The Grand Budapest Hotel is an Oscar nominated, Academy Award winning 2014 Comedy, Drama and Adventure film directed by Wes Anderson. The story tells us about the adventures of legendary eccentric hotel concierge Gustave H. and his friend, protégé and lobby boy Zero Moustafa in a hotel in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second wars. When one of Gustave H.’s lovers is mysteriously murdered, he finds himself as the chief suspect in her murder as well as the recipient of a priceless painting and flees the authorities accompanied by Zero.
The Grand Budapest Hotel was filmed entirely on location in Germany, mostly in Gorlitz but also is parts of Saxony as well as at Studio Babelsberg. Principal photography began in January of 2013 and concluded in March of 2013. One of the main locations was the defunct Gorlitz department store which had a giant atrium, which served as the hotel's lobby in the film.
Anderson shot the film in three aspect ratios, one for each timeline.
The cast’s performance in The Grand Budapest Hotel is both impressive and entertaining, some actors’ performances being more impressive than others. One of my personal favourite performances in the film is that of Ralph Fiennes as Gustave H.; his performance demonstrates his versatility as an actor and ability to engulf himself in his character’s role. Fiennes delivers a charming, comedic and convincing performance throughout the film which establishes himself as the main protagonist and centre of attention. Other notable performances throughout the film are those of Jeff Goldblum as Deputy Kovacs, Tony Revelori as Zero Moustafa, and Tilda Swinton as Madame D.
The Grand Budapest Hotel doesn’t feature a whole lot of different editing, as Anderson’s style of film involves less ‘fancy’ editing and more focus on cinematography and visuals – however the parts in the film that are edited, even with simple editing, meshes each shot seamlessly together and results in seemingly effortless scenes.
The cinematography of The Grand Budapest Hotel was completed by Robert Yeoman, who has worked with Anderson on almost all of his films. Although Yeoman adjusts his style of shooting to suit the movie he is working on, he is commonly recognised for his simple and unassuming visuals and has created some of the most interesting visuals in film. The Grand Budapest Hotel, in my opinion, is one of his most notable works due to its captivating imagery, colour design and lighting. The film features a wide variety of different shots that are both beautiful and effectual; almost every scene has an element of symmetry, which not only helps to establish the focal point of the shot, but also helps to switch the attention quickly if something moves out of the symmetry. The lighting throughout the film remains soft and warm, even when a scene is quite bright the light stays gentle and not too harsh; Yeoman prefers to use a single source of light or prefers to diffuse the lights he is using, resulting in a gorgeous, soft glow in each scene. The colours in the film are often quite warm, like pinks or reds, but they switch to suit the feelings or emotions behind the scene. For instance, when Gustave H. finds himself in trouble or when the characters anticipate trouble, the colour design turns darker and more melancholy. All of these different elements turn The Grand Budapest Hotel into one of Anderson’s prettiest motion pictures with ornate and aesthetically pleasing visuals.
Sound in The Grand Budapest Hotel is not only unique, but also fitting; the film features only original score, no songs are used at any point. This makes the film stand out amongst others and stylises it to correlate with its beautiful visuals.
In conclusion, I would greatly recommend The Grand Budapest Hotel to anyone who has an appreciation for beautiful cinematography and visuals, as the best part of the film as a whole – for me – is its gorgeous imagery. However, I believe anybody could enjoy this film even though it is quite different to other comedy and drama films.
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