A peculiar tension exists inside nearly every frame created by writer-director Wes Anderson. The geometric visual preoccupation of the framing; the actors, sometimes in motion but more frequently motionless; the manifestation of storytelling as a series of the prettiest shoebox dioramas in modern cinema: It’s more than a style or a look to Anderson. It’s his way of seeing the world through a lens of comic stoicism, right at the edge of art-installation territory.

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The tension in those images comes from two places. The unfortunate place: When the comic banter or monologuing strains for laughs, or goes sideways, it sometimes dies an extra, tiny, momentary death because of the arch, extreme formality of the presentation.

The more fortunate source of tension is where the actors live. In Anderson’s lavishly talented ensembles, the majority of the performers fulfill the basic requirements of being in a Wes Anderson movie, which can involve spitting out long reams of dialogue quickly, directly, without a lot of sauce. It also involves the task of portraying a human in a specific realm of unreality and in a kind of permanent repose, even in motion.

But hitting the marks and holding the pose isn’t enough. There’s movement, of course, in every Anderson comedy, and in the best ones, the movement and the sight gags are funnier because of the stillness surrounding that movement. Whatever you want to call Anderson’s universe — I’ll go with Deadpandia — it’s not easy to activate as a performer. When the right actor wriggles free of the constraints and finds a rhythm, a heartbeat and a human spark, it’s magic.

Benicio Del Toro is the star of “The Phoenician Scheme,” Anderson’s 12th and latest. But the ringer is Michael Cera, as Norwegian tutor Bjørn Lund, employed as an all-purpose factotum by the shady, swaggering, death-defying entrepreneur played by Del Toro.

In one go, Cera joins the top tier of Anderson alums, which includes Ralph Fiennes (“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”) and, from Anderson’s earlier, looser years, Gene Hackman and Anjelica Huston (“The Royal Tenenbaums”) and, of course, Bill Murray in everything (he has a brief cameo here, as God). Cera is terrifically subtle in everything he does, from pricelessly cheap dialect humor to sudden bursts of jealousy. He’s delightful, even if “The Phoenician Scheme” is only occasionally that.

Michael Cera and Mia Threapleton in writer-director Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme.” (TPS Productions/Focus Features)

The movie’s largely about other characters. A frequent target of assassins, forever surviving plane crashes in between business deals, Anatole “Zsa-zsa” Korda (Del Toro) embarks on the riskiest development project of his life, indicated by Anderson’s title. It consists of a dam, tunnels, a canal and a general colonialist ravaging of a desert region (fictional, but with plenty of real-world Middle Eastern inspirations). Funding this beast means negotiating with several investors, among them a French nightclub owner (Mathieu Amalric), a pair of American industrialists (Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston) and, above all, Korda’s estranged daughter, Liesl, a cynical novitiate and Korda’s intended heiress, played by Mia Threapleton.

“The Phoenician Scheme” is a tale of what money can buy, and what money can’t. Stringing episodes together, screenwriter Anderson (working from a story co-created by Roman Coppola) treats Korda as a cocky survivor of fabulous riches. Through his adventures in fundraising, and realization that he won’t last forever, Korda learns from Liesl a little about what makes a legacy important. Meantime, he negotiates family matters with his 10 young sons and his scowling brother, Uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch), who may be Liesl’s father, and whose massive woodcut of a beard comes straight from Orson Welles’ billionaire in “Mr. Arkadin.”

The overall vibe of fishy exoticism owes something to “Mr. Arkadin” as well. Anderson works here with a cinematographer new to him, the excellent Bruno Delbonnel, shooting on 35mm film. Anderson regulars Adam Stockhausen (production design, first-rate) and Milena Canonero (costume design, brilliant and vibrant as always) evoke a dreamlike 1950s setting in every soundstage-bound detail.

The cast of “The Phoenician Scheme” includes Mathieu Amalric, Michael Cera, Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton and Jeffrey Wright. (TPS Productions/Focus Features)

And the story? Well, it has a little problem with over-elaboration. “The Phoenician Scheme” follows a relatively straightforward narrative line, ticking off chapters as Korda addresses each of his prized (and literal) shoeboxes of research and minutiae regarding the massively disruptive, slave labor-dependent construction project. It’s easier to parse what’s going on here compared to the hyperlinking and layering of “The French Dispatch” and “Asteroid City.” But the protagonist is a bit of a bore. And somehow, right now, on planet Earth in 2025, a movie about a craven oligarch on a spree hits a mixed chord, let’s say.

It is, however, striking to see what happens in the epilogue of this up-and-down Anderson film, when Del Toro — who looks splendid but struggles to locate a lightness of touch the material could use — finally gets a few moments of on-screen relaxation in the epilogue. That’s by design: He is not the same person at the end of his story. But I wonder if Anderson erred in maintaining such a tight hold on Del Toro and Threapleton en route to the story destination.

A beautiful mixed bag, let’s say, all told. But I’ll see “The Phoenician Scheme” a second time sometime for Cera, who will surely return to the Anderson fold.

