The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

When I originally went to watch The Grand Budapest Hotel I wan't sure what I would think (I was most concerned about the story line having seen clips from the film thinking how does this match with a Hotel...) however I had always wanted to watch more of Wes Anderson's films due to their attractive and enticing style. Therefore I thought I might as well start The Grand Budapest Hotel considering it had won four Academy awards, my logic from this was then it can not be all bad.

When I watched it I was very pleasantly surprised, I believe it is practically impossible to dislike the set, costume or production design with Anderson's purely brilliant use of colour making the film an aesthetically pleasing spectacle to watch. The plot in some ways may be regarded as bizarre but I too was surprised with how engaging for me to watch despite the fact that the movie was a retelling of previous events. It is both suspenseful, interesting and comedic which is often difficult to come across.

The cast list is packed with tonnes of top class actors such as Ralph Fiennes, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton, Jude Law, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum just to name a few with each putting in memorable performances. I was rather delighted to see how each actor managed to maintain the comedy of the film whilst still making the acting believable and serious with Ralph Fiennes putting in the most unforgettable performance however as M. Gustave the hotel's famed concierge.

I would class the grand budapest as one of those films which could class as a 'comfort film' as it's bright and cheerful colour scheme makes it relaxing and rather joyful. It's one of those where you could watch it over and over again due to it's unique nature such as it's shots such as all the whip pans, zooms, tilts etc. which also makes for an entertaining viewing. It's like you can watch it and discover a new detail each time adding to the magic of it all. I also view it as one which even if you aren't that interested in film it has something for everyone and even though I find the plot interesting and engaging it isn't one of those films which bends your mind so much that if you miss even a second you won't understand the rest of the film.

Another thing which I have noticed throughout this film, which seems to be recurring feature of any Wes Anderson film, is the repetition of symmetry which shows Anderson's individual style but I have also found myslef more drawn to these shots due to the depth that is created in them.