The Grand Budapest Hotel; Reviewed

by Kyle Kull

I have not seen many of Wes Anderson's films, only Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), but his aesthetics and style are very recognizable, including in his newest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. Ralph Fiennes plays the estranged M. Gustave, the owner of The Grand Budapest Hotel, who is launched into a tidal wave of circumstances when his wealthy, older lover is suddenly killed. The story is an interesting one, revolving not around M. Gustave, who is the subject of the story, but rather around his lobby boy, the intuitive Zero Moustafa, who assists his friend and boss in discovering the reasons behind the woman's death. Interestingly, this plot is contained within a flashback, where an author visits The Grand Budapest Hotel and meets Zero Moustafa in his old age, now the owner of the great establishment. Zero tells his story to the writer, who in turn writes a book on the man. However, this story line is also a flashback. This story of the writer meeting Zero, is the writer’s flashback, remembering the time he visited The Grand Budapest Hotel and met Zero Moustafa. Surprisingly however, this is also a flashback, making there three consecutive flashbacks within the film. The true original story of The Grand Budapest Hotel is about a girl, who visits a monument to the author, and begins to read a book by the writer entitled The Grand Budapest Hotel. This collection of stories that interlace with each other provides the audience with an introspective look at the story of The Grand Budapest Hotel within the fictional country of Zubrowka.

What interests me about the cinematography and style in the films by Wes Anderson that I've seen are his blocking and the theater style sets which he creates. Look at this shot from The Grand Budapest Hotel:

Here we see a typical shot of the front of the hotel, but the shot looks less cinematic and more theatrical. The backdrop of the hotel that gives the setting of the scene, provides a 2 dimensional background. We can also see the army patrols entering from “stage right” and army vehicle positioned against the backdrop. The subjects of the shot are the two main characters in the “Mendel's” vehicle, who are put directly in the middle of the shot up in front. Usually, the director would abide by the “Rule of Thirds”, and position the subject on the right or left of the frame; however Anderson decides to position them in the middle, with their setting surrounding them. If we were to see this same set up on the stage, rather than on the big screen, it would look natural. However, because the shot is in a cinema format, is seems slightly askew, and lends a characteristic to Wes Anderson’s mise en scene. Shots similar to this were used extensively throughout the film to provide establishing shots for different scenes.

Let’s look at another shot from The Grand Budapest Hotel that alludes to the styles which Wes Anderson utilizes in most of his films:

Here we see The Grand Budapest Hotel sitting atop a mountain majestically, looking out at the village below. The shot is obviously not actual size, seeing as how getting a building of that size with that exact perfect setup atop a mountain would be nearly impossible. This is enhanced with the style of the shot, showing an extensive amount of pastel undertones that are not typical in real life, but rather in paintings. Wes Anderson clues us into one of his usual styles: his continuous attempt to paint a picture on the screen for his viewers. 

This is included in some of his shots. Take a look at this shot:

This shot shows M. Gustave upon hearing that his older lover has been murdered, fleeing into the hotel. Typically in a film, when a character decides to flee from the authorities, he is immediately chased by those he is fleeing from. However, as is usual with a Wes Anderson film, M. Gustave runs, while the rest of the characters in the scene remain in their positions. Aside from providing a taste of comedy in the film, this scene shows the painting style that Wes Anderson tries to convey in his cinematography. By minimizing the movement of characters and props in the scene, he makes the audience focus on the positioning and blocking of his shots simultaneously with the action in the scene, making each frame more picturesque. 

The shots in The Grand Budapest Hotel were the best part of the film, and are the signature of the Wes Anderson cinematic style. His craft with storytelling also shine through as a strong point of the film, keeping the audience intrigued and guessing. Another strength of the film was its cast, which included Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori as Zero, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton and Jude Law, and many other well known names. Wes Anderson has been known to use many actors in consecutive productions, which was again displayed in cameo roles for this film, including a short part for Bill Murray. 

The film is a great one and definitely one you should take the time to see, especially if you enjoy the films that Wes Anderson typically creates. The Grand Budapest Hotel presents a quirky, visually beautiful, plot twisting comedy that focuses on the story of a young lobby boy. Wes Anderson was fully able to flex his cinematic strength with The Grand Budapest Hotel.