Wes Anderson and My Dreams

This weekend a new Wes Anderson movie is released.  The Grand Budapest Hotel is sure to be another installment of quirky writing, cinematography, and classic British tunes underscoring the whole thing.  Each time he does a movie it seems to get weirder, but each time more incredible and famous actors are chomping at the bit to work in his films.  I am a fan.  With this new movie out I reflect upon where I was.

When I was in college and his early films were coming out they spoke to me in a way that affirmed my life.  The story, taste in music, and overall style just seemed to fit me.  I was introduced to some new musicians that were part of the soundtracks, and it was great to see my favorite music on the big screen.  This was the only place in film where some of the Indie stuff was really making it out.  Of course Elliot Smith and Good Will Hunting will forever be a match, but Anderson takes it to a whole other level for me.  The only other director I think comparable is Cameron Crowe - but that's another story for another time.

Anderson's films also have repeated actors in it.  Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman are two of the standards.  The Wilson boys also have their way in it - much in part that Owen was a co-writer for most of the early films.  It is as if they don't care what part they play, they just want to be involved.  The parts they do play also seem as if they were written specifically for them.  It is a beautiful match.  You see the friendship involved on the screen and can tell that the people genuinely must have enjoyed creating this.  Part of my love for these films come because I shared them with a friend.

This friend understood me and together we would anticipate each new release.  It was always so much fun to go and see them together.  When we were apart this would of course be a topic of conversation and we would quickly get the DVD box set to watch at home together.  My friend is a musician.

We played together and a lot of our set list at the coffee house was comprised of these tunes.  One in particular was 'The Wind' by Cat Stevens.  It was a great piece for 2 guitars. Simple.  Beautiful.  My friend dreamed of being a musician.  It seemed like a long-shot because often dreams are the things which we cannot obtain in reality.  He dreamed.  Fast forward some years later and I receive word that my friend was invited to play on an album that honors Wes Anderson and his impact on music and film.  The song that he is covering is 'The Wind' by Cat Stevens.

This is far from being a college kid enthralled by Anderson films and covering these tunes at a lame college coffee house.  I look back to who I was and the dreams I had.  As I watch this new movie I will be taken back to the moments that shaped me as a young adult.  I will remember my dreams and realize that maybe they are not as far off as I thought.  I will think of my friend, the musician, and smile.