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Published 14:47 14 Mar 2025 GMT
Updated 16:04 14 Mar 2025 GMT

Our TV movie pick for tonight (Friday, 14 March) is The French Dispatch, the 2021 anthology comedy-drama from cult director Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Royal Tenebaums).
Described by Anderson as a "love letter to journalists", the film centres around the titular, fictional American magazine published in 20th-century France.
When the editor (Bill Murray) of The French Dispatch dies of a heart attack, his will expresses a wish that the publication put out one final farewell issue.
The movie is comprised of three main storylines, each representing one of the magazine's last articles.
The first story is about a prisoner who becomes a world-famous artist (Benicio del Toro), the second is about a young student revolutionary (Timothée Chalamet) and the third is about a kidnapping plot involving a chef (Stephen Park).
As typical with Anderson's productions, The French Dispatch boasts a massive ensemble cast including Adrien Brody, Christoph Waltz, Edward Norton, Elizabeth Moss, Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright, Léa Seydoux, Liev Schreiber, Owen Wilson, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton and Willem Dafoe.
The movie's whimsical tone and its Russian nesting doll-esque storytelling will certainly not win over any cinephiles who are not already fans of the divisive filmmaker.
That said, for those attuned to his wavelength, there is lots to love in the 2021 comedy-drama, with its story gradually evolving into a melancholic ode to a specific time in journalism that may have since passed.
A box office hit upon release, The French Dispatch is airing on Film4 tonight at 11.20pm. It is also available to stream on Disney+
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