The release of Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme has prompted some filmgoers to note the similarities between the movie and Orson Welles’ 1955 effort Mr. Arkadin (Confidential Report).
Mr. Arkadin and The Phoenician Scheme share obvious common ground – particularly in their portrayal of enigmatic, wealthy figures and the exploration of mystery and intrigue. Both films feature a rich, eccentric character whose life and past are shrouded in mystery, leading to investigations and uncovering hidden truths.
In Mr. Arkadin, Gregory Arkadin (played by Orson Welles) is an elusive billionaire whose true identity and past are a subject of inquiry. In The Phoenician Scheme, Benicio Del Toro plays Zsa-zsa Korda, a wealthy businessman with his own peculiar circumstances and schemes. (The name seems a play on those of Touch of Evil actress Zsa Zsa Gabor and The Third Man producer Alexander Korda.)
The Telegraph noted that Zsa-zsa Korda was “equal parts Aristotle Onassis, Orson Welles’s Mr Arkadin, Gene Hackman’s Tenenbaum patriarch, and The Goon Show’s Hercules Grytpype-Thynne.” Anderson told The Hollywood Reporter that the character of Korda was a role Welles could have played himself.
Anderson and Welles set their movies in or influenced by European settings, adding to the intrigue and exoticism of the narratives. Mr. Arkadin takes place in a Cold War European landscape, while The Phoenician Scheme is set in a fictional European country, with Del Toro playing a wealthy figure seemingly based in Europe. Both movies are driven by a central mystery, with characters actively seeking to unravel the secrets of the wealthy protagonist. In Mr. Arkadin, an American smuggler, Guy Van Stratten, investigates Arkadin’s past, uncovering a complex web of connections and Cold War intrigue. In The Phoenician Scheme, Korda’s new business venture leads to schemes and schemes by other tycoons, creating a suspenseful atmosphere.
The movie differ in the relationship between the lead character and his daughter. The New Yorker noted in its review, “Welles plays a tycoon (in Mr. Arkadin) determined to keep his grown daughter from finding out that he got his start in criminal enterprises. Anderson stands the original on its head: grooming (Korda’s daughter) Liesl as a successor, Zsa-zsa introduces her to a world where cunning and force hold sway.”
The films delve into themes of corruption, deception, and the darker side of power, with characters struggling to uncover hidden truths and expose shady dealings. Mr. Arkadin features a world of smugglers, spies, and political intrigue, while The Phoenician Scheme explores the schemes of tycoons and the potential for deception within Zsa-Zsa Korda’s new business.
This is not the first time similarities between Anderson’s films and classic Welles movies have been noted. Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums and Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons share some thematic and stylistic similarities, particularly regarding dysfunctional families and a sense of decline.
Anderson, who aided a crowdfunding campaign in 2015 to complete Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind, has openly acknowledged the influence Welles’ work has had on his own film-making style.
“He’s not particularly subtle,’ Anderson has said of Welles. “He likes the big effect, the very dramatic camera move, the very theatrical device. I love that! And then also, he loves actors, and he is an actor himself, and he always created great characters that also tend to be larger than life.”
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