I Bet You Didn't See... The Grand Budapest Hotel

ibetyoudidnt
2 days ago
3 min read

In a fictional European country, stands The Grand Budapest Hotel. It has had its day, and it is not what it once was.

Our narrator (Tom Wilkinson and Jude Law) describes the guests and the atmosphere, until an older man, Zero (F. Murray Abraham) arrives. He engages the narrator in conversation and tells him the story of how he came to own the hotel.

From the grandiose ideals of Monsieur Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes), and his yo-yoing contradiction to these, to the depths of thuggery and the corrupt life of the rich in the region, we are taken on an adventure of deception and murder, where the powerful feel they deserve what they have, the poor appreciate what they have and the ones in the middle are left to fight a battle they are ultimately already on one side of. The film ends with a rather melancholy tone, which is poignant, given the subjects brought up in the film.

Every little detail in this shot is meticulously positioned.

There is a bit too much about the plot to go through without spoiling it, but the real success of this film is in its artistry. Being shot in 35mm film, this automatically takes the look of the film away from the digital clarity we are used to. Every shot is framed head on or side on, with very quick edited pans or rigid vertical or horizontal tracking. Framing is deliberate and key. This, again, makes it stand out. There is then the sequences with the cable cars and ski chase – done to look very obviously as miniatures. Clever, and a big step aside from the mainstream. The third piece of key detail is the aspect ratio for the three time periods within the film. The beginning and the end of the film, being in 1985, is the biggest ratio, filling the screen. Then as we see older Zero telling younger Narrator his story in the 1960s, we see the ratio decrease. Finally, for the bulk of the film (the 1930s), it is squared in the screen. These reflect how cinema was view at each respective time.

Frames within frames is a regular theme within this film's cinematography.

The other main reason for the film’s success is the huge cast, mainly of cameos, that the film boasts. Ralph Fiennes is stunningly camp and pompous while deflecting into crass and irritability at the drop of coin. With Jude Law, F. Murray Abraham and Tom Wilkinson as mentioned, they are joined by new star Tony Revolori as young, devoted Lobby-Boy Zero. Then across various roles and almost all interlinking, we have Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton (you wouldn’t know!), Edward Norton, Mathieu Amalric, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson. Such an array of characters helps build the depth of the film as well as the selling point for the producers and distribution but also shows the appeal of Anderson as most of those named had worked with him before. Films like this play off the success of 1956 Around the World in 80 Days, where producer Michael Todd was able to bring in a large number of known stars at the time to play bit-parts, coining the term “cameo-role”. These included the likes of Peter Lorre, Frank Sinatra, Buster Keaton, Cesar Romero, Sir John Gielgud and Noel Coward. The film was hugely successful.

16 names - some get mere minutes on screen, if that!

Wes Anderson is a rather unique filmmaker. However, I feel it is limited. That said, Wes seems aware of this. He has directed 13 films in 30 years. The Grand Budapest Hotel is by far his most successful, with 10 award wins from 24 nominations (including four Academy Awards), and that makes up for 83% of his awards, but Anderson has had various nominations for eight of his films. So, his style works.