“The Phoenician Scheme” — 2.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG-13 (for violent content, bloody images, some sexual material, nude images, and smoking throughout)

Running time: 1:45

How to watch: Premieres in theaters June 6

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

“The Life of Chuck,” a slick but ickily grandiose reminder to take your dance lessons while you can, also reminds us that every generation gets its own variations on “It’s a Wonderful Life” — movie fantasies designed for affirmation and comfort, while unnerving us a little.

There’s a third reminder, too: One person’s eyeroll is another’s shattering and beautiful reminder that life is beautiful, maybe harsh and sometimes lonely and full of wrong turns with a possible apocalypse looming. But beautiful.

This latest Stephen King screen adaptation is written and directed by Mike Flanagan, best known for “The Haunting of Hill House” on Netflix, along with “Oculus,” “Before I Wake,” “Doctor Sleep” and other features. Elements of all this find a home somewhere in the running time of “The Life of Chuck,” told in three reverse-chronological chapters. It begins with an ending — the planet’s — and ends with the adolescence, first crush and tender heart of an orphaned boy, shadowed by ghosts, headed for life as an accountant. It’s what his wizened, grieving accountant grandfather (played by Mark Hamill) wanted for him all along, right or wrong.

Narrated throughout by Nick Offerman, the first and most intriguing chapter focuses on a teacher, Marty, played by the excellent Chiwetel Ejiofor. He is at his wit’s end, dealing with hopeless students and even more hopeless parents. Their reasons for despair are beyond anyone’s control.

The world has had it. It’s quitting time. We learn some details on the fly, from news reports and townsfolk mutterings, about whole chunks of California tumbling in the ocean, wildfires, earthquakes, satellite communication gone awry, wifi and the internet itself dying minute by minute. The center isn’t holding.

The weirdest thing of all is the most darling. Around town, Marty and others notice a proliferation of billboards and signage congratulating someone named Charles Krantz on “39 great years!” Meantime Marty and his ex-wife Felicia (Karen Gillan), on good terms, commiserate by phone about the latest roster of calamities. Director Flanagan handles the escalating insanity with suggestive ambiguity, nothing too bombastic for as long as the story allows.

Later, at night, on every window on every house within view, a satellite (or celestial?) video image of Chuck appears, long after power has been lost. Marty and Felicia stare at the stars in Felicia’s backyard. Maybe the love they knew once remains intact, unlike everything around them. And maybe they’ll have to settle for wondering.

Part 2 is Chuck’s story, at least a piece of it, taking place prior to the first chapter. Tom Hiddleston portrays this everyman accountant, married with a daughter. Chuck has traveled to a new town for a convention. Between conferences he’s outside, strolling, and drawn to the drumming skills of a sidewalk busker (Taylor Gordon). Catching the eye of a young woman (Annalise Basso), recently dumped and not happy about it, he asks for her hand while the drummer does her thing. This is not just the movie’s crucial scene; it’s meant as a life-is-worth-living demonstration, precision-choreographed and flashy beyond all conventional notions of accountancy.

Where did Chuck get the moves? The answers come right on schedule in the concluding chapter, after we’ve learned the adult Chuck’s full circumstances and fate. The childhood versions of this everyman archetype (he’s not really a character) are played by Benjamin Pajak and, in adolescence, Jacob Tremblay (of “Room”). Chuck endures a difficult, grief-laden childhood after the tragic death of his parents. He finds love and solace under the loving care of his grandparents, played by Hamill and Mia Sara. Here, King’s material, adapted by Flanagan, inches into small-town horror behind closed doors, with the off-limits storage room in Chuck’s grandparents’ house containing something wicked. Or at least not of this world.

Clearly “The Life of Chuck” works for many. It snagged the coveted audience award at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, a frequent harbinger of the best picture winner at the Oscars. Well, maybe. This may be one of those movies, like “The Shawshank Redemption” (another King story), that comes and goes at the theaters and then becomes one of those beloved films that makes people tear up just saying the title.

It is, however, mighty gooey stuff, sanctimonious and faux-humble in its embrace of ordinary lives and, in the end, a weirdly scaled expansion of a familiar idea borrowed from Walt Whitman (name-checked in the movie) and his line in “Song of Myself”: “I am large, I contain multitudes.” We all are, and do. But setting a genial if frustrated accountant’s life against the universe’s curtain call is a little too, you know, too-too.

A final word about the visual landscape of the film. Maybe it’s just me, but when Chuck dances like he’s never danced before, the town square (most of the film was shot in various Alabama locations) has been made to resemble one of those eerie Hallmark Channel Christmas specials, but in July. You keep waiting for the big reveal: The town’s “The Truman Show”! It can’t be real! But the reveal never comes. It’s not a documentary or anything, but the best Stephen King stories on screen keep one foot in a world we recognize, so that we can step off into another world, and explore. After the persuasively strange first chapter’s over, “The Life of Chuck” is a duller kind of strange.

