Directed by:
Wes AndersonScreenplay:
Wes AndersonCinematography:
Robert D. YeomanComposer:
Alexandre DesplatCast:
Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton (more)VOD (3)
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Wes Anderson brings his dry wit and visual inventiveness to this exquisite caper set amid the old-world splendor of Europe between the World Wars. At the opulent Grand Budapest Hotel, the concierge M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) and his young protégé Zero (Tony Revolori) forge a steadfast bond as they are swept up in a scheme involving the theft of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune—while around them, political upheaval consumes the continent. Meticulously designed, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a breathless picaresque and a poignant paean to friendship and the grandeur of a vanished world, performed with panache by an all-star ensemble that includes F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, Jude Law, Harvey Keitel, Jeff Goldblum, Mathieu Amalric, Tilda Swinton, and Bill Murray. (Criterion)
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Wes and his animated woods, this time in a cabaret version of The World of Yesterday: Memories of a European. The film is best described by the quote dedicated to the main character: "His world came to an end long before he entered it." Unlike Zero, however, I seriously doubt that Anderson handles this paradox with grace. Unfortunately, I am already able to guess ahead of time the points and camera movements, and the cameos of the stars. The story is less inventive than Murder in a Parlor Car Compartment, and it's hard to tell if an alibi with nickel-and-dime novels will stand up (these are full of twists, which The Grand Budapest Hotel is not in its linear caricature). As soon as the enthusiasm for the artistically beautifully grasped retro faded away (if we can call a style retro that is freely reminiscent of something old, but does not even correspond to it), I found myself in a sequence of dynamic and loosely connected gags that float in an approximate intellectual goulash of references, paraphrases and winking. Anderson is so fascinated by the veneer of his toy industry that, when you finally make it to the melancholic finale, you are almost sorry that he has devoted so much time to characters and scenery that are beautiful but totally flat. The Grand Budapest Hotel captures an artist at the height of narcissism, who misses what is really interesting under the influx of colorful props and grotesque gags. No doubt more fun than the desperately overrated Moonrise Kingdom, but otherwise similarly meaningless.
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Can a film be absurd, funny, colourful and original at the same time? Yes, Grand Hotel Budapest is great proof of that. On the plus side, it certainly has very unconventional visuals, plenty of dark humour, a nice cast and an engaging narrative form that keeps the viewer on their toes. The highlight of the film for me was the jailbreak. Fun for the whole family. 75%
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At the previous stop in Moonrise Kingdom, I was starting to worry that Wes Anderson was only running on autopilot. Fortunately, I was mistaken. This conservative man has started building his own worlds again, and he enchants so powerfully that I can't help but be amazed. From camera-charming scenes (the museum), he transitions to grotesque ones (the Winter Games), and just a few seconds after what seemed like a harmless moment, the blood unexpectedly freezes in my veins. And despite the omnipresent optimistic atmosphere, his beloved accommodations have such a strong nostalgia for old times that it hurts my heart several times. It falls just short of the highest rating due to a few plot surprises, but that doesn't change how shocked and fascinated I remain. Because every time it seems like this bumpy cable car must inevitably stop, a welcome familiar face appears and we keep going.
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In Anderson’s nostalgic and grotesque retro worlds, this one may be the most literal and gaudy, but at the same time it represents a (perhaps too) literal confession not only to its own protagonists, but to the filmmaker himself. “To be frank, I think his world had vanished long before he ever entered it. But, I will say, he certainly sustained the illusion with a marvelous grace.”
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Wes Anderson is a director with his own world. I’ve seen his world a few times before and I never liked it as much as I did in this movie. It may have been caused by the atmosphere of the Second World War, but I rather think it was the absurdity as such, that the director toys with in this war. It’s a bit like Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, only in the far more distinctive and positive style of the director, which I’ll probably never forget. And I have to admit, after watching this movie, I immediately have a reason to watch all his other movies I’ve seen before, but also the ones I haven’t seen yet. That’s how much The Grand Budapest Hotel affected me.
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