The Grand Budapest Hotel was pretty grand!

Rating: 8/10 (13 June 2014)

You can always tell when you're watching a Wes Anderson's film with all his director motifs. Like Tim Burton, Wes Anderson's films always have a distinctive style. You just have to be a semi fan of his work to get enjoy it. If not, this movie isn't for you. Grand Budapest Hotel is just as amazing to watch like his other whimsical films. One thing, that bother me, is the direction of the narrative. The movie is told through four people, in three different time-lines. The movie couldn't figure out who should tell this movie. It was bit annoying. The first is an unnamed young girl who reads an author's (Tom Wilkinson) book in the present day, about his time at the Grand Budapest Hotel. Then it's told by the young author now played by Jude Law in the 1960s, whom meets the hotel owner, Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham). Then it's told by Zero who recounts to him, how he got the hotel as a young man (Tony Revolori) in 1932, but the movie isn't really about him. You can really see, how this is frustration. The movie should only focus on the story of M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes). All of the other beginning stories wasn't needed. M. Gustave was the best part of the film, and wonderfully play by Ralph Fiennes. By far, my favorite character, he help created. Gustave is very dapper and elegant and courteous and impressively foul mouthed. What a great character. M. Gustave is a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka, a European alpine state. Still, I don't know why it is call Grand Budapest Hotel, when it's nowhere near Budapest? The movie also have a fictional World War 2, as Zubrowka's "Zig-Zag" fascist and Communism movement fight for control of the country as a backdrop. With its mix of German, Hungarian and Slavic naming elements, Catholicism, fallen nobility and rising fascists Zubrowka is strongly reminiscent of the former lands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire between the wars. Anyways, when the elder Madame D. (Tilda Swinton in great make up) dies a mysterious death. M. Gustave is framed for her death and sent to prison. Mid-while, the story kinda get way more complex, involving theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune. I like how his films consistently center on the importance of and interaction between families. I found the relationship between M. Gustave and young Zero to be the greatest piece of the film. Still, the movie did had way too many characters. The movie has a lot of Wes Anderson recurring actors as side or minor characters like Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson and others. Honestly, some of these characters were not really needed, but seem write in, so he can get some of his friends, a paycheck. Since Anderson film usually features an ensemble cast and a sprawling plot line, not every character get told. The odd telling of what happen to Agatha (Saoirse Ronan) seem lazy. Show it, don't tell it. It kinda lost the emotional impact, by just mentioning it, without showing. I didn't mind the bittersweet ending about M. Gustave, because the movie invested more into that character than Agatha, but it seem wrong, not to show, what happen to them. It seem a lot of the plot conclusion was unfinished. After all, the movie never truly tells how M. Gustave prove his innocent, or who killed him. The film was inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig. The film has bits from 1939 novel 'Beware of Pity' and 1982 'The Post Office Girl". You see that in Anderson's films, that he truly love art. Indeed, it's an art-film about loving art. His films are full of charmingly obscure references to old music, theater, literature, paintings and photography. The locations that they use are beautiful. I love the nostalgia look of the clothes, you really get the time period. I also didn't mind the use of handmade miniature models. It was funny to see it, but fits in with the mood of the story, so well. The Deadpan comedy works so well, in this movie. I wouldn't stop, laughing. The silly dialogue is delivered in such a serious way that makes it fun to watch. I'm a sucker for smart comedies. I didn't like the lack of European accents. It was alright. The movie does have some harsh language, but unlike other modern comedies. It's works with the story, because it used to expression deep emotion depth, than a misplace adjective. The violence can be a bit too violent at times. This might be Anderson's darkest, most violent film yet. I really think some people might hate what happen to a certain cat in the film. The movie did a few scenes of nudity that could had been cut. It wasn't need. Overall: The movie takes the cake. In this case, Mendl's Courtesan au Chocolats. It's a good well-made movie with some faults