“The Life of Chuck’ — 2 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for language)

Running time: 1:51

How to watch: Premieres in theaters  June 6

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

 

By CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL

This pasta dish, a riff on an offering served at Trattoria Bertozzi in Bologna, Italy, is a golden, fresh combination of guanciale (cured pork cheek), fragrant saffron, summery zucchini and short, curly pasta.

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In this recipe from our cookbook “ Milk Street Backroads Italy,” we opted for easier-to-find but equally meaty pancetta, and lightened the dish’s richness by swapping in half-and-half for the heavy cream.

The restaurant uses gramigna pasta, a tubular, curled shape from the Emilia-Romagna region, but cavatappi or gemelli works just as well, combining with the zucchini and catching the lightly creamy sauce in its crevices.

Saffron is best when steeped in hot liquid to extract its flavor and aroma. To infuse the dish with a golden hue and earthy-floral flavor, we soak a generous pinch of saffron threads in a portion of water before combining it with the pasta.

Don’t boil the pasta until al dente. Drain it when it has a little more bite than is desirable in the finished dish; the noodles will cook a bit more in the sauce. Also, don’t forget to reserve 2 cups of the cooking water before draining the pasta. Serve with shaved Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for zucchini pasta with saffron. (Milk Street via AP)

Pasta with Zucchini, Pancetta and Saffron

Start to finish: 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 pound zucchini

12 ounces short, curly pasta, such as cavatappi or gemelli

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

½ teaspoon saffron threads

3 ounces pancetta, finely chopped

1 medium garlic clove, smashed and peeled

½ cup half-and-half

1 ounce Parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler

Directions:

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for zucchini pasta with saffron. (Milk Street via AP)

Halve the zucchini lengthwise, then use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Slice each half lengthwise about ¼ inch thick, then cut the strips crosswise into 1-inch sections. In a large pot, boil 4 quarts of water. Add the pasta and 1 tablespoon salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, until just shy of al dente. Reserve 2 cups of the cooking water, then drain. In a small bowl, combine 1½ cups of the reserved water and the saffron; set aside the remaining ½ cup water.

While the pasta cooks, in a 12-inch skillet over medium, cook the pancetta and garlic, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta has rendered some of its fat and begins to crisp, about 3 minutes. Remove and discard the garlic, then stir in the zucchini and ½ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta is fully crisped and the zucchini is lightly browned, 4 to 6 minutes.

Add the pasta and the saffron water to the skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium-high and cook, stirring often, until the pasta is al dente, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the half-and-half and cook, stirring, until the sauce is lightly thickened and clings to the pasta, about 1 minute. Off heat, taste and season with salt and pepper. If needed, stir in additional reserved pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time to create a lightly creamy sauce. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with Parmesan.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more recipes, go to Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street at 177milkstreet.com/ap

Minnesota lawmakers returned to the Capitol Monday morning to complete the state’s next two-year budget as agencies prepared to warn thousands of government employees of a potential government shutdown next month.

Most of the state government only has funding through the end of June after the Legislature failed to pass the majority of the bills that form the roughly $66 billion state budget by the end of the regular legislative session on May 19.

Gov. Tim Walz.

Gov. Tim Walz called a special session so lawmakers can finish their work. State leaders finalized the details in a series of mostly closed meetings over the last few weeks. The Senate and House went into session at 10 a.m. and are expected to finish their work by Tuesday morning.

However, there’s no guarantee that will happen.

Democratic-Farmer-Labor and Republican legislative leaders and the governor may have signed an agreement to finish up the special session by 7 a.m. Tuesday, but nothing can stop other state senators and representatives from introducing amendments and engaging in lengthy debate on controversial bills.

Health insurance issue

Some bills that are part of the budget deal between Walz, the tied House and DFL majority Senate may pass on thin margins.

A proposal to end state-funded health insurance for adults in the U.S. without legal immigration status is opposed by many DFLers and may only pass with the support of Republicans and the DFL leaders who signed the agreement.

Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, and House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, have said they agreed to remove coverage for adults to avert a government shutdown, which would interrupt services on a much larger scale.

The immigrant care proposal was the first bill the House took up Monday morning, and representatives continued to debate the matter as noon approached.

If the measure passes both chambers, Walz would have a tough time vetoing it. Republicans managed to get DFLers to agree to tie the activation of health care spending to ending MinnesotaCare for around 17,000 adults in the state who came to the U.S. illegally.

Tax, transportation bills

Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers have expressed reservations about the tax and transportation bills.

The tax bill includes an increase to the sales tax on cannabis, and Republican leadership had initially said it wouldn’t support any new taxes, and some members may stick to that pledge.

There were also questions on Friday about whether a proposal to shift $93 million in sales tax revenue from metro counties to the Metropolitan Council would survive floor votes, as members of both parties might turn on shifting money from local governments to a central planning agency.

This is a developing story that will update throughout the day.

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