THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (English), Genre: Comedy, Director: Wes Anderson, Cast: Ralph Fiennes, F.Murray Abraham, Jude Law, Tony Revolorie, Edward Norton and Saorise Ronan.
“Why do you want to be a Lobby Boy Zero?” asked the concierge M.Gustave. “Who wouldn’t at The Grand Budapest Sir?” replied Zero the newly appointed Lobby boy at The Grand Budapest Hotel. Directed by Wes Anderson, ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ is a spectacular visual wonder which tickles you to the core.
The story begins in 1985 where a girl visits a cemetery and she sits on the bench and reads a book of an author (played by Tom Wilkinson) who narrates his visit to The Grand Budapest Hotel in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka in 1968.
The young author (played by Jude Law) happens to meet this old intelligent but sad looking man who is the present owner of the hotel Zero Mustafa (played by F. Murray Abraham) and is unwilling to close the hotel down despite of it being in ruins and almost no customers.
And so the story of how he becomes the owner of the hotel starts and he takes us back to 1932 when he started his job here as a Lobby boy ( played by Tony Revolorie) under the most magnificent M. Gustave (played by Ralph Fiennes) who is the concierge at The Grand Budapest. Gustave is the sole reason for all the grandeur of the Budapest Hotel.
All the customers come again and again only for this one man and his special abilities to love them and nurse their loneliness.
One fine day one of his most loved customers Madame. D (played by Tilda Swinton) is supposedly murdered and she leaves an expensive painting for M. Gustave and then the drama begins.
Dmitri (played by Adrien Brody) the son of Madame D and his lunatic sidekick Jopling (played by Willem Dafoe) chase Gustave and Zero all over the country side to kill them.
They manage to steal the painting from Madame D’s house and hide it in the Grand Budapest Hotel and then are caught by the German officer (played by Edward Norton) and Gustave is jailed.
Zero is in love with Agatha (played by Saoirse Ronan) who is a baker and together they scheme up to save Gustave from many a difficulties and they end up becoming more like brothers.
The movie has the who’s who of Hollywood. The cast also includes Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Mathieu Amalric and Owen Wilson in small appearances.
It is a fine blend of drama, thrills and comedy. The candy pink hotel is just out of a fairy tale and as other works of Anderson the director creates a world of his own. . A visual treat and a thrill with a longing to know what would happen next.
The director leaves us with a surge of nostalgia in a world of the old European times of Countesses and the richness of those days. Ralph Fiennes walks away with the cake and Abraham Mustafa and Tony Revolori are sheer delights with some acting involved.
‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ is a film connoisseur’s delight. For some good cinema and a taste of history one must see this film.
