Aesthetically BEAUTIFUL film, great story and acting

Rating: 10/10 (11 March 2014)

I was blown away by the mise-en-scene and composition of the different shots in this film. Almost every frame can be frozen, printed out and hung on the wall in your living room. The colors, the balance, the compositions, everything visually just made this film magical to me. This was definitely what impressed me most, not because the film was lacking in other areas but because it is so rare to literally have such a beautiful picture.
The story was clever and engaging with unique characters who we immediately like (even the villains, particularly Willem Dafoe who got uproarious laughter from me, as well as the spectators around me in the cinema).
The quirky, fantasy world Anderson has created with the Grand Budapest provides a welcomed escape at a time when many of the films on screen depict true stories.
I enjoyed every minute of this picture. Not only was I pulled into Anderson's fantastic universe, I laughed out loud many times and left the theater happy.