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Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe
"The plot thickens as they say. Why? By the way. Is it a soup metaphor?"
"You're looking so well darling, you really are. I don't know what sort of cream they put on you down at the morgue but, I want some."
If you have payed any attention to my babbling lately, and I have to assume if your reading this then you have, you know I am becoming a Wes Anderson fanatic. The other thing you know is that I think the rewatchability of his films is off the charts. This is my second viewing of The Grand Budapest Hotel and I am glad I revisited so soon. I loved this movie the first time around but just like his others it went next level the second time. When you know where the the story is headed you can glean so much more from Anderson's dialogue and his visuals. I don't think there is anyone better at both those aspects making movies right now. I also find Anderson hard to write about because those are the best part of his films. It would almost be more effective to post a bunch of stills and quotes as examples of what I love about Grand Budapest.
The visuals here may be my favorite of any of Anderson's thus far. The hotel itself is beautiful. Anderson is a genius at giving you a sense of scale despite his use of miniatures. The hotel looks old but clean at the points it needs to but then new and modern at the times when necessary. We also continue to get glimpses of more and more of the hotel as the film moves along. There is a shot towards the end of the movie where we are given a shot of the hotel ceiling and it looks amazing. I can't help but think another director would have given us this shot much earlier as a way to show off the hotel. Anderson holds some of those money shots back till the end which gave that scene more weight and scale in my opinion.I love Anderson's use of miniatures. It is not something I would want in every single movie I watch but it feels very refreshing in his films. Anderson's films are pure fantasy and the miniatures add to that very effectively. We always know we are being told a story, Grand Budapest plays like a modern fairy tale. A great example of this is the prison break sequence. There is no reality in this scene what so ever. Four men chisel at a window for a minute and they are out. Then they are caught and one man kills multiple guards. They go through a guard bunk house across rafters, their feet dangling in the guards faces as they sleep. The ladder they hang from the window is hundreds of feet long and put together with all sorts of odd things these men would have no access to. It is a wonderful and funny sequence. A perfect example of Anderson being whimsical while tackling serious subjects at the same time.
The characters in this film are also fantastic down the line. Jopling (Defoe) is a fun villain. Ominous and bearing vampire like fangs he seems to appear from nowhere. There is a scene involving him and a cat that must be the hardest I laughed both times watching the movie. Brody continues his string of me only liking him in Anderson movies as Dmitri. His personal introduction to Gustave H (Fiennes) is one of the better scenes. Gustave H and Zero (Abraham) are to be added to the long line of impeccable Anderson characters. This is without a doubt my favorite Fiennes performance and I have no doubt that Anderson's character creation has much to do with that. Zero and Gustave are together for most of the film and play off each other perfectly. The world wise and chatty Gustave constantly giving his insights to the quiet and unassuming Zero is at the center of the story and every second of it is enthralling. Zero holds his own when need be, especially when it comes to his girlfriend, "don't flirt with her".
I obviously love this film and don't feel like I am doing it anywhere near the lip service it deserves. Watch it, love it, and share your thoughts. Anderson continues to be a director whose films I just want to be consumed by.
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe
"The plot thickens as they say. Why? By the way. Is it a soup metaphor?"
"You're looking so well darling, you really are. I don't know what sort of cream they put on you down at the morgue but, I want some."
If you have payed any attention to my babbling lately, and I have to assume if your reading this then you have, you know I am becoming a Wes Anderson fanatic. The other thing you know is that I think the rewatchability of his films is off the charts. This is my second viewing of The Grand Budapest Hotel and I am glad I revisited so soon. I loved this movie the first time around but just like his others it went next level the second time. When you know where the the story is headed you can glean so much more from Anderson's dialogue and his visuals. I don't think there is anyone better at both those aspects making movies right now. I also find Anderson hard to write about because those are the best part of his films. It would almost be more effective to post a bunch of stills and quotes as examples of what I love about Grand Budapest.
The visuals here may be my favorite of any of Anderson's thus far. The hotel itself is beautiful. Anderson is a genius at giving you a sense of scale despite his use of miniatures. The hotel looks old but clean at the points it needs to but then new and modern at the times when necessary. We also continue to get glimpses of more and more of the hotel as the film moves along. There is a shot towards the end of the movie where we are given a shot of the hotel ceiling and it looks amazing. I can't help but think another director would have given us this shot much earlier as a way to show off the hotel. Anderson holds some of those money shots back till the end which gave that scene more weight and scale in my opinion.I love Anderson's use of miniatures. It is not something I would want in every single movie I watch but it feels very refreshing in his films. Anderson's films are pure fantasy and the miniatures add to that very effectively. We always know we are being told a story, Grand Budapest plays like a modern fairy tale. A great example of this is the prison break sequence. There is no reality in this scene what so ever. Four men chisel at a window for a minute and they are out. Then they are caught and one man kills multiple guards. They go through a guard bunk house across rafters, their feet dangling in the guards faces as they sleep. The ladder they hang from the window is hundreds of feet long and put together with all sorts of odd things these men would have no access to. It is a wonderful and funny sequence. A perfect example of Anderson being whimsical while tackling serious subjects at the same time.
The characters in this film are also fantastic down the line. Jopling (Defoe) is a fun villain. Ominous and bearing vampire like fangs he seems to appear from nowhere. There is a scene involving him and a cat that must be the hardest I laughed both times watching the movie. Brody continues his string of me only liking him in Anderson movies as Dmitri. His personal introduction to Gustave H (Fiennes) is one of the better scenes. Gustave H and Zero (Abraham) are to be added to the long line of impeccable Anderson characters. This is without a doubt my favorite Fiennes performance and I have no doubt that Anderson's character creation has much to do with that. Zero and Gustave are together for most of the film and play off each other perfectly. The world wise and chatty Gustave constantly giving his insights to the quiet and unassuming Zero is at the center of the story and every second of it is enthralling. Zero holds his own when need be, especially when it comes to his girlfriend, "don't flirt with her".
I obviously love this film and don't feel like I am doing it anywhere near the lip service it deserves. Watch it, love it, and share your thoughts. Anderson continues to be a director whose films I just want to be consumed by.