POPCORN REVIEWSS

One of the most interesting aspects of The Phoenician Scheme lies with the characterization of Korda. To begin with, you get to know that Korda is an audacious capitalist and an arms dealer than has caught the attention of businessmen and members of the governments from around the world. Yet when catastrophe strikes him in the form of unknown assailants wanting to hunt him down, and also succumbing to it, he realises a sense of a second innings to rebuild the infrastructure of the city of Phoenicia. There is a serious conflict within Korda who is implied to be an atheist, given his diabolically opposite decision to make his estranged daughter Leisl (Mia Threapleton), his official heir. This, despite having nine other sons (some adopted in his midst).

For me, the building blocks of the drama was related to the bond that Korda shares with Leisl. There is an undercurrent of guilt that engulfs the character, a sentiment that is often veiled by the presence of dry humour in the narrative. It is to be noted that Leisl has brought herself to become a nun after being coaxed by her foster family, while suspecting all along that Korda was the man who had murdered her mother. There is a playful undertone of disagreement between the two, even while adding a layer of spirituality, something that Korda would benefit later on in the film, but the equation remains rocky to begin with. To give them company is Bjorn (Michael Cera), a Norwegian entomologist that essentially adds colour to the proceedings with his presence in the already colourful setting. And I would equate him to a chamealeon that frequently changes colours, but is harmless in the purest sense!

The external conflict in the narrative lies with the ability of Korda to reconnect with the members of his underground network, in order to bridge the gap in his finances, something that would otherwise derail his inception of building an infrastructure in the Phoenician city. The underlying emotion here is that of acceptance and peace to, particularly given Korda has wronged each of the members of his cartel at some point in the unsaid past. This comprises of regular pitstops for Korda that brings in colourful layers to the drama in the form of colourful characters – a prince who is the legal heir of Pheonicia and who teams up with Korda to play a game of H-O-R-S-E, that helps the latter seal a deal, a nightclub owner who helps Korda seal the deal after the latter takes a bullet for him, an investor who reluctantly agrees on bridging the gap after Korda stays connected with him through a bout of blood transfusion. However whimsical the method of extending the olive branch maybe, the common thread connecting the dots is with Korda who makes an effort to bring about unity with respect to the people around him.

The proceedings focuses on the onset of spirituality with respect to the character of Korda, who begins to acknowledge the mistakes of his past. For instance in a scene, you see Korda confessing his guilt of being a contributing factor in Leisl’s mother’s murder after attaining visions of a lucid dream, featuring him on judgment day. The undertone is spiritual but it was also a way of triggering a sort of metamorphosis for the character, only for Leisl to also reciprocate with forgiveness. For Leisl, forgiveness also felt like the right thing to do given how she thinks that God would react in a similar manner, something that she confesses in a scene. In a way, it is spirituality that brings the father and daughter together, despite Leisl not wanting to be bound by religion, given her interactions with Mother Superior at one point in the film.

A parallel dynamic that holds weightage is Korda’s equation with his half brother Uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch), that typically resembles a clash of opposite personalities. More specifically, Nubar is a character symbolizing greed, a trait that once extended to Korda as well. Therefore, it hardly comes as a surprise when Korda refers to Nubar as ‘Biblical’ (that stands for evil), after a series of revelations. This, while the viewers are completely witness to the metamorphosis of Korda who decides to bridge the gap in the finances himself, all for the benefit of the Phoenician city despite costing him a fortune himself. The act of selflessness is clear in Korda who also willingly pays off the shares to his workers, as opposed to previously pledging to use slave labours. Here, the messaging is beautiful of opting for the benefit of others before using it for yourself, a trait that is reflective in Korda even with the hardships and the change of setting that accompany his life at the end. For him, staying as one family with his daughter and nine sons mattered the most, unlike his previous lonely self. And for me, the crux of the screenplay lay in his metamorphosis that was packaged in a colourful and hilarious character study!