+ Best Adventure Movie of the Year
+ Best Ensemble Movie of the Year
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| The whole delicious ensemble of Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel displayed in this delicate poster |
The Grand Budapest Hotel is the happening movie right now for thinking (but here equally feeling) audiences everywhere, until (perhaps) Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac causes craze as it comes out in America later this month. My bet is that this is the film that will run with the hearts and dollars, though.
My favorite Wes Anderson-film (The Darjeeling Limited (2007)) is The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), but I have to say that this is just as brilliant. The Grand Budapest Hotel is a magnificent present of a film; a cat-and-mouse-style romantic adventure for adults; a run-amok fantastic world with great feeling and sense beneath all its tomfooleries and stylistically masterful compositions. - I loved it! It pulls our leg with an infectious earnestness from start to finish.
The film is a story within a story within a story:
A girl visits the monument for a beloved author with his book of the Grand Budapest Hotel. We travel back in time to this author's stay at said hotel, where he meets its owner, Zero Moustafa, who admires the author and decides to tell him of his life and how he came to be the proprietor of the still impressive hotel, which has, however, fallen from its past glory. This is the story of Zero the lobby boy, whose training under Gustave H. becomes dramatic, as the old dowager that owns the hotel (and several factories etc.), and who is also one of Gustave H.'s lovers, dies from poisoning. Gustave H. is framed for the murder, and consequently he goes on the run with his loyal lobby boy and a priceless painting.
The plot is intricate yet simple; all the characters are lively, unique, and so wonderful to look at and listen to. Especially picturesque are young Tony Revolori (The Perfect Game (2009)) as Zero the lobby boy, whom I totally fell in love with, and Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn (2015)) as Agatha, his cake-baking fiancee:
Revolori is of Guatemalan descent and just 17 years old. He is absolutely fantastic as Zero, and Ronan is delightful as his young, righteous fiancee. Here they are in the back of a car full of cake-boxes. - Click to enlarge
Ralph Fiennes (The Constant Gardener (2005)) plays more or less the absolute opposite of the character of Amon Goeth that he played in Steven Spielberg's masterpiece Schindler's List (1993), - a part which he was Oscar-nominated for. That was the incarnation of evil, and here he is the incarnation of humanity, vanity, manner, romance and sheer horniness as the magnificent Gustave H. He is formidable in the part, which is one of his best yet.
Gustave H. and parts of the story is inspired, if not stolen, which Anderson has admitted earnestly somewhere, from the life and stories of the Austrian author Stefan Zweig, who is also properly credited for this inspiration.
What elevates this film from its level of pure, fantastic, imaginative fun and games is the character of Gustave H. and his uncompromising, moving insistence upon decency and sophistication in his life, which we witness in the film: Grand Budapest Hotel makes you believe that a refined, sensitive nature is possible in this brutish, unpleasant world. And it indeed takes you on a refined and marvelous adventure for its ever so short playtime that many of us would have wished could just go on and on.
Great applause to Wes Anderson for this marvel of a film. It is a stunning and amazing work of the highest possible distinction.
Tony Revolori as Zero the lobby boy in Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel
Grand Budapest distinguishes itself also with masterful music by Alexandre Desplat (The King's Speech (2010)) and striking photography by Anderson-regular Robert D. Yeoman (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)). It is technically and stylistically splendid to a point where one feels like literally eating the images up.
It is a film full of poetry and dialog. There was one minuscule instant when I felt that the plot perhaps was too thick with words, but then less than a second later I was pushed to joyous laughter again at the lingual equilibrism of the film, which is written by Anderson and Hugo Guiness (Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), voice-actor).
This film is a very very good dream, and you need to go see it (at least once!)
Just look at this final still below and try to claim that your interest isn't piqued?
Some of the film's many other, fantastic stars are Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Eward Norton, Harvey Keitel, Mathieu Amalric, Willem Dafoe and Jeff Goldblum.
This film will almost certainly be totally forgotten by the Oscars '15 in almost exactly a year, which is unfair and stupid, but in some way, Anderson and his films are above the Oscars and their very relative importance. Grand Budapest already won the Silver Bear in Berlin in February, and I think it will conquer something the world over, which is infinitely more important than all the world's finest awards:
People's hearts.
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2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Top 10: The best adventure movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
One of those special ready-to-eat images from Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel
Budget: 23 mil. €
Box office: 119.5 mil. $ and growing
= Big hit
What do you think of The Grand Budapest Hotel?What was your favorite part of the film?
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