The Phoenician Scheme (2025)

The Phoenician Scheme (2025) – Full Movie Review 

Official poster of The Phoenician Scheme (2025) movie featuring lead cast and director Wes Anderson’s style.
Theatrical Release Poster 


Title: The Phoenician Scheme
Director: Wes Anderson
Release Date: May 30, 2025 (Limited), June 6, 2025 (Wide)
Genre: Espionage Black Comedy
Runtime: 105 minutes
Language: English
Production Companies: American Empirical Pictures, Indian Paintbrush
Distributors: Focus Features (USA), Universal Pictures (International)
Main Cast:
Benicio del Toro as Anatole "Zsa-zsa" Korda
Mia Threapleton as Sister Liesl
Michael Cera as Bjørn Lund
Scarlett Johansson as Cousin Hilda
Benedict Cumberbatch as Uncle Nubar
Tom Hanks as Leland
Riz Ahmed as Prince Farouk
Bryan Cranston as Reagan
Jeffrey Wright as Marty


Introduction

Wes Anderson, the unmistakable master of symmetry, quirky dialogue, and pastel-toned storytelling, returns in 2025 with his latest cinematic endeavor — The Phoenician Scheme. Combining spy satire, emotional depth, and his signature stylistic flair, this film stands out not just in Anderson’s rich filmography but in the wider cinematic landscape of 2025. Where some of his past films prioritized whimsy and stylization over emotional resonance, The Phoenician Scheme dives deep into relationships, mortality, political greed, and environmental consequences — all wrapped up in a story about an industrialist trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter before his death.

Let’s unravel this unique cinematic experience, piece by piece.


Plot Summary

The plot revolves around Anatole “Zsa-Zsa” Korda (Benicio del Toro), an aging industrialist in a fictional Mediterranean country, known for his influence in the postwar rebuilding efforts across land and sea — particularly via the “Korda Land and Sea Phoenician Infrastructure Scheme,” a massive development project that’s both ambitious and morally questionable. But Zsa-Zsa has grown old and paranoid, convinced he’ll soon be assassinated — perhaps by old enemies, revolutionaries, or even international agents.

Haunted by guilt and desperate for redemption, he reaches out to his estranged daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who was raised in a convent and now serves as a novice nun. Liesl is suddenly thrust into a world of political intrigue, secret deals, shady agents, and underground resistance — all tied to her father's empire. As she navigates this unfamiliar world, she must decide whether to carry on her father's legacy, destroy it, or forge something entirely new.

The film is structured into seven stylized chapters, each focusing on a different aspect of the unfolding story — from covert meetings in candle-lit chapels to dramatic boardroom betrayals, secret letters, attempted assassinations, and a final reckoning by the sea. It’s not just a story about espionage; it's about forgiveness, identity, and the toxic allure of power.


Main Cast and Performances

Benicio del Toro as Anatole “Zsa-Zsa” Korda
Del Toro’s performance is magnetic. He portrays Korda not as a villain or a hero but as a deeply flawed man who tries to justify his past sins through legacy-building. His paranoia, moments of vulnerability, and flashes of ruthlessness make this one of his finest performances to date.

Mia Threapleton as Sister Liesl
In her breakout role, Threapleton delivers a quiet but powerful performance. Liesl’s evolution from innocent novice to moral arbiter is the emotional core of the film. Her expressions carry immense weight — especially in moments of silence when she’s wrestling with decisions far beyond her experience.

Michael Cera as Bjørn Lund
Cera plays an awkward Norwegian entomologist who serves as Liesl’s tutor in navigating the political and ethical world of high finance and infrastructure. His comedic timing, peculiar behavior (he collects rare bugs), and subtle romantic interest in Liesl bring lightness and warmth to the otherwise dense story.

Scarlett Johansson as Allegra Quist
Johansson plays a French agent posing as a museum curator, who may or may not be working with the revolutionaries. Her scenes with Del Toro crackle with tension and shared history, adding layers to the geopolitical elements of the film.

Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Jeffrey Wright, Rupert Friend, Richard Ayoade, and Hope Davis round out the supporting cast with memorable cameos — each one adding depth, humor, or a moment of moral clarity.


Production Details

Filming took place almost entirely on elaborate sets constructed at Babelsberg Studio in Potsdam, Germany. Anderson’s long-time collaborators — cinematographer Robert Yeoman, composer Alexandre Desplat, and costume designer Milena Canonero — returned to craft the film’s unique aesthetic. Production began in early 2024 and wrapped in June of the same year.

The fictional Mediterranean country where the film is set was created using a blend of miniatures, matte paintings, and meticulously designed sets — reminiscent of The Grand Budapest Hotel but with a more somber, earthy color palette (olive greens, sun-dried oranges, dusty grays).

