A writer (Tom Wilkinson and his younger self, played by Jude Law) is
reminiscing about his encounter, over 20 years ago, with the enigmatic Zero
Mustafa (F. Murray Abraham), the elusive owner of the dilapidated Grand
Budapest Hotel, crumbling relic of a bygone era and formerly a renowned spa nested
in the tiny Eastern European, mountainous Republic of Zubrowka. Much to his
surprise, the proverbially secretive old man had begun telling him his
incredible story, that of a young refugee with no family (Tony Revolori) who
got hired as a lobby boy and became
the disciple of the almighty Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes), the universally
praised concierge of the Grand Budapest then at the peak of its glory between
the two World Wars.
How could you possibly summarize the plot of movies as multi-faceted
as Wes Anderson's - this one in particular? What details, what narrative thread
would you cling to, what references would you pick to draw a comparison? Would
you rely on the lead provided by the mention "inspired by the work of
Stefan Zweig" in the credits? Although I'm not extremely familiar with
Zweig's books I was indeed able to feel some of his biting irony here and
there. Or would you rather call upon the ghost of the great Ernst Lubitsch, who
almost single-handedly invented for Hollywood a singular blend of decadent yet
literate Mitteleuropa elegance and
American glamour?
For anyone who has ever watched films such as Trouble in Paradise or To be
or not to be, it cannot be denied that Gustave H. shares a lot with
Lubitsch's leading men, especially in his acrobat's ability to (smartly) land on
his feet regardless of the plot's many somersaults and his suave flirtatious
ways with the ladies. Moreover, like the latter movie The Grand Budapest Hotel holds on to the belief that the
maintenance of certain moral, intellectual as well as esthetic standards are
mandatory requirements in the fight against evil in any form.
Just as would happen in any self-repecting screwball comedy by Lubitsch, the story (which
revolves loosely around the suspicious death of the extremely wealthy Madame D.
- Tilda Swinton- , one of Gustave H.'s "old blondes" a.k.a. lady protectors,
whose legacy to him infuriates the natural heirs) is but a mere pretense to set
both characters and events in (rather stochastic) motion. Right from the start
it is made clear that this classical "whodunit" subplot is completely
dispensable when compared to the irresistible flow of the eccentric fiction
washing over an incredibly colorful cast - and mamma mia! what a cast this is: Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe,
Saoirse Ronan and Harvey Keitel are all doing a splendid job. Gustave and Zero,
like other more or less likely biological or surrogate father-son pairs in
previous Anderson's films, have no other solution than to stick together for
better or for worse.
As usual with Anderson, the main setting (first shown to us through
tongue-in-cheek shots that make him a jolly sibling to The shining's distressing Overlook
Hotel!) is an enclosed space, a dollhouse through which characters come and
go, and to which they always come back - as if unfailingly bound to it - even
though sometimes it is in imagination only. Like the island in Moonrise Kingdom, Rushmore's school, the Belafonte
in The life aquatic, The royal Tenenbaums' family house, The Darjeeling Limited's namesake train,
the hotel is both a cross-section through an ant farm, bursting at the seams
with busy workers and convoluted tunnels inducing the many twists and turns of
the plot, and a character in its own right, complete with moods and feelings.
Bottomline: your cinephilic taste buds will enjoy taking small bites
of this delicious Grand Budapest Hotel,
just like you would with one of Mendl's legendary Courtisanes au Chocolat in
their cute pink box - their only flaw is in never lasting long enough.
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