"He certainly sustained the illusion with a marvel!"

Rating: 9/10 (7 May 2014)

"The Grand Budapest Hotel" may be director Wes Anderson's most intricately constructed and lushly designed jewel box. But this comedy-drama, set in the decadent glamor of pre-World War II Europe and the murkiness of the Iron Curtain, is also very enjoyable to watch.
It's a story within a story within a story. It starts out with an anonymous young woman reading the work of a deceased author, then switches to 1985 as that author (Tom Wilkinson) starts telling his story to the camera.
Anderson switches again to 1968, and the author (played in his younger days by Jude Law) is visiting the now-rundown Grand Budapest Hotel in the fictional — and now Communist — central European nation of Zubrowka. There he has dinner with a mysterious old man, Mr. Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham) — and it's his story, starting in 1935, that Anderson is really aiming to tell.
The movie rides on the talents of two brilliant performances. One is the newcomer Revolori, who is marvelously deadpan as he observes his mentor Gustave navigate narrow escapes, prison confinement and coach-class accommodations. The other is Fiennes, usually known as a dramatic heavy (as a ruthless Nazi in "Schindler's List" or as Lord Voldemort in the "Harry Potter" films) but showing impressive skills here as a nimble comedian.
With a rich cast of characters, Anderson creates a fast-moving and funny tale brimming with eccentric touches. He also paints moving portraits of two lost eras, the prewar decadence of European nobility and the gloomy anonymity of the Soviet satellite states, and the dread of the awful history in between. The result is as offbeat as any of Anderson's films, but more heartfelt than most.
The plot itself is too complicated to tell, so it's best just to watch the movie on it's own. It's a great blend of almost every genre; it needs to be seen. And just like any other movie, the less you know, the better the experience.