by Joseph Rossi
If there is one filmmaker that has never tried to be anyone else other than himself it’s Wes Anderson. From Bottle Rocket to Moonrise Kingdom, he has been a true American original. He does not crank out a film a year like that other American auteur Woody Allen. Anderson takes his time and when a film is released we seek it out, for they are rarely given the same amount of fanfare as the usual stale Hollywood blockbuster. His latest, The Grand Budapest Hotel may just be his best film yet. A big, multi-layered, fluffy beautiful cake of a fantasy film that goes down easy and has just the right amount of awe, humor, heart and whimsy that makes us believe in the power of movies again.
The film takes place in the fictional county of Zubrowka. A young, nameless author (Jude Law) enters the once majestic and now shabby Grand Budapest Hotel and befriends the owner Zero Mustafa (F. Murray Abraham). Over supper he tells the young author a tale of an incident that occurred at the hotel in the 1930’s. While on the verge of war, the Grand Budapest Hotel was still Europe’s most extravagant hotel and resort. People flocked from miles to be serviced (ahem) by the hotels excellent concierge, Gustave (played by Ralph Fiennes) and his lobby boy, the young Zero (now played by Tony Revolori). But life isn’t so sweet when a guest dies and leaves an expensive painting to Mr. Gustave. This upsets the woman’s son Dmitri (Adrien Brody) and his henchmen Jopling (Willem Defoe) who have Gustave sent to prison. It’s now up to Zero to bust his boss out of the can to clear his name.
This film, more than any other of the director, proves of his love of the cinema. Much of the movie’s middle section, the prison and the breakout, reminds me of such classics as Stalag 17 and The Great Escape. I drooled like a rabid film fan at his audacious style. Much credit is due to his cinematographer for using different aspect ratios throughout the film for different effects. Also to the set designers and art directors, they use all their talents to make up this fantastical world that skirts on the brink of reality. This is one of the best looking films I have seen in a long while. And one that is not reliant of obvious computer effects.
The cast is impressive. Fiennes is amazing. Usually an actor that is associated with dark, period drama pieces, he gets to shine here, exposing his comedy chops, making him a worthy addition to Andersons’s stock company. Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum and Bob Balaban all appear here and are in top form. Added to the mix we get a series of newcomers like Law, Abraham, Tilda Swinton and Harvey Kietel. A casting director’s dream.
I love this film but it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Anderson’s style does take getting used to and to some it borders on the pretentious. But to all those to love his past work, this is the real deal. A work of art made by a filmmaker who has the sand to be original. Wait until you see the ski sequence. That alone is worth the price of admission.
