June 11, 2025 – Wes Anderson seems to have a perspective on human nature that one might imagine to be an extraterrestrial's viewpoint of us. His style is unique. Everything is a bit off kilter, from the color palette to the motivations. If “The Phoenician Scheme” was a serious drama, it might be appalling, but it is a comedy, and it is amusing.

The story wrenches back and forth from one time period to another and from life to after life (shown in black and white) with extensive religious overtones, including a conversation with God. The religious faith of Sister Liesl, a knife-wielding nun (played by Mia Threapleton of “Scoop”) plays a major role in this film.

Liesl, who may, or may not be the daughter of eccentric businessman Zsa-Zsa Korda (played by Benicio Del Toro of “Sicario: Day of the Soldado”) is given provisional control of Korda's companies because of his precarious life expectancy. She has her own reasons for accepting this role. She immediately finds herself in the middle of a mad multifaceted business scheme of Korda's, and business competitors who are trying to derail his plans. Someone repeatedly tries to kill Korda with bombs, making it very dangerous to accompany him on airplane trips.

Korda and Liesl, accompanied by a mysterious executive secretary and tutor, Bjorn (Michael Cera of “Sacramento”) hastily embark on a globe-trotting trip to try to salvage Korda's business scheme, which the conspirators are actively trying to sabotage. Along the way, they dodge bombs, poison, and other inconveniences resulting from repeated attempts on Korda's life. He has survived many suspicious plane crashes in the past, and seems to be quite indestructible. His employees, however, have not been as lucky.

In the end, the identity of at least some of Korda's enemies are revealed, but many mysteries remain. Liesl also learns more about her father and mother along the way, along with other family secrets. Bjorn has some secrets of his own, but one thing is for sure. He is in love with Liesl. Korda may also love Liesl too, in his own strange way. There are, occasionally, characters who are normal people. The interactions between normal people and the off-kilter main characters is the source of much of the humor in the movie.

There is a large collection of well-known actors playing small roles in the movie, including Tom Hanks, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, F. Murray Abraham, Bryan Cranston, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson and Benedict Cumberbatch. Director Wes Anderson has always had a good working relationship with actors, not just those who work with him often, but many others as well.

I can't say this movie makes a lot of sense, but it is an amusing comedy, and, like peppermint schnapps, it is easy and pleasant to swallow. The story is easy going, unhurried and there is no sense of danger or urgency, even after some people die suddenly. It is just a casual collection of odd people and odd occurrences.

I am not sure why anyone would insist that people see this movie. If you happen to like Wes Anderson movies, like I do, then sure, there's a reason. If you are tired of seeing the same old average Hollywood movies, and want to see something very different, then that's another reason. But if you don't like Wes Anderson's movies, then by all means avoid this one, because it is more of the same.

Some Wes Anderson films I like are “Asteroid City,” “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” and, my personal favorite, “Moonrise Kingdom,” and no, this movie isn't as good as any of those. This movie rates a C+.

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