Year: 2014
Director: Wes Anderson
Country: US
Language: English
Wes Anderson has always made films his way; never creating art on anybody else's terms but the ones that are exclusively his. Working with independent producers on low budgets, he has not yet succumb to the pressures of Hollywood and maintains a remarkable style that is uniquely his own. Many think Quentin Tarantino is the great indie darling, but he is an unoriginal hack compared to Anderson, a man who doesn't rely on extreme violence to get his thought provoking messages across. I personally feel The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) was his greatest feature, but Grand Budapest Hotel is exceptional as well.
The picture follows the adventures of Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes) , a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.
Grand Budapest Hotel is an intelligent film full of great wit and charm. It is spellbinding, from the first moment to the last. The picture is very much like Powell and Pressburger's Life and Death of Colonel Blimp in the way it pays respect to long vanished styles, customs and people. The old world is celebrated, albeit while being layered in fantasy. Anderson travels through many different time periods to not only show an appreciation of history, but to mirror out own times as well. He uses old film-making techniques to tell this story, even using the McGuffin; an object that sets in motion a great span of comic action.
Despite it's wonderful slapstick comedy, and at times, ridiculous chain of events, Grand Budapest Hotel is a serious film containing a lot of humanity. Not only is this picture about the masks we use to face the real world, but it is also about friendship, love and perseverance. The characters’ steadfast bonds of friendship and love join with a peculiar fraternity. Gustave H is a slimy manipulative man who doesn't have any friends, aside from the old women he takes advantage of, but he does confide in zero and genuinely loves him, as does zero back. Grand Budapest Hotel is backed by great dignity and great heart.
In conclusion, Grand Budapest Hotel should have won "Best Picture" at the 2015 Academy Awards but unfortunately lost to the soulless Birdman. A shame really, but if that means Anderson will continue to claim his style then so be it. The Director has never made a bad picture, infact he only improves with age. This beautiful picture is a MUST SEE. Praise it! 5/5
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