The Grand Budapest Hotel - Film Review

The tale of Zero Moustafa, a lobby boy of the Grand Budapest Hotel, and Gustave H, the charming concierge. When one of Gustave's hotel clients is found murdered, he is left her most prized possession; a priceless painting, but the family will not let this rest so easily. Soon, the two heroes are on a wild adventure, having stolen the painting and been framed for the murder.


The Good:

• So many awesome actors, including Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan and Jude Law.
• Quirky, funny plot.
• The new kid, Tony Revolori, who played Zero, was great and delivered his lines with perfect comedic timing. Ralph Fiennes was, as always, extraordinary.
• Cutest love story ever.
• Darkly comic with violent scenes and surprising characterisations.
• A really nice relationship builds between Zero and Gustave.
• Stunning scenery (models, green-screen and real) and interesting camera shots.

The Bad:

• It was, at times, really weird and verged on the ridiculous.
• Cliched story-within-a-story made the beginning really quite boring.
• Not too fond of that music at the beginning.
• The historical context was not completely clear to me (I am not good with that kind of thing though)

Overall thoughts:

Clearly this is a love or hate film, judging by all the reviews on IMDB. Wes Anderson films seem to have a very select following who love the sense of pure fantasy that this film brings, whereas others revile the silly nature of the film. These people probably have no sense of fun or humour, because I really liked it. I did finish the film with a kind of 'what the..?' feeling, but nevertheless it was amusing and interesting to watch.

The Grand Budapest Hotel on IMDB

Kyra_x