Le cygne

A young boy, Peter Watson, is harassed and essentially kidnapped by two vicious, heartless, gun-armed bullies. Peter is intelligent and a keen studier of wildlife, especially birds. His torment is heightened when the bullies turn the aim of their gun on a beautiful swan.

Another of Wes Anderson's four-episode short story-series, all adaptations of Roald Dahl stories. The others in the series are The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Rat Catcher and Poison.

Wes Anderson adapting a Roald Dahl story seems a perfect combination: the clever innocence of Dahl's writing, Anderson's whimsical, stylised direction. It's been done before, to great effect; 'Fantastic Mr Fox' (2009) was brilliant.

Here it works too, with Dahl's emotional story of innocence-meets-thuggery set to Anderson's clever backdrops and special effects and imbued with the usual Anderson whimsicalness and child-like atmosphere. Rupert Friend is great as the narrator.

Not perfect though. The film seemed set up for a powerful ending but this never came, just fizzling out. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar was similar - great journey, lacklustre destination. Hopefully this isn't a characteristic of all these films.

Interesting, engaging and calmer than I would've thought. Rupert Friend is wonderful since being in Homeland awhile ago, it's great that he's had multiple roles in Wes projects! I love this one superb scenery as always and quite well made! Only a little about a Swan. The field is great, writing is smooth, and these Wes shorts are complex a lot to take in. Not a lot needs to be said but I'll try a nice mix of southern, action, storytelling, and somber. Not sure how anyone could hate on Wes projects except Rat Catcher that one was very peculiar even most the movies are all fantastic pieces of cinema.

8/10 just because maybe the story itself isn't the greatest of all time, quite predictable.

Script 8/10 Photography 10/10 Color 10/10 Soundtrack or special sounds 7/10.

Stylishment 10/10 Duration 10/10 Acting 10/10

Worth it? Yes!

Incredible experience and Wes Anderson being Wes Anderson.

It's not a story for all of us, it depends on what are you looking for if your main goal is just to watch a great story maybe this is not for you, this short film is a love cart for the cinema. If you enjoy not only a good story but also great photography the use of color is a great opportunity to increase your library of great movies.

Part of Anderson's clutch of Netflix adaptations, and the second I saw after Henry Sugar. Stylistically it follows much the same Jackanory vibe of a singular narrator simply reading the story aloud surrounded by cinematic flourishes. Rupert Friend manages the breakneck staccato delivery with spellbinding intensity. Dahl's dark little satirical stories fit Anderson's mild sarcasm rather well and the all-encompassing aesthetic gels it fantastically. The rail tracks becoming stairs are an amazing flourish and it is hypnotic but I can't help but wonder if these stories could do with more space to breathe. There's an element of self consciousness behind the speed and artifice that takes away a little. Otherwise, very much dig it.

I didn't realize that this was coming out so soon after Henry Sugar.

Shorts are a great way for the casual observer to get acclimated to Wes Anderson without overwhelming the viewer. Production design and set decoration are typically cool and quirky. Rupert Friend gives a fun performance.

I wish The French Dispatch would have been released the same way that these Roald Dahl shorts are coming out. It's much more manageable. They can be collected into one bigger film but they stand alone very nicely. Wes Anderson is clearly a big fan of Dahl and takes great care to present the stories in a way that honors both story and author.