Ever since I read an article that mentions Tilda Swinton being part of a Wes Anderson film, I’ve been waiting patiently for the movie to hit local theaters. It looked promising and word around the interwebs confirmed it to be worth seeing so of course it’ll only be shown in selected (Ayala Malls) theaters. Such is the curse of Philippine Cinema, I guess.

Thank goodness that there weren’t any new movies opening up this week and thank goodness that my high school friend Renz wanted to see it bad enough to brave the heat and make the trek to Market Market from Makati.

Anyway. Here’s my round up of Wes Anderson (Royal Tenenbaums)’s Grand Budapest Hotel.

Please note that there may be spoilers. Read at your own risk.

THE STORY:

The film opens with a little girl in the present time, visiting the grave of her favorite author. She cracks open the unnamed author’s (Tom Wilkinson – Ghost Writer) autobiography which brings us back to the 1980’s where the unnamed author recounts his experience as a young man (Jude Law – Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) visiting the fictional Grand Budapest Hotel in the 1960’s. He meets the hotel’s eccentric rich owner, Zero Moustaffa (F. Murray Abraham – The Good Wife) and Zero tells the young author how he came about to own the hotel and why, despite the Grand Budapest’s crumbling status in a war torn fictional Republic of Zubrowka, he refuses to close and sell.

Zero reminisces his childhood as a young lobby boy (Tony Revolori – My Name Is Earl) in the Grand Budapest’s golden years, under the management of concierge M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes – Harry Potter series). He tells a story of their adventures in 1932, just before the war breaks out in their country, where they worked extremely hard to clear M. Gustave’s name when he was accused of murdering wealthy dowager Madame D. (Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer).

THE GOOD:

1. Ralph Fiennes gave a fantastic performance. Who knew he’s such a frakking comedic genius? And why isn’t he in more funny movies? (Was M. Gustave gay? They never really answered that question.).
2. Tony Revolori. For a newcomer he sure had no problems keeping up with Fiennes’ M. Gustave, a feat even for more seasoned actors. There’s something incredibly touching about the dead-in-the-eyes look that made his portrayal of young Zero actually more touching than it should be.
3. That the movie didn’t take itself too frakking seriously. Because the tone and the general feel is very light and fluffy, it wasn’t overly difficult to go along with the more ridiculous things that the movie suggests. It’s quite refreshing, actually, because even though the whole plot is flimsier than a house of cards, it was still incredibly enjