Wes Anderson is one of the most celebrated auteurs of our time, and for good reason—his movies are funny, quirky, and most importantly, full of heart. The Phoenician Scheme is no different: It centers on an industrialist and arms dealer named Zsa-sza Korda (Benicio Del Toro), who reconnects with estranged daughter Leisl (Mia Threapleton), a devout nun who isn’t pleased to hear about her father’s business dealings. However, he’s interested in passing on his entire empire to her—but first, he has one last scheme he wants to enact.
The Phoenician Scheme touches on themes such as family, ethics, and religion, as well as what it means to leave behind a legacy. Here are the best quotes from the film:
1.
Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro): Myself, I feel very safe.
2.
Bjorn Lund (Michael Cera): Could you imagine falling in love with a man like me, by the way, hypothetically?
Sister Liesl (Mia Threapleton): You’re drunk. On three beers.
3.
Farouk (Riz Ahmed): Did you hear what Mr. Reagan just spoke to me? When he refers to my mother, he refers to the sovereign queen of a population over 10 million loyal subjects.
Leland (Tom Hanks): He didn’t say anything about the sovereign queen.
4.
Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro): You’re worse than me. You’re not human, you’re biblical.
5.
Bjorn Lund (Michael Cera): Is this supposed to be here? It was under the lunch trolley.
Sister Liesl (Mia Threapleton): Oh dear.
Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro): How much time does it say?
Bjorn: Eighteen minutes.
Zsa-zsa: Perfectly fine. We land in ten.
6.
Farouk (Riz Ahmed): Does that count?
Leland (Tom Hanks): It doesn’t count, but I’ve never seen it done before.
7.
Cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson): Who shot you?
Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro): Terrorists from out of town. Help yourself to a grenade.
Cousin Hilda: You’re very kind.
8.
Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro): I have my reasons.
Sister Liesl (Mia Threapleton): Which are what?
Zsa-zsa: My reasons? I’m not saying.
9.
Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric): Why are you shooting my ceiling?
Sergio (Richard Ayoade): This is a robbery on behalf of—
Marseille Bob: No, I understand that, I’m asking about my ceiling.
10.
Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro): I don’t have a passport. Normal people want the basic human rights that accompany citizenship in any sovereign nation. I don’t. My legal residence is a shack in Portugal. My official domicile is a hut on the Black Sea. I certificated a boat as a lodge perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the subsaharan rainforest, accessible only by goat path. I don’t live anywhere. I’m not a citizen at all. I don’t need my human rights.