Full disclosure, I cannot count myself among those who adore writer/director Wes Anderson, but neither am I repelled by his unique content. Including this film, I have seen four of his thirteen feature films with 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel my favorite.

The Phoenician Scheme, like Asteroid City, is set in a fictional version of the mid-twentieth century.

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The story centers on Zsa Zsa Korda (Benicio de Toro) a ruthless capitalist engaged in the final phases of funding a massive infrastructure project while dodging assassination attempts and sabotage operations from a shadowy collective. With his funding now facing a shortfall due to the collective, Korda crisscrosses the globe with his estranged daughter and nun Sister Liesel (Mia Threapleton) and his administrative assistant and entomology tutor Bjorn Lund (Michael Cera) in hopes of convincing his backers to cover the financial deficit. Along the way, Korda deals with continuing assassination attempts, communist rebels, life after death mysteries, and the source of his daughter’s estrangement.

The plot, thin as it is, serves as a framework allowing Anderson to essentially present half a dozen or so vignettes centered on each financial backer with each segment preceded by a title card indicating the remaining outstanding percentages that Korda must cover if the project is to be saved. This film is not concerned with the mechanics of plot but is wholly a vehicle to Anderson’s unique style and voice. If you are familiar with Anderson’s films, the center-heavy composition, the horizontally sliding camera movements, the artificial dialog, then you are already familiar with this film. For better or for worse, depending upon your tastes, The Phoenician Scheme lives in the same artistic environment as Asteroid City.

The Phoenician Scheme is primarily a comedy and as such it succeeds at that objective. While I laughed out loud a few times, snickered much more often, and smiled quite a bit, it is not a riot of a comedy. Comedy, like horror, is a genre heavily dependent on the idiosyncratic response of the viewer. If you have enjoyed Anderson’s previous work then you are likely to enjoy this film, if his previous movies did not work for you then it is perhaps best if you find another film to watch.