The Grand Budapest Hotel is a comedy, drama movie, which was released in 2014. Wes Anderson wrote and directed the flick, which stars Ralph Fiennes, as Monsieur Gustave H., who teams up with his new lobby boy, Zero Moustafa, who is played by Tony Revolori.

The movie starts with a teenager reading a book, which is written by “The Author”. As the girl begins to read, the narrator takes over and transports us back to the Grand Budapest Hotel in 1968. At this time, the Author (Jude Law) discovers the motel has started to crumble from the inside out. Very few guests stay in the hotel, which was once bustling. The Author meets with the owner, Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham), who begins to tell the man about the journey of how he came to be the owner of the motel.

The movie flashes back to 1932, as Zero begins to tell his story. The boy (Tony Revolori) has recently fled from his war torn village, where his family was slaughtered. Of course, his new residence, Zubrowka, is also hanging on the edge of a war. Next, we’re introduced to Monsieur Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes), who works as the hotel’s concierge.

Gustave is a flamboyant individual, who sons drags Zero into trouble. When one of Gustave’s special ladies, Madame D (Tilda Sinton) dies, he discovers she left him an expensive painting, Boy with Apple. This angers Madame D’s son, Dmitri (Adrien Brody). After a brawl at Madame D’s wake, Gustave and Zero end up stealing the painting and hiding it, within the safe of the hotel. Of course, Gustave is arrested for Madame D’s murder, due to coerced testimony from her butler, Serge X (Mathieu Amalric).

During Gustave’s prison stay, Zero falls in love and gets engaged to Agatha (Saoirse Ronan). Gustave begins working to find a way out of the prison, with a group of fellow inmates. With the help of Ludwig (Harvey Keitel), Gustave makes his escape and rendezvous with Zero. The pair begin working together to clear Gustave’s name, but they have a mad man, J.G. Jopling (Willem Dafoe), hot on their trail. Will Jopling be able to fulfill Dmitri’s wishes and do away with Gustave? Or will Gustave and Zero clear Gustave’s name and live a lavish life with their new found riches?

Review


The Grand Budapest Hotel is a clever comedy and a heart wrenching drama, with an exceptional cast from Jason Schwartzman to Adrien Brody to Edward Norton. Bill Murray, Jude Law and Owen Wilson make an appearance as well. Of course, it is the strong performances from the leads, Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori, that make the film a success.

The screenplay is immaculately written and hits all of the right notes. When it tries to be funny, it is. When it attempts to play on your emotions, you’ll know it and you’ll feel it. The movie is paced perfectly to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat, while waiting for the next joke to drop.

It is hard to find anything wrong with The Grand Budapest Hotel. The movie is beautiful, hilarious and dramatic, while touching on many human flaws and numerous societal issues. Although not everyone will be able to spot these subtle hints, most will be able to enjoy the comedy and drama. Therefore, the film deserves an 8.5 out of 10.