Review : The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest Hotel : A film about culture and life story of how a man came to buying the property of a Hotel in Budapest, once run by an extraordinary man 'Gustave H'. The film allows the audience to experience the fascinating adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Wes Anderson invites you to stay at 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' another quirky, irreverent by from mr Anderson, but includes more violence than his previous films. There’s some gory violence; one character is a killer who attacks his prey with glee, stabbing them, cutting off their fingers. All of it’s cartoonish and exaggerated but still, expect blood. A brief scene depicting a woman performing a sex act on a man flits across the screen so quickly you can almost miss it, but it’s there. There’s lots of swearing too, words too rude to repeat but if necessary it has a reason for being there. 

Why watch this? I think as a viewer. It's a real treat from start to finish. You are not going to get a film as diverse and mildly eccentrically wild as this for a very long time. Yet within the boundaries that the film sets itself in it always remains to stay sophisticated, from the scenery, from the props, from everyone. The cast are excellent, Ralph Fiennes as a prime example is amazing in this film and an inspired choice. 

What's the story? The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the times of the first and second world wars taking place, and Zero Moustafa, who starts off as being the common lobby boy and blossoms to become Gustave's most trusted friend. 

The story itself involves many adventurous thrills which make the drama diverse : the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune; all against the back drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.

Here's a preview 

It's a very enjoyable compelling drama because The Grand Budapest Hotel is complied with so much whimsy and beauty and point of view wrapped up in a comparatively running time of 100 minutes. 

It's a witty, irreverent film, and just when you think you've regained your footing after yet another bizarre, hilarious and ultimately charming plot twist, it trips you up again. I tend to like films which are clever in that way and it shows that the Director Wes Anderson creates such specifically visual, detailed, delightful visions in his story telling, and yet somehow leaves the viewer with plenty to think about afterwards as well. 

While the film brings you delight and makes you laugh, it's also destabilizing you with resolutions that are quite complex to comprehend. It'll make you think about friendship and loyalty, and transport you to a world that is not quite accurate as what you think you see. It's not all what it seems both strange and familiar. 7/10

NEXT TIME : The Golden Compass.