Despite an ongoing SAG strike, which could mean that the event features no major stars, the Venice Film Festival announced an incredibly star-studded slate of films for 2023. Seriously, even by Venice standards, the festival features an absolutely ridiculous number of major films that will have an impact on the rest of the year, especially during awards season. And one of the most anticipated is the latest from Wes Anderson, the short “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” which is expected to have its debut out of competition.
And as is customary when a film gets added to a festival, we get our first look at ‘Henry Sugar,’ which very well could be the most Wes Anderson-y Wes Anderson film yet, but also simultaneously a huge departure for the filmmaker. You see, Venice lists ‘Henry Sugar’ as having a run time of only 39 minutes. That is in line with what Anderson has been saying about the film but also highlights the unique anthology aspect of this film that the filmmaker has never tried before.
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Sure, Wes Anderson is no stranger to anthological storytelling in features. His films, especially recently, have leaned on the idea of using disparate stories to craft a larger, more meaningful whole. Except, with ‘Henry Sugar,’ it appears the filmmaker is building an anthology that doesn’t really have any connective tissue between the stories. Instead, Anderson teased a framing device that he believes hasn’t been done before.
All that to say, there are a lot of people who are excited to see what “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” looks like when it’s finally released. In the teaser image, we get to see a few members of the cast, Ben Kingsley, Richard Ayoade, and Dev Patel. The film is also expected to star Benedict Cumberbatch.
The Venice Film Festival is set to begin on August 30. You can see the first-look image below:
