The Grand Budapest Hotel

Rating: 10/10 (16 March 2019)

The Grand Budapest hotel was written and Directed by Wes Anderson. The Film was released in 2014, and was based in part on a series of short stories written by Stefan Zweig. The film stars Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori as a pair of hotel workers at the Grand Budapest Hotel. The film won 4 Oscars and was nominated for another five. This is Anderson's seventh feature length film, as well as his most successful.
The film revolves around the characters of M. Gustave, as played by Ralph Fiennes, and Zero, Tony Revolori, Gustave is a concierge at the Grand Budapest, and Zero is his lobby Boy. After Gustave is framed for murder, the two are forced to unravel the mystery behind the death and clear Gustave's name.
The sheer beauty of this film is breath-taking. Never before in a film have I seen such vibrant and detailed scenes and backgrounds. Each frame looks like it could be its own painting. The cinematography is excellent, and the film has its own distinctive and independent style I have not seen in any other film. The plot of the film, as well as its pacing, is also wonderful. It's a fascinating plot about mystery and humour.
The acting in this film, while of times fast paced, rings true and is full of genuine emotion. The relationships between the characters is extraordinary and fascinating. Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori's relationship is one of the greatest highlights of the film. A nice little detail to note is that despite the film set in a fictional Germanic country, all of the actors retain their own native accents. This particularly evident with the characters played by Saorise Ronan and Jeff Goldbloom, who Irish and American accents respectively, are extremely distinct from anyone else in the film. This is interesting as the Director, Wes Anderson, hired these people based solely on their acting ability, their nationality and their ability to speak with an accent was not considered.
I find it difficult to think of any negatives about this film. The only one I can think of is that some people had issues with the ending, but I think it ended perfectly. Such as it was.
The Grand Budapest, to me at least, is a masterpiece. Filled with wonderful performances, a great plot and absolutely amazing cinematography, it is one of my favourite films I have ever seen.
Without a doubt the Grand Budapest Hotel is a perfect Ten out of Ten for me.