100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 83: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Director: Wes Anderson

Genre: Comedy/ Drama

Runtime: 101 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, Jude Law, Saoirse Ronan, Lé Seydoux, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, F. Murray Abraham, Harvey Keitel, Tom Wilkinson Mathieu Amalric

Description: The adventures of Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes), a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.

Review: You love his work or you hate it. Where most directors want to be as realistic as possible, Wes Anderson does the opposite and makes everything look artificial. In “The Grand Budapest Hotel” we can again see this and it’s another highlight in his career. A mix of diverse genres leads to a crazy adventure.

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” is a story within a story within a story. The three time fazes are all filmed in different formats and color schemes. We start in the eighties, when we see a girl with a book and a key walk up to a statue of a deceased author. Next we make a leap back in time and we see that same author, talking to the audience, telling us how the story of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” started. Then we jump to the sixties, where we see the young author in that hotel, meeting owner Zero Mustafa. He tells the story and that’s where all the madness starts. At the start of the 1930’s the hotel was hot and happening. Especially rich, elderly ladies love coming there. Does it have anything to do with the charming and charismatic concierge Gustave H.? Through the eyes of the young Zero, who is thought by Gustave, we see how everything works in the hotel. When one of the guests, Madame D, dies under mysterious circumstances, Gustave inherits the pricey painting ‘Boy with Apple’. His fascist son Dmitri isn’t happy about that.

The cast is filled with many great actors. Most only have a small role. Some are common faces in Wes Anderson films, like Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson. Ralph Fiennes is the one carrying the film. He does it so well. On one hand he is this super slick charmer, but he can also be vulgar and crafty. And his comedic timing is just perfect.

Besides comedy “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is a mystery, action thriller and a romance. But most of all it’s a tribute to the days gone by. As no one else Wes Anderson mixes reality and fiction together. It’s like a storybook coming to life.The result: a hilarious and unique film, like only Anderson can make, perfected in every detail and filled with great characters.

Rating: 5/ 5