There are very few movies out there that I’ve seen which have left me really feeling something about the movie.  By the time movies like these end, my eyes well up with tears, and maybe for the next hour or even a day or two, my heart will still stop or skip or warm when I spontaneously remember a scene.  Movies like Saving Private Ryan, or…I’m embarassed to say it but, Titanic…a few others, but one director who is able to put the majority of his movies onto this list of mine is Wes Anderson.

There is something unique and irresistible about his style– his use of color and type, the quirky characters he creates, the things he reveals to viewers about human nature and emotions, and of course, the music which accompanies his films.  In a very insightful and enlightening article about the source of this style at The Museum of The Moving Image Matt Zoller Seitz examines a range of heroes and influences.  Citing folks like J.D. Salinger (easy enough to pick up on), more interesting in my opinion is Anderson’s connection to childhood favorites like Charles Shulz’s Peanuts and A Charlie Brown Christmas.

It’s interesting as a designer to look at a medium like film, and see what Wes Anderson is able to do with it.  He just takes this form of storytelling a step further than many other directors, with a real knack for pleasing the eye while also pleasing the heart and mind.  These separate elements of the color, costume, dialogue and music all come together to tell a story, and it always left an impression with me, it’s almost as if we are watching a play, as opposed to a film.  Speaking of designers looking at the work of Wes Anderson, if you like Wes Anderson and you haven’t yet seen Alex Cornell’s on Behance and ISO50 yet, you need to check it out!

Now, as far as my music picks go, it’s kind of a tough call, but I picked four tracks from the four films of his that I love.  ‘s track Making Time appears in Rushmore during the sequence reviewing Max Fischer’s many extracurricular activities, and is exemplary of the British Invasion music of the 60s, which is heard in most of Anderson’s films.  The sequence became so badass because of this choice of track, making it one of my favorite scenes of the film, later to be ripped off in a music video for Company of Thieves (even though it was a catchy song).  Next is (of the Velvet Underground) with These Days, which appears in The Royal Tenenbaums when Richie first sees his sister Margot for the first time at the bus station.  I used to play this song a lot, there is a very wistful sense throughout the song, it plucks at your heart strings like the strings of that guitar.  One of the unique things about the music from The Life Aquatic with Stive Zissou was Brazilian singer and actor ‘s role as Pelé dos Santos, who throughout the film plays David Bowie songs in the background.  These were recorded later in-studio and released separately, and I love his cover of Rebel Rebel, the relaxing simplicity of picked guitar underneath his baritone vocals creates a relaxing ambience as if you’re steamin’ on-board the Belafonte.  Finally, a pick from the Darjeeling Limited– which I would never have come across otherwise.  Surprisingly, I found myself completely enamored with Anderson’s picks from famous Indian films from directors like .  There is something so content and appealing about these tunes, and knowing so little about that country and culture it makes we want to travel to India to embark of a similar journey as the Whitman brothers.

The Creation – Making Time

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Nico – These Days

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Seu Jorge – Rebel Rebel

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Satyajit Ray – Charu’s Theme

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Posted in Film and Music Posted by Alex on Jul 03 2009 02:24 pm

Tags: Nico, Rushmore, Satyajit Ray, Seu Jorge, The Creation, The Darjeeling Limited, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums, Wes Anderson