A fantastic original idea told in a surreal way

Rating: 8/10 (26 December 2014)

Storyteller/Director Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) without fail would be one of my favourite directors, his artistic eye for detail and storytelling has a life all of its own, he has a way to draw you in and keep you engaged even when there is really nothing happening, with his unique style of camera work and his absolutely gorgeous locations, he has a unique ability to reinvent colour so that his sets are a world within themselves and so inviting. The Grand Budapest Hotel is a tale within a tale within a tale, the film begins acknowledging that on the farthest eastern boundary of the Eastern continent: The former republic of Zubrowka once the seat of an Empire a young girl walks up to and stands in front of a monument covered in hotel keys and holders, she reaches into her pocket and adds her own. A plaque reads "Author" "in honour of our National treasure, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a book with "The Grand Budapest Hotel written across its front, she then turns the book over to reveal a black and white picture of the "Author". The picture turns to colour and the Author begins narrating the story from behind his desk in 1985. He begins to tell the story of a hotel he once visited many years earlier in 1968 the hotel of course was The Grand Budapest. Set in a fictitious place the hotel stood in Alpine Alps somewhere in Europe. The young Author talks about how the once Grand Budapest hotel is now in a dire state, run down and looking a lot worse for wear. Whilst bathing he meets the current owner a mysterious and sad looking man, he soon learns this man is the current owner, he learns that he was once the richest man in the world who owned all the riches one could ever imagine. The owner invites the author to a meal and begins to tell his story. The owner agrees and begins to tell his tale of how he arrived and now owns the Grand Budapest Hotel. Flash back to 1932 and the owner now a young lobby boy begins the tale once more for the author he begins to fill the ears of the Author as he is whisked away to another time and into a life of murder, theft, love, sex, art and riches.. Visually this story is stunning, plot wise the story telling is masterful, the camera shots used are vibrant and gorgeous, the score is an absolute journey from begging to end, the humour is endless, a little dark in places but still very typical of Wes Anderson's style. At times it did run a little slow in places but not enough to take anything negative. The cast was huge, so many big well-known names and every one of them played their character perfectly. Ralph Fiennes (Clash of the Titans, The Hurt Locker) as Monsieur Gustave H, was brilliant darling so charismatic and lovable. Tony Revolori (very new to the movie world) as Young Zero Moustafa was also amazing as Gustave H right hand man. F. Murray Abraham (Scarface, Amadeus) as Old Zero Moustafa. Adrien Brody (The Pianist, King Kong) as the vile Dmitri Desgoffe und Taxis, Willem Dafoe (The English Patient, Spider-Man) as J.G. Jopling Dmitri's right hand assassin. Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, Independence Day) as Deputy Vilmos Kovacs, add to this already amazing ensemble Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Harvey Keitel and a plethora of other very big names and you start to get an idea at how big this film really is. You would think having so many huge names could only equal bigger egos and a total mess, but it is the complete opposite. I loved The Grand Budapest Hotel it is unlike Wes Andersons other film in the sense that this one has much more of a plot which of course only helps. I would recommend this for anyone who can look beyond big bangs and actually enjoy a real film. If your idea of a great film is Die Hard or something else as crass and pointless I wouldn't bother because you actually need to be slightly intellectual to really enjoy this one. Better yet if you don't like films with subtitles stay away, not that this has any it'll just make you think more than you normally would like to.