magical

Rating: 10/10 (15 May 2015)

A masterpiece of cinema. A respectful adaptation of Stefan Zweig's literature. The man might have approved of this stylish and imaginative work. I've sat smiling through all of the 1,5 hours of it. And then there was that lump in my throat.
Some will be uncomfortable with the seemingly static camera positions and the elaborations on 1930s decadence in the beginning. Be patient, a gripping story will develop. What struck me is the continuity of this film. The story, though absurd and fantastic in itself, develops in incredibly natural manner.
Everything works out incredibly well. Acting, scene settings. The atmosphere of nostalgia is all-pervasive. "Hadn't Mr Gustave's world disappeared long before he was born", the film concludes. And didn't Wes Anderson himself say "All the movies that I've made aren't entirely comedies, they're comedies and they're dramas, and I'm sure they are about emptiness."