Shifts in Society and Ski Resorts

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2018)

In his latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson does an incredible job of telling an ugly story taking place in an even uglier time in a beautiful and light-hearted way. Receiving a 93% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, The Grand Budapest Hotel is not only loved by fans, but also critically acclaimed. Taking place in the 1930s, the movie tells the story of a lobby boy, Zero, and his mentor, M.Gustave. M. Gustave manages a fantastical ski resort where he spends time meeting the needs of the hotel's old, rich, blonde occupants. Coming from zero, Zero is an immigrant who fled his war-ridden home to come to Zubrowka, the fictional European country in which the film is set.
Alongside the adventures of Zero and M. Gustave is another story: that of the violent shift of culture in Western Europe during the World Wars. When the movie starts, it depicts a society of structure, nobility, and social hierarchy. From the beginning, Anderson portrays a hierarchy even within the hotel, with M. Gustave near the top, staying in a grand room with a grand bed, and Zero at the very bottom, living in a room the size of a closet. Everyone treats each other with respect, and everyone knows their place in society. Everything is structured. As the movie progresses, this theme is still apparent, yet things begin to change. For example, while traveling, Zero and M. Gustave's train is stopped in the middle of a barley field. It is then boarded by militarized police, who are seemingly ready to arrest Zero for lack of legal documentation. However, before they can do anything, they are stopped by their chief, who is a friend of M. Gustave's and gives Zero a note stating he is legally allowed in the country. This scene hints at the shift in the current society. At the end of the film, the plot makes it apparent that the shift in culture is nearly complete when a similar train scene is displayed, with Zero and M. Gustave's train car stopped again, but this time it is boarded by a stand-in for an SS death squad. Yet again, they are about to arrest Zero, but this time M. Gustave hands them the letter from their last barley field pullover. A member of the death squad proceeds to shred the note and bash Zero with the butt of his gun, symbolizing the near completion of the shift in society.
The beauty of the cinematography ude of a light-spirited sense of humor, although contrasting the ugly themes portrayed in the film, make the movie very charming. The excellent use of still and tracking shots, symmetry, colors, and beautiful sets allows for a stunning style of film that grants each shot an oil painting look. For example, at the beginning of the film, Anderson launches a colorful long shot of the hotel, giving a sense of its size and grandeur, followed by a tracking shot from the gondolas all the way through the resort, displaying the world it contains. Additionally, the humor is consistently subtle and funny, with skits ranging from the mysterious Society of the Crossed Keys, to the hunt for a strange yet priceless painting, Boy With Apple. The inclusion of humor and cheery tones in the film allow The Grand Budapest Hotel to be very enjoyable and fun to watch, even though the film tells a story of violence in a violent time.