Desplat’s score is both lush and haunting, blending baroque instruments with occasional jazz flourishes. His use of harpsichord, oboe, and a distant male choir adds both whimsy and weight to key scenes — especially during Liesl’s emotional breakdown and the final confrontation on the beach.


Visual and Narrative Structure

The Phoenician Scheme is divided into seven narrative chapters, each introduced by a vintage title card with illustrations reminiscent of post-war textbooks. Anderson uses frame-within-frame compositions, side-scrolling diorama shots, and top-down table layouts that audiences have come to expect — but he also introduces new visual techniques.

For the first time in his career, Anderson uses shaky cam and over-the-shoulder POV shots to simulate surveillance and unease. One particularly gripping scene — a conversation in a chapel between Liesl and her dying father — is shot in complete candlelight, recalling Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon.


Themes and Subtext

While the film wears the clothes of a spy comedy, it’s ultimately about legacies — what we inherit, what we reject, and what we create for ourselves. Anderson weaves in sharp commentary on:

  • Colonial infrastructure projects
  • Climate collapse
  • The weaponization of guilt
  • Faith and doubt
  • Generational trauma

The political satire is sharp, especially in boardroom scenes where executives argue over desert irrigation plans while sipping rare wines. Liesl’s internal struggle — between faith, morality, and her father’s seductive empire — mirrors modern dilemmas of ethical complicity.


Deleted Scenes and Alternate Cuts

While not officially released, reports from test screenings suggest several scenes were cut for pacing:

  • A surreal dream sequence in which Liesl imagines a utopia built from her father's blueprints
  • A puppet show reenacting the family’s betrayal
  • A montage showing Korda’s empire in its prime (using real archival footage of 1950s infrastructure)

There was also an alternate ending where Liesl inherits everything and becomes a ruthless CEO, mirroring her father. It tested poorly for being “too cynical,” and was replaced with the more hopeful ending now in theaters.


Funny Moments from the Shooting Spot

Despite the film’s serious undertones, the set was full of laughter:

  • Michael Cera spent hours learning how to handle real beetles for his scenes — only to find out Anderson replaced them with claymation in post-production.
  • Scarlett Johansson’s wig reportedly caught fire during a candle-lit scene, causing a brief panic.
  • Tom Hanks (who plays a priest in one flashback) kept improvising fake Latin prayers, causing Mia Threapleton to break character repeatedly.
  • Wes Anderson himself made a rare cameo — as a portrait painter who tries to sketch Korda’s “legacy” but keeps drawing frogs instead.

Interesting Facts About the Film

  • The title “Phoenician Scheme” is a pun on the ancient Phoenicians (known for seafaring and trade) and modern Ponzi schemes.
  • All seven chapters of the movie were inspired by real historical case studies in post-colonial infrastructure failures.
  • Each costume color was based on a specific mineral — Liesl’s nun robes were dyed with crushed lapis lazuli, while Zsa-Zsa’s suits mirrored volcanic ash.
  • Desplat’s score includes subtle Morse code rhythms hidden in the percussion during scenes involving espionage.
  • One scene features an exact recreation of a 1956 UN Security Council meeting — with the actors performing the actual minutes from that day.

Critical Reception

At its Cannes premiere, The Phoenician Scheme received a 12-minute standing ovation — one of the longest in the festival’s history. Critics praised it for marrying Anderson’s signature style with deeper emotional stakes.

  • The New Yorker called it “Wes Anderson’s most humane film.”
  • Variety praised the ensemble cast, particularly Mia Threapleton’s “hypnotic vulnerability.”
  • The Guardian hailed it as “a visual fresco of power, decay, and hope.”

On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently holds a 97% Fresh rating, and on Metacritic, an impressive 91/100 score.


Audience Reactions

Fans of Anderson's earlier works — like Moonrise Kingdom or The Grand Budapest Hotel — are thrilled by the film’s return to political satire and personal storytelling. Many viewers found themselves unexpectedly emotional, particularly during the final chapter where Liesl confronts her father’s legacy through a quiet, symbolic act involving a paper boat and an unfinished canal.

Social media is buzzing with frame-by-frame analyses of the movie’s visual motifs, especially the recurring frog imagery (representing rebirth) and a mysterious typewriter that shows up in five different scenes.


Conclusion

The Phoenician Scheme is more than just another Wes Anderson film — it's a culmination of his career so far, and perhaps the most emotionally mature entry in his oeuvre. It combines the visual precision fans expect with a narrative that questions power, inheritance, and moral responsibility in a world teetering on collapse.

With unforgettable performances, a meticulously crafted world, and a score that lingers in the heart, The Phoenician Scheme is not only one of the best films of 2025 but a potential classic for years to come.

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