The Grand Budapest Hotel

Rating: 7/10 (2 October 2014)

I heard a good amount of this film during its release in the cinema, because of its director, Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox), and an impressive all-star cast, I didn't know much else besides that, but I was most keen to watch it. Basically a memoir was written by a character known only as 'The Author' (Tom Wilkinson), it recalls his trip to the Grand Budapest Hotel in 1968, in the Republic of Zubrowka, a European alpine state damaged by war and poverty. The Young Writer (Jude Law) finds the remote mountainside hotel, it has fallen on hard times with glistening facilities in need of repair and fewer guests, the Writer encounters and in the evening has dinner with the elderly hotel owner Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham), and he starts telling his tale of how he came to own the hotel and why he will not close it down. The story flashes back to 1932, during the glory days for the hotel, then young Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) was a lobby boy, in charge of the staff is devoted concierge Monsieur Gustave H. (BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Ralph Fiennes), important messages from the unknown owner are relayed through lawyer Deputy Vilmos Kovacs (Jeff Goldblum). When not attending to needs of the hotel's wealthy clientèle or managing staff, Gustave courts numerous ageing women looking for "exceptional service", one of these ladies is Madame Céline Villeneuve Desgoffe und Taxis (Tilda Swinton) who he spends a night with before she leaves, one month later she dies in mysterious circumstances, at the wake her will reveals she bequeathed Gustave the very valuable painting Boy with Apple. This angers the family who wanted to inherit the painting, including the Madame D's son Dmitri Desgoffe und Taxis (Adrien Brody) who lashes out, Gustave and Zero return to the Grand Budapest Hotel and the painting is locked away in the safe, Gustave makes a pact with Zero that for his help he will be his heir, and following this Gustave is arrested and imprisoned accused of murdering Madame D, after forced testimony by her butler Serge X (Quantum of Solace's Mathieu Amalric). To aid Gustave with his escape from the prison Zero has his fiancée Agatha (Saoirse Ronan) bake cakes to send, with stone working tools concealed inside, he and a group of convicts dig their way out of the cell, Gustave and his servant team together to prove his innocence, while cold-blooded assassin J.G. Jopling (Willem Dafoe), working for Dmitri, who kills Kovacs for refusing to work with Dmitri, also pursuing is investigating Inspector Henckels (Edward Norton). The adventure takes Gustave and Zero to a mountaintop monastery, the only person who can clear Gustave of the murder accusations is Serge, but before he can reveal the important information he is strangled by Jopling, the assassin is chased fleeing the monastery down the snowy mountain, they stop and there is a face-off at the cliff edge, Zero rescues Gustave and pushes Jopling to his death. Back at the Grand Budapest Hotel, an outbreak of war is imminent, the hotel has been commandeered by the military who are in the process of converting the hotel into a barracks, Gustave is heartbroken, Dmitri catches Agatha trying to retrieve the painting, chasing and gunfire ensues, until Gustave's innocence is proved by, the Madame D's second will is discovered, hidden behind the painting, she was the unknown owner, in it she leaves most of her fortune, the painting and the hotel to Gustave, he becomes a wealthy regular hotel guest, while Zero becomes the new concierge. Old Zero tells that on a train journey enemy soldiers inspecting papers took Gustave and shot him, Agatha died from influenza two years later, and he inherited the hotel and fortune Gustave promised him and he vows to continue the legacy of the Grand Budapest Hotel, he explains this is not loyalty to Gustave, it is his last remaining link to Agatha, and the Writer departs for South Africa and does not return. Also starring Harvey Keitel as Ludwig, Jason Schwartzman as Monsieur Jean, Bill Murray as Monsieur Ivan, Owen Wilson as Monsieur Chuck, Bob Balaban as Monsieur Martin, Short Circuit's Fisher Stevens as Monsieur Robin, Léa Seydoux as Clotilde and Hostages' Larry Pine as Mr. Mosher. Fiennes is the perfect choice for the most prominent character, I agree the likable newcomer Revolori is a little overshadowed by the big names, including Dafoe, Norton, Brody and Ronan who stand out in my memory, its choice of colouring for costumes and scenery is nice and vibrant, the eccentric characters add something to every scene, and the weird and wonderful story with a murder mystery and a charming hotel is interesting, an entertaining wild yarn comedy. It won the Oscars for Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Music for Alexandre Desplat and Best Production Design, and it was nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing and Best Writing, Original Screenplay, it won the BAFTAs for Best Original Music, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Original Screenplay for Wes Anderson and Best Make Up & Hair, and it was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound and Best Film, and it won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical, and it was nominated for Best Screenplay. Very good!