What might happen in an imaginary island community when two 12-year-olds run away? Employing his celebrated dry humor and sense of parody in a rollicking retro film, Wes Anderson enlisted the help of stars in non-star roles and the wonderful music of Alexandre Desplat to pit the common sense of children against the folly of adults.
It’s summer 1965. A scandal has broken out on an island off the coast of New England, disturbing the tranquil life of its inhabitants: two 12-year-olds, orphan Sam and well brought-up Suzy, have run off together into the wilderness. While infuriated adults try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore, and the peaceful island community is soon turned upside down. The director of the popular, stylistically unclassifiable films The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou betrays his typical dry humour and sense of parody, using period references as he pits children’s common sense against the folly of adults: parents, scout master, sheriff and social worker. As usual Wes Anderson could rely on the collaboration of big acting names, eager to be cast in lesser roles, and the actors playing Suzy and Sam are wonderful as well. The film score will also delight audiences, with its playful use of Benjamin Britten’s musical commentary in a masterful interpretation by composer of the original music, Alexandre Desplat.
94 min / Color, DCP
Director Wes Anderson
/ Screenplay Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
/ Dir. of Photography Robert D. Yeoman
/ Music Alexandre Desplat
/ Editor Andrew Weisblum
/ Producer Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson
/ Production American Empirical Pictures, Indian Paintbrush, Moonrise, Scott Rudin Productions
/ Cast Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton
/ Contact Focus Features International, Magic Box - division Bioscop
/ Distributor Magic Box - division Bioscop
www: www.moonrisekingdom.com
Wes Anderson (b. 1969, Houston, Texas) studied philosophy at the University of Texas in Austin, but the majority of his time was spent making amateur films. He began as a film professional thanks to producer James L. Brooks, who enabled him to rework one of his short films, Bottle Rocket (1994), into a feature film in 1996. Anderson rapidly profiled himself as a writer-director of mainstream films assisted essentially by the same team. While Anderson’s movies feature a similar brand of hero, his characters typically refuse to grow up, and are often eccentric and immature. However, the director injects their world with melancholy undercurrents and of humanism. The majority of his films are familiar to Czech audiences: Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009).
Focus Features International
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United Kingdom
Phone: +44 207 307 625 5
Fax: +44 207 307 134 8
E-mail: [email protected]
Magic Box - division Bioscop
Na Klikovce 7, 140 00, Praha 4
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 221 436 255
Fax: +420 221 436 305
E-mail: [email protected]
Andrea Metcalfe
Distributor
Jeremy Dawson
Kara Hayward
Robert Schaffer
Distributor
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