'The Phoenician Scheme' is full of Wes side-stories

By Glen Weldon,

Chris Klimek, B.A. Parker, Hafsa Fathima, Mike Katzif, Jessica Reedy

Published June 9, 2025 at 9:23 AM EDT

Benicio del Toro in The Phoenician Scheme. — Benicio del Toro in *The Phoenician Scheme.*

Wes Anderson's new film The Phoenician Scheme is classic Wes Anderson, complete with a great cast delivering heightened dialogue and stylized cinematography. It stars Benicio del Toro as one of Europe's richest men, an amoral industrialist, who, along with his daughter (Mia Threapleton) and a tutor (Michael Cera), travels to convince his business partners to fund his latest venture. But where does the film rank among Anderson's past movies?

Audio engineering performed by Cena Loffredo.

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Glen Weldon

Glen Weldon is a host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. He reviews books, movies, comics and more for the NPR Arts Desk.

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Chris Klimek

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B.A. Parker

Hafsa Fathima

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Mike Katzif

Jessica Reedy

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