the Glory to the Filmmaker award tonight at the Mostra, an honorary award that recognizes authors who have made notable artistic contributions to contemporary cinema. A good part of what he has made a hallmark of throughout his career, of course, are present in ‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’ although, obviously, in smaller doses: the stories within stories within stories, the precise compositions brimming with details, the hieraticism that barely manages to hide a deep melancholy.
Ultimately, the new film confirms what a fine artistic partnership Anderson and Dahl make, and so it’s great news that, as he said in Venice today, Anderson has already completed three more short films for Netflix based on two stories by the writer: ‘The swan’, ‘Venom’ and ‘The rat remover’. “And I think that after that I will have had enough of Dahl for the moment & rdquor ;, he assures.