Dazzlingly staged black comedy

Rating: 10/10 (10 March 2014)

The Grand Budapest Hotel is that rare entertainment that comes in a shiny pink candy box decorated with a black ribbon. It sweeps you off your feet and takes you into a journey of surreal and dark comical adventure. The best kind of adventure. It is the story of a master concierge living his life in an almost imperial dream intertwined with a picture of Europe preparing for war. It is a beautiful combination and it highlights a great film direction. Life's little problems(like getting one's deserved part of the heritage) inside life's big problems(like facing the ever increasing oppression of war and surviving a document control in the process) are golden moments of storytelling, of dark humour and finally of the very warmth of a human heart. Anderson's unique universe has excellent production design, cinematography, music and editing. The parade of stars and cameos takes away nothing from the surreal portraying of nearly all the characters. Ralph Fiennes is very good as the master concierge and his delivery is well timed. Another character I really enjoyed was the one played by Willem Dafoe who hardly says anything during the whole film. It just shows the level of art in this film. Light and dark Entertainment at its best.