Writer/Director Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel is
a laugh-filled farce that will be enjoyed by the whole family. (Your children have, surely, heard the
occasional swear words uttered.)
It all takes place in the spa town of Nebelsbad in the
fabled nation of Zubrowka (one of my
favorite vodkas, btw) where the dapper Monsieur Gustave (RalphFiennes) is the
concierge of the spacious Grand Budapest Hotel.
The story of the hotel’s grandeur in the ‘30s is told in
the in the bleaker days of post-war communist rule by the owner Zero Moustafa
(F. Murray Abraham), who, as a young man (Tony Revolori) was the lobby boy and
friend of Monsieur Gustave.
The concierge had treated aging female guests with
special care, including the, then, owner played by Tilda Swinton. When she died under mysterious circumstances,
her villainous son Dimitri (Adrien Brody) put the blame on Gustave and the mad
romp began.
A bevy of famed actors, including Willem Dafoe, Harvey
Keitel, Bill Murray, Jude Law, Edward Norton, Jason Schwarzman, Tom Wilkinson, Jeff
Goldblum, Owen Wilson, Bob Balaban, Mathieu Amalric, Fisher Stevens, Léa
Seydoux and, best of all, Saorise Ronan take part in the fun. (Note, that you probably won’t recognize a
few of the above as they are made-up so well.)
If you're looking for enjoyment, this is a must-see film. Besides being funny, it's also charming.
The only thing wrong is that it has been released so early in the year
and may be forgotten, when award season comes around.
I give The Grand Budapest Hotel a 5 out of
5.
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