Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson's films are really hard to describe or define. Suffice to say that he is unique in his style--very unique. This uniqueness is what makes "The Grand Budapest Hotel" worth seeing. It's an odd story where a story is told within a story--and it's filled with famous actors making lots of odd cameos. And, like Anderson's other films, it's full of odd characters, unusual dialog and brisk-paced editing. And, not surprisingly, it's NOTHING like other films by other directors.

The bottom line is that all these weird factors work together to make a film that you'll probably enjoy--but, like me, you won't be exactly sure why!

A wonderfully funny fable of the adventures of world's greatest hotel concierge (a brilliant, inventive and hilarious performance by Ralph Fiennes) and the friendship he strikes up with the hotel's new lobby boy (a strong debut by newcomer Tony Revolori).

The story goes in many unexpected directions, every one entertaining and eccentric, and the cast is full of first rate highly comic performances by F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, with terrific cameos by Bill Murray, Harvey Keitel, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson, Jude Law and others I feel bad for forgetting here.

While not Anderson's most profound film, it may be his most joyful. I don't think I stopped smiling from first frame to last, and I laughed out loud quite a few times. And yet, as in any good fable, there is some real poignancy as well. A top notch marriage of a lovingly crafted art-film and a wacky human comedy, something rarely pulled off with such panache. Even my friends who don't enjoy Anderson's work in general had nothing but good things to say. The sweetest treat of the movie year so far.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is the latest from Wes Anderson, and what great fun it is. My review of Monuments Men pointed out that putting the likes of George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Jean Dujardin, Bill Murray and Hugh Bonneville in the same film was no guarantee of a good film. Following that logic, what should we make of the following turning up together: Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Defoe, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Edward Norton, Tom Wilkinson, Saoirse Ronan, Owen Wilson and (a wonderfully made up) Tilda Swinton? The answer is a near masterpiece of cameos that add up to a highly entertaining and memorable film.

In a complex serious of flashbacks, Tom Wilkinson plays an author remembering his younger self (Jude Law) being recounted, a number of years before, the life story of The Grand Budapest's mysterious elderly guest Zero Moustafa, played by Abraham. (Are you still with me?) Featuring strongly in this life story, Ralph Fiennes plays hotel concierge and lothario Gustave H., seducer of his elderly and wealthy guests. He is supported in this role – for everything outside the bedroom that is – by trainee Bellboy, and Gustave's protégé, Zero (in the younger form of Tony Revolori).

Following the murder of one such guest (Tilda Swinton), Gustave is not surprised to feature strongly in her will, awarded a priceless Renaissance painting – Boy with Apple. This is much to the displeasure of her son Dimitri (Adrien Brody) and his evil henchman Jopling (Willem Defoe). What follows is a madcap pursuit across snowy landscapes, various grisly murders, a couple of civil wars, some disconnected fingers, a prison break and a downhill ski chase.

All the cast seem to enjoy themselves immensely, but it is the production design and cinematography that really shines through: every single shot of the film is just a joy to look at, from the bright pastel colours of some scenes to the oak-panelled finery of the elderly lady's mansion. Beautifully crafted, beautifully lit,beautifully costumed, beautifully filmed. Bringing a film out so early in the new Oscar-year must be risky: but one can only hope that the voting members have a long enough memory to recognise this movie in these sorts of categories.

There are some interesting crossovers to recent films: both 'The Book Thief' and 'The Monuments Men' were filmed – as this was – in Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam. No coincidence then that the steam train chugging through the East European countryside looked startlingly similar to that in the opening scenes of 'The Book Thief'; and if you have Bill Murray and Bob Balaban in town for Monuments Men, then why not stick them together for this film too? Simples! Alexandre Desplat turns up AGAIN with another quirky and fitting score.

All in all, if you like the quirky style of films of the likes of Moulin Rouge then you'll love this. Highly recommended.

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Rarely has a movie looked so good: the compositions and colours make each shot a minor work of art. Rarely has a film had such a constellation of stars: in a fun exercise of 'spot the actor', you should be able to identify a dozen, although one will prove harder than the rest (clue: it's an elderly woman). But then this is a work from the idiosyncratic Wes Anderson who wrote, produced and directed.

The structure is a story within a story within a story and at the heart of this Russian doll is a tale set in a mythical Middle European nation called Zubrowka between the two world wars and focused on Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes), the dedicated but eccentric concierge of the eponymous hotel, and his aspiring young bell boy Zero Mustapha (Tony Revolori). In a wonderful cast full of exquisite performances, Fiennes is a revelation. The man who chilled us in "Schindler's List" here shows a remarkable skill in comedic acting.

In a twisting plot of deceit and murder, above all this is a whimsical work from the opening views of the hotel to the final credits (when a little Russian character does a dance). Shot entirely in Germany, most of the scenes were filmed on the stages of the Babelsberg Studios.

Wes Anderson is one of the most original film makers working today. None of his films can be categorized into any particular genre. His latest, The Grand Budapest Hotel, which opened the Berlin Film Festival, continues that trend. It is a tale within a tale within another tale. Whilst every shot has been meticulously arranged as though a work of Art hanging in a museum, story wise Anderson has let his imagination run wild. Though the tale (with Tom Wilkinson as the author of the story) and the tale within the tale (with Jude Law as the young author & F Murray Abraham as the mysterious owner of THe Grand Budapest Hotel) have straightforward narratives, the tale within the tale within the tale, which comprises the bulk of the film and is set in the years preceding the Second World War, is a wild uproarious train ride of story telling. It also boasts the cast of a life time: Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson & countless cameos. It will delight Anderson fans but is more likely destined for Art house cinemas as it is too off center for mainstream audiences. The production design and music are outstanding and even the end credits are imaginatively done (and received another ovation from the audience).