Anderson At His Best

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2014)

Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is a great film and one of my favorite Anderson films. He has come a long way from "Bottle Rocket" and has perfected his style. The story is about hotel concierge Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes) and lobby boy Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) as they navigate their way through a murder mystery and a growing war in Europe in the 1930s. It's an epic tale that is fast paced, witty, and bitter sweet.
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" is simply a great story where everything is just what it needs to be. Ralph Fiennes is hilarious as Gustave H. Many of the actors in this film have been in other Anderson films, but Fiennes fits right in and dishes out laughs. Anderson has fun playing around with frames. Whatever time period the film moves to, the framing complements the time period it is in. When we are in the 1930s, the framing is thin and tall like the films of the that time. As time progress, the framing gets wider. It's clever and and meaningful, just like the rest of the film.
The film looks great thanks to all the focus on the small details of the sets. Robert D. Yeoman's cinematography is always balanced and complements the wit of the story. Alexandre Desplat's playful music adds laughs and captures Anderson's blend of humor and drama very well. It is a very colorful film (both figurative and literally) and has the dollhouse composition Anderson fans have come to know.
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" has everything you want from an Anderson film. Whether it is Billy Murray and Jason Scwartzman or characters with passions or long tracking shots or childish adults and children beyond their or funny original artwork, it's all there. Anderson has perfected his craft and this film shows it.
This is one of my favorite films of the year and I hope it isn't forgotten about when awards season comes. It's a funny and meaningful story with characters that you get attached to. Anderson takes you to other worlds and engages you with tales and characters that aren't afraid to be original. "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is a movie that I think everyone can enjoy and I'm glad it is getting recognized.