«The Swan» is the second installment of a tetralogy of short films made by Wes Anderson in 2023 from four stories by Roald Dahl, beginning with «The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar» and followed by «The Rat Catcher» and «Poison.» They were all shot in Super 16mm for Netflix.
I praise the technical virtuosity of this short and the luminous visuals resulting from Anderson's decision (or so I think) to make a cinematic adaptation of a literary work as if it were an animated book with living actors, visual effects and animation. In this artificial presentation of a real case of abuse in the 1940s, Anderson not only created a brief space to incorporate Dahl (Ralph Fiennes), but retained the author's prose and put his words in the mouth of the protagonist, Peter Watson (Rupert Friend), who emerges as a kind of master of ceremonies, more than as a victim of bullying, who, in addition, we simultaneously see as he was at 13 years old (Asa Jennings) the day the events occurred. Consequently, the story stops being a drama about everyday violence and becomes an overly elaborate product that has an estrangement effect on viewers, some of whom have classified it as a "horror movie." To each his own.
Due to its varied readings, "The Swan" deserves to be seen, if only to appreciate once again the audiovisual mastery of Wes Anderson, one of the most important filmmakers of these times.
I praise the technical virtuosity of this short and the luminous visuals resulting from Anderson's decision (or so I think) to make a cinematic adaptation of a literary work as if it were an animated book with living actors, visual effects and animation. In this artificial presentation of a real case of abuse in the 1940s, Anderson not only created a brief space to incorporate Dahl (Ralph Fiennes), but retained the author's prose and put his words in the mouth of the protagonist, Peter Watson (Rupert Friend), who emerges as a kind of master of ceremonies, more than as a victim of bullying, who, in addition, we simultaneously see as he was at 13 years old (Asa Jennings) the day the events occurred. Consequently, the story stops being a drama about everyday violence and becomes an overly elaborate product that has an estrangement effect on viewers, some of whom have classified it as a "horror movie." To each his own.
Due to its varied readings, "The Swan" deserves to be seen, if only to appreciate once again the audiovisual mastery of Wes Anderson, one of the most important filmmakers of these times.