Movie Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel (English)
Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel is a story within a story within a story. But more than anything, it's the film's distinctive visual appeal, its elaborately and intricately done set pieces with its vibrant colour palette, and the thoroughly enjoyable characters that imparts the fictional republic of Zubrowka a unique flavour of its own. The story, set in three different time periods, introduces an array of incredible talents one after the other (though most are cameos), but it's Ralph Fiennes who, with his impeccable comic timing, delivers a truly splendid performance as the hotel's lonely concierge and flamboyant womaniser caught in a web of murder and deceit.
And surprisingly for a comedy staged against the backdrop of pre-World War II, the dialogue is contemporary American, with cussing and swearing aplenty. The story in itself is very simple. Monsieur Gustave (Ralph Fiennes), the quirky concierge of The Grand Budapest Hotel, finds himself arrested and framed for murder when his regular client for 19 years, a wealthy Madame D, passes away at her home under mysterious circumstances. Determined to prove his innocence, he takes the help of the hotel's lobby boy Zero (Tony Revolori), who goes on to become his best friend, brother and accomplice along the way.
Visually stunning and beautifully realised on screen, The Grand Budapest Hotel is grand, lovely and a cinematic treat. In fact, it's so beautiful that you can't take your eyes off it. You can't help but get enchanted by it. The narrative and the deftly choreographed scenes have a Tintin-like touch to them, and there's everything that you would like to see in a crazy comedic roller-coaster adventure of this kind - theft, murder, imprisonment, chases, hired assassins, jailbreaks (the most hilarious and the best scene in my opinion) and whatnot. But beyond all the eye-popping imagery and the sugar-coated sweetness, we also get to see the reality of war and a European country gripped under the rising tide of Nazism (though never alluded to directly; SS, the paramilitary wing under Nazi Party is referred as ZZ).
The film abounds in dry humour, smart dialogues and a wonderful background score (Alexandre Desplat) that lends pitch-perfect support to the proceedings. Bill Murray, F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Harvey Keitel, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Wilkinson, Saoirse Ronan, and Jason Schwartzman all show up at various junctures throughout the movie, but the film ultimately belongs to Fiennes and debutant Revolori and their crackling mentor-mentee relationship which blossoms into a flat-out bromance by the end. Charming and idiosyncratic, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a testament to Wes Anderson's imagination and creativity, and a hotel worth checking-in. I can't wait to see what he plans next.
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| The Grand Budapest Hotel |
Visually stunning and beautifully realised on screen, The Grand Budapest Hotel is grand, lovely and a cinematic treat. In fact, it's so beautiful that you can't take your eyes off it. You can't help but get enchanted by it. The narrative and the deftly choreographed scenes have a Tintin-like touch to them, and there's everything that you would like to see in a crazy comedic roller-coaster adventure of this kind - theft, murder, imprisonment, chases, hired assassins, jailbreaks (the most hilarious and the best scene in my opinion) and whatnot. But beyond all the eye-popping imagery and the sugar-coated sweetness, we also get to see the reality of war and a European country gripped under the rising tide of Nazism (though never alluded to directly; SS, the paramilitary wing under Nazi Party is referred as ZZ).
The film abounds in dry humour, smart dialogues and a wonderful background score (Alexandre Desplat) that lends pitch-perfect support to the proceedings. Bill Murray, F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Harvey Keitel, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Wilkinson, Saoirse Ronan, and Jason Schwartzman all show up at various junctures throughout the movie, but the film ultimately belongs to Fiennes and debutant Revolori and their crackling mentor-mentee relationship which blossoms into a flat-out bromance by the end. Charming and idiosyncratic, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a testament to Wes Anderson's imagination and creativity, and a hotel worth checking-in. I can't wait to see what he plans next.
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