Auteurnship is the idea of a director having his or her own
repetitive style in a movie. There are many opinions on whether auteurnship
exists. There are directors that actually have a unique style and type of
cinematography they use. While we recognize directors for their style we don’t
actually know whether the director came up with the style or if it was
referenced from old directors. There are people who realize that a good
director can hide his/her references and therefore auteurnship doesn’t exist.
After
watching movies by Wes Anderson I noticed some elements that repeat in each of
his movies. When I think of these things I realize that Wes likes to direct
certain types/genres of film. This could just be a preference or theme based on
his life. It is not that Wes Anderson has invented the types of movies he
directs but in terms of auteurnship he is recognized because he only follows
these themes and styles.
Wes Anderson has become very well
known for his distinct style as a director. His movies tend to be comedies with
some aspects of seriousness. These themes are often about dysfunctional
families, abandonment, and rivalry. In terms of cinematography, Wes Anderson’s
visual style often uses flat camera pans and symmetrical compositions. He also
uses slow motion a lot for drama. After watching Fantastic Mr. Fox, Darjeeling
Limited, and Moonrise Kingdom I was able to compare the films and find
similarities that create the auteurship of Wes Anderson.
Wes
Anderson’s themes of abandonment and dysfunction are created through his
character development. In Darjeeling Limited the three brothers rival each
other and try to avoid being together. Throughout their spiritual journey they
become more connected and lose sight of the dysfunction. In Fantastic Mr. Fox,
Mr. Fox is a thief that creates dysfunction between his wife and son. After
things don’t fall into place, as he seemed, he realizes his problems and makes
a change. The two movies show dysfunction and abandonment between the
characters but in the end they make changes and problems are relieved.
The themes
and use of cinematography by Wes Anderson has definitively been recognized as
his style but that doesn’t mean we haven’t seen it anywhere else. It is not
often that we see good work that is completely unique to one artist or
director. Although Wes Anderson is known for his style there must be other
directors that have done things similar and maybe haven’t been recognized using
the style. I know for sure that there are tons of movies about dysfunction and
abandonment. There are also plenty of movies that like to pan and use symmetry.
When it comes down to it there are plenty of other sources and movies that use
these techniques and styles. In terms of auteurnship, Wes Anderson has been the
one to claim the style as his own. Auteurnship doesn’t necessarily mean the
director invented the style but it is known that the director has claimed it or
has been known for using it consistently.
