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The Grand Budapest Hotel


The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Director: Wes Anderson
Writer: Wes Anderson
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric
Genre: Whimsical, Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Premise: The fanciful story of M. Gustave, who's the head concierge at the world renown Grand Budapest Hotel, and the story of his newest employee, a refugee named Zero. The Grand Budapest hotel is frequented by the rich and well-to-do and located in a fictional European country called Zubrowka.

Review: I have high praise for Ralph Fiennes portrayal of the well groomed, M.Gustave. A man with impeccable taste and civility who demands the best from those around him. This was a great character idea! I can't image another actor in this role, he's amazing.

His sidekick the new lobby boy is played by the young actor Tony Revolori. This was his first feature film and he nailed his performance. His quiet sincerity provides the perfect counterbalance to Fiennes flamboyant character. Tony Revolori is going to have a bright future in films I predict.

I also have very high praise for the sets, they are beautiful! I wish I could visit The Grand Budapest hotel in it's heyday. The rooms look so rich in their old world charm and class...very elegantly decorated and cool. And the colors of this film!...the pastel pinks, the lavenders, the powder blues....Vincent Minnelli would have loved this film. The art direction deserves high credit for such a beautiful looking film.

However for me, none of this was enough to hold my interest. After the first half hour, I became disinterested. I wasn't caught up in the story, nor did I care what happened to the characters. Perhaps it was the zaniest of both the story and the camera work that took me out of the movie. Ultimately I didn't care and the film lost me.