What filmmaking techniques does Asteroid City use?

CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Asteroid City (2023): Double Narrative Layer, Set as Total World, Color Palette as Worldbuilding, Deadpan Absurdism and Callback Editing.

Who directed Asteroid City?

Wes Anderson directed Asteroid City, released in 2023. CineCode also covers Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009).

What films are similar to Asteroid City?

Films that share techniques with Asteroid City include Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), The Truman Show (1998), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998).

Comedy · Drama · Science Fiction

Asteroid City

Wes Anderson, 2023

A TV documentary shows how a stage play was made, and the play is set at a Junior Stargazer convention in a 1955 desert town. A war photographer and an actress meet there just as a UFO appears and the military seals off the town. Watch how Anderson keeps 2 worlds in 2 shapes and palettes.

2 Narrative 2 Cinematography 1 Editing

At a glance

Asteroid City is a 2023 comedy, drama and science fiction film directed by Wes Anderson. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (2 narrative, 2 cinematography and 1 editing), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Fantastic Mr. Fox uses several of the same techniques.

Narrative

Double Narrative Layer

Running 2 layers at once: the story and a commentary on how that story is being told, such as its own broadcast. The layers comment on each other and make you complicit in the watching.

How this film uses it

The documentary is in black and white at a 4:3 shape, and the play is widescreen and colorful. You watch the play, then see how it was made, and each layer comments on the other. The documentary ends with the line 'You can't wake up if you don't fall asleep'.

Where to see it

The documentary frame: Black-and-white footage follows playwright Conrad Earp through rehearsals and production of the play.

Cinematography

Set as Total World

Building a set so complete, with its own weather, crowds, architecture and social rules, that it feels lived in. It reads as real until one deliberate slip shows that it was built.

How this film uses it

The town was built as a large desert diorama in Chinchon, Spain, with a train station, diner, garage and observatory. It feels complete enough to walk into, yet it keeps looking like a model.

Where to see it

The town of Asteroid City: The set holds the train station, diner, garage and observatory where the story takes place.

Cinematography

Color Palette as Worldbuilding

Limiting the film to a tightly chosen set of colors, or giving each place or state its own set. The colors tell you about the world and its mood without dialogue.

How this film uses it

The play uses stylized color and the documentary uses black and white, so each layer has its own palette. The desert town looks like a postcard of 1955, and the color tells you you are inside the play.

Where to see it

The Junior Stargazer convention: War photojournalist Augie Steenbeck and actress Midge Campbell meet at the convention.

Narrative

Deadpan Absurdism

Showing extreme, violent or surreal events while the characters react as if nothing unusual is happening. That mismatch is funny and unsettling at the same time.

How this film uses it

A UFO appears and an alien steals the meteorite that made the town's crater. The film treats it in a flat, matter-of-fact tone, and the military quarantine feels like a bureaucratic problem for a group of kids and parents.

Where to see it

The alien's visit: An alien steals the meteorite, and the military then quarantines the town.

Editing

Callback Editing

Bringing back an earlier image, line, location or piece of staging later in the film, often with the situation reversed. You enjoy recognizing it, and the comparison adds meaning.

How this film uses it

The documentary closes on 'You can't wake up if you don't fall asleep', a line that connects back to the alien's last appearance. As each actor repeats it, the alien appears once more holding the meteorite. The echo ties the 2 layers together at the end.

Where to see it

The closing line: The documentary ends on the line that links back to the alien's last appearance.

Questions

Asteroid City: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does Asteroid City use?: CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Asteroid City (2023): Double Narrative Layer, Set as Total World, Color Palette as Worldbuilding, Deadpan Absurdism and Callback Editing.
Who directed Asteroid City?: Wes Anderson directed Asteroid City, released in 2023. CineCode also covers Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009).
What films are similar to Asteroid City?: Films that share techniques with Asteroid City include Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), The Truman Show (1998), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998).

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