An amazing pop-up book

Rating: 9/10 (28 December 2018)

Where many films attempt to be endearing in a way that ends up being artificial, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is artificial in a way that is endearing. Wes Anderson doesn't try to pretend it's real and that allows him to make GBH as delightfully eccentric as can be. The aspect ratio is perfectly harnessed to make every shot one-of-a-kind. He has a way of framing every moment in the most perfect way, and this is often used for delightfully goofy humour. Playing into the artificiality, some of the shots appear to use models, such as shots of the hotel from far off and the brilliant ski chase.
The characters are charming and funny but not one-note. Gustave and Zero are a great pair of protagonists. The way their friendship pans out fleshes both of them out. Gustave is not a simple character, his quirkiness hiding real depth. He is loyal and values loyalty, but this tends to be the case when he hopes to get something in return. His kindness to fellow prisoners for example is rewarded by allowing him to escape without calling the guards. Or does he genuinely want to please people without expecting anything in return? The way he takes Zero on despite him having zero qualifications surely shows that to be true. Zero himself is definitely not of zero worth, showing himself to be multifaceted. He puts loyalty to Gustave above everything else but he isn't defined by it, nor is he afraid to stand up to him openly. Over the course of the film it's impossible not to care about him and to feel sorry when tragedy strikes.