Wes Anderson gained a lot of fame via his last movie, Moonrise Kingdom. In my social sphere, it became somewhat of a classic: everyone had seen it, everyone had loved it, everyone always talked about it. But to be honest, I didn’t think it was that great. Moonrise Kingdom had that quirky charm that is associated with Wes Anderson, but I wasn’t that impressed. So when I heard that he had another movie coming out, it’s pretty safe to say that I wasn’t jumping to go see it right away. But after hearing many good things about The Grand Budapest Hotel, I decided to go see it.
The movie is set in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka, a cold European alpine state. The film essentially begins with an elderly author recounting his trip to the Grand Budapest Hotel in the 1980s where he stayed as a young man. The hotel, once the pinnacle of the prestige and glory, now stands nearly deserted and outdated. The handful of regulars that stay in the hotel, prefer solitude and never interact with each other.
The adventure begins when the young author, played by Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes), notices a new and unusual guest at the hotel. Upon inquiry from the concierge, he learns that the man is Zero Mustafa, the richest man in all of Zubrowka and the owner of The Grand Budapest Hotel. Once a year, Zero, played by F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus) comes to the hotel and spends one week there, but always sleeps in the servant’s quarters. He greatly intrigues the young author and by a favorable turn of events, the author finds himself at dinner with Zero.
At dinner, Zero recounts the grandiose story of how he came to become the owner of the hotel. The story is a fabulous tale of the original and legendary concierge of the Grand Budapest Hotel, Mr. Gustave, played by Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2) and a teenage Zero, played by Tony Revolori (The Perfect Game), who was the first lobby boy of the hotel. Gustave and Zero become intertwined in a bizarre journey after the death of a hotel guest who loved Gustave. The hunt for her will turns into a crazy story involving erratic families, crazy hit men, prisons, churches and a painting.
True to Wes Anderson, the film is full of quirky humor, eccentric characters and extraordinary situations. The entire cast is perfect for their roles and did fantastic job. After seeing Fiennes as Voldemort for such a long time, my expectations for him were mediocre at best, but he blew me away. Even the amateur actor Revolori, who wasn’t very well known before this movie, did a phenomenal job. I would highly recommend The Grand Budapest Hotel no matter what kinds of movies you think you would enjoy. Anderson’s sense of humor is compatible with all kinds of people. The $10 tickets would be well worth your money.
By Trisha Chaudhary
What did you think of The Grand Budapest Hotel?