As good as expected.

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2015)

I saved watching this until I needed to be diverted from the winter weather. Fantastic, just as good as I anticipated it would be. The surrealistic atmosphere, the humour, the stellar cast, the Wes Anderson trademark quirkiness and darkness of the story, all made this memorable. I don't understand why some people who know that they are not fans of Wes Anderson's work have commented that they hated this film. His style is unique and if people don't get it or like it, the best approach would be to avoid it. Wes Anderson's contribution to cinema is legendary and he is one of my firm favourites.
It's difficult to choose a specific aspect of this film which stands out, because it is uniformly excellent, and although Ralph Fiennes performance is central, all the performances however small (Bill Murray was a cameo and so were some others) were crucial and contributed to the whole. I have travelled in Eastern Europe and East Germany and some of the locations reminded me fondly of my travels. I have even stayed in ex-communist hotels and the Grand Budapest reminded me of these places. Amazing.