Enchanting Tale that is perhaps a little too self-aware.
From the moment you start the Grand Budapest Hotel, you know this is going to be something a bit different ( I'll confess I'm not very familiar with Wes Anderson's work ). As the author of the tale narrates how he came to write the story, his son suddenly runs in and shoots him with a spud-gun. Thus the quirky humour of the film is established pretty much right away. As the tale of the Hotel in the 1930's and it's most legendary concierge unfolds, the quirkiness continues. Most of the tale is narrated in turn by Zero ( Tony Revolori ) ; now an old man but once a young lobby boy at the Hotel. Ralph Fiennes plays Gustave ; a concierge of extreme competence who treats the Hotel like a religious institution that must be kept sacred as a beacon of correct service. Servicing his guests, it turns out, involves literally servicing them. Particularly if they are old blonde heiresses.When one of these heiresses dies and leaves Gustave a priceless painting, her gangster like son ( played by Adrian Brody ) undertakes to dispute the will and retrieve the painting. Thus the scene is set for what is essentially a long drawn out chase.
A large part of the film revolves around Zero and Gustave breaking out of prison and attempting to evade and deal with the Heiress's family ; in particular trying to evade the spooky henchman well played by William Defoe. It's all done with beautiful filming ( the Alps and the architecture of Germany and Poland where most of the movie was filmed are particularly picturesque ), witty writing and great comic timing. Ralph Fiennes somehow turns the role of concierge into a tour de force, and as the film develops you realise he is something more akin to a knight ; a courageous gentleman from another time.
It is admittedly a love story as well as a chase ; Zero falls for a local young lady, and it could be said Gustave is very much in love with life and himself. He's a larger than life character with an intoxicating lust that is both hedonistic and refined ; he recites poetry to the hotel staff whilst they are efficiently served dinner. In prison he makes the most of things ; doing his best to serve the mush as though it was soup from a French restaurant, and winning over thugs with the sheer persistence of his charm. It might also be said the film is built very much around the love that is friendship, as Gustave and Zero bond over their adventures and become more a strange pair of brothers than employer and employee.
Here's my problem with The Grand Budapest Hotel.
It's an enchanting tale, and immensely enjoyable whilst you're watching it. But because the humour and style are a little too wacky, they take away from the seriousness of the subject. Its almost as if the actors are really conscious that they are performing for an audience ; it all has the feel of a bit of a pantomime. Even in his greatest moment, standing up for the Asian Zero against SS-like thugs, we feel like Fiennes is light-heartedly making up for his role as camp commandant in Schlinders List ( "sorry about playing an SS commmander ; here's to make it up old chap " ).
Added to that, it does have some unnecessary frills and is a little too convinced of it's own cleverness. At the beginning we see a girl reading a book, then we switch to the narrator, who relates how he met Zero, who then in turn relates the bulk of the story. Perhaps there is a point here about how stories are passed down, perhaps I'm missing something. Is the girl at the beginning reading the book somehow connected to the story ? Either way, it doesn't add anything at the time.
Grand Budapest Hotel will do more to cement the reputation of Ralph Fiennes and may be a breakout film for Tony Revolori. It's worth watching to see the true talent and range of Fiennes, and the film as a whole is quite a spectacle. Perhaps it has pinned just a bit too much on that.
Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Film Review : The Grand Budapest Hotel by Wes Anderson ( 2014 )
From the moment you start the Grand Budapest Hotel, you know this is going to be something a bit different ( I'll confess I'm not very familiar with Wes Anderson's work ). As the author of the tale narrates how he came to write the story, his son suddenly runs in and shoots him with a spud-gun. Thus the quirky humour of the film is established pretty much right away. As the tale of the Hotel in the 1930's and it's most legendary concierge unfolds, the quirkiness continues. Most of the tale is narrated in turn by Zero ( Tony Revolori ) ; now an old man but once a young lobby boy at the Hotel. Ralph Fiennes plays Gustave ; a concierge of extreme competence who treats the Hotel like a religious institution that must be kept sacred as a beacon of correct service. Servicing his guests, it turns out, involves literally servicing them. Particularly if they are old blonde heiresses.When one of these heiresses dies and leaves Gustave a priceless painting, her gangster like son ( played by Adrian Brody ) undertakes to dispute the will and retrieve the painting. Thus the scene is set for what is essentially a long drawn out chase.
A large part of the film revolves around Zero and Gustave breaking out of prison and attempting to evade and deal with the Heiress's family ; in particular trying to evade the spooky henchman well played by William Defoe. It's all done with beautiful filming ( the Alps and the architecture of Germany and Poland where most of the movie was filmed are particularly picturesque ), witty writing and great comic timing. Ralph Fiennes somehow turns the role of concierge into a tour de force, and as the film develops you realise he is something more akin to a knight ; a courageous gentleman from another time.
It is admittedly a love story as well as a chase ; Zero falls for a local young lady, and it could be said Gustave is very much in love with life and himself. He's a larger than life character with an intoxicating lust that is both hedonistic and refined ; he recites poetry to the hotel staff whilst they are efficiently served dinner. In prison he makes the most of things ; doing his best to serve the mush as though it was soup from a French restaurant, and winning over thugs with the sheer persistence of his charm. It might also be said the film is built very much around the love that is friendship, as Gustave and Zero bond over their adventures and become more a strange pair of brothers than employer and employee.
Here's my problem with The Grand Budapest Hotel.
It's an enchanting tale, and immensely enjoyable whilst you're watching it. But because the humour and style are a little too wacky, they take away from the seriousness of the subject. Its almost as if the actors are really conscious that they are performing for an audience ; it all has the feel of a bit of a pantomime. Even in his greatest moment, standing up for the Asian Zero against SS-like thugs, we feel like Fiennes is light-heartedly making up for his role as camp commandant in Schlinders List ( "sorry about playing an SS commmander ; here's to make it up old chap " ).
Added to that, it does have some unnecessary frills and is a little too convinced of it's own cleverness. At the beginning we see a girl reading a book, then we switch to the narrator, who relates how he met Zero, who then in turn relates the bulk of the story. Perhaps there is a point here about how stories are passed down, perhaps I'm missing something. Is the girl at the beginning reading the book somehow connected to the story ? Either way, it doesn't add anything at the time.
Grand Budapest Hotel will do more to cement the reputation of Ralph Fiennes and may be a breakout film for Tony Revolori. It's worth watching to see the true talent and range of Fiennes, and the film as a whole is quite a spectacle. Perhaps it has pinned just a bit too much on that.
Key Quote : "Rudeness is merely an expression of fear. People fear they won't get what they want. The most dreadful and unattractive person only needs to be loved, and they will open up like a flower."
Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures.
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