House of Literature // The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Rialto Theater, Glenwood Avenue Raleigh

The Grand Budapest Hotel: when it was showing at the Rialto Theater...

What a delightful, colorful, beautiful film! I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but whatever I subconsciously expected fell far short. I love movie experiences, where from the beginning, I am engulfed in the characters, story, setting, and beauty on the screen. This movie, for me, was the very definition of this experience. 

Grand Budapest Hotel Poster

Directed by Wes Anderson, the story is set in the fictional European town of Lutz between the World Wars. Gustave H. [Ralph Fiennes] is the legendary concierge at the famous Grand Budapest Hotel, where many a scandal occur. He befriends Zero Moustafa [Tony Revolori], the lobby boy, and together they get into ridiculous predicaments involving the theft and recovery of a priceless painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune. The story is told by an elderly M. Moustafa [F Murray Abraham] to a young writer [Jude Law]. A fascinating, hilarious world of impressive moustaches, colorful characters, old rich women, crazy villains, and a scheming family, this movie has everything you could ask for.

One of the things I personally identified with in the movie was the thought that this fantastic story, divulged by M. Moustafa, would never have been shared if this young writer hadn't met him. There is just something about having his story recorded that pushed M. Moustafa to spill his heart and past out. All the pleasant and the unpleasant. Obviously this is not a true story. But, I must ask, what other truly fantastic stories are forgotten because nobody is writing them down? What about those?

I will say that this is not a family-friendly movie, so I do not suggest bringing children to see it. It is rated R for brief glances of nudity as well as some language. Neither of those things characterizes the movie at all, or left much of an impression on me, but they are part of it so be warned.

The cast list is also pretty impressive, with Jude Law, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, and several others. 

Again, I highly suggest seeing this movie for a fun, artistic, hilarious movie experience. 92% of critics enjoyed it, according to Rotten Tomatoes, and I already know it will be on my favorite movies of 2014 list. 

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think if you go see it!