Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

 “You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it.”

            I like a good whimsical, silly, adventurous movie. I did not really know what The Grand Budapest Hotel was going to be about. But as I say with certain movies not knowing the plot can be a lot of fun when you watch a movie especially when the movie turns out to be good.

            The movie begins in the year 1985 when an author sits down at his desk and begins describing the story of his book The Grand Budapest hotel. He explains that many authors draw the inspiration for their works from the stories of other people.

            In 1968 he had traveled to a small country and stayed at the hotel the title of his book is named after. The hotel had seen better days. No one ever really visited the hotel anymore except for an older man named Zero Moustafa. The concierge of the hotel told the author that Mr. Moustafa was once an immigrant and now he owns half the country. The author is invited by Mr. Moustafa to dine with him that night to hear his story.

            Mr. Moustafa recounts how he had been a lobby boy in the 1930s at The Grand Budapest Hotel. He was taken under the wing of the then concierge M. Gustav (Ralph Fiennes) and taught the ways of being an educated sophisticated young man and excellent lobby boy. M. Gustav was close with one of the older ladies who frequented the hotel named Madame D (Tilda Swinton). Before she left the hotel she told her him that she did not want to leave because she was afraid she may die. M. Gustav tells her, her fears are nothing and she will be fine. A few days later M. Gustav reads that Madame D was found dead her room at her home. He confesses he loved the old woman to Zero and that he has to go to see her one last time.

            Madame D’s will is read. Everything is left to her son Dmitri (Adrian Brody) who is the biggest, greediest jerk ever. To Gustav she leaves a very valuable painting. Dmitri is pissed about the painting and wants Gustav arrested because he suspects the concierge had something to do with killing his mother and swindling her out of her painting. Everything Dmitri believes and says out loud is pure lies.

            Gustav and Zero leave discretely with the painting back to the hotel. Not much longer after they return to the hotel Gustav is arrested on charges false charges of murder. The real murderer is known to the police as well as Madame D’s lawyer but it eventually becomes up to Gustav himself and Zero to find the real killer and prove the painting does rightly belong to him.

            There is so much more to this story but why give it all away when you should just go watch it yourself.

            The cast was very much star powered. Besides Ralph Fiennes being the main character he was the only big star in the cast to be consistently seen on screen. The other big named stars such Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, F. Murray Abraham, and Edward Norton they really did not have large parts. They just kind of showed up here and there. Fiennes was hysterical. I love how he played M. Gustav. I liked how he was a bit stiff yet his dialogue was so loose in some parts. I was laughing with most of what came out of his mouth.  It was a very good cast though and they were all in parts that, I think, are a bit unusual for them.

            The story was so different. I enjoyed how if played out from beginning to end. I liked the way it jumped back and forth between 1968 and the 1930s to tell Zero’s story with M. Gustav. The story is entertaining and exciting and even whimsical but it is not really very happy. The unhappiness of the story did not bother me at all to me it just added to how great it was.

            Wes Anderson I have not seen too many of his movies. I have seen parts of Fantastic Mr. Fox and I the parts I saw were really cool. Like the dialogue the direction was fast paced and I am even going to say witty. It was just fun there was nothing artistic or trying or boring about it. Every shot of the actors was perfect.

            The Grand Budapest Hotel is wonderful. It was very whimsical, very silly, and a lot of fun. I believe had I known the plot beforehand I would not have enjoyed it as much because I would have gone into thinking it was another dramedy hipster-type movie. I highly suggest seeing The Grand Budapest Hotel it is one of the most creative and entertaining movies I have ever watched.