Anti-clichés (contains spoilers)

Rating: 10/10 (18 February 2016)

(Contains spoilers): What I like about certain scenes in the movie is the way they turn certain film clichés on their heads, with unexpected results. The most obvious one is when Serge's sister's head comes out of the basket, instead of Agathe's, which we are led to expect. Another one is when Gustave is accosted by the police in the lobby and accused of the crime. The expected follow-up is that the accused will stand there and try to talk his way out of it, but Gustave unexpectedly hightails it. Another more subtle one is the scene in the prison when Gustave is serving mush. When he serves it to the ferocious-looking convict, we expect that guy to go into a rage, a la the guy in the prison mess scene in "Stir Crazy", but the convict likes it.There are probably more of these things that other people can spot. Then, on top of those are the references to other films: Jopling cracking the ice from under Gustave on the cliff, a la "North by Northwest", and the cable car transfer, a la each least one Bond movie. All in all, a totally funny movie that has to be seen many times to get all the funny bits. (How about the gas station with the big "FUELITZ" sign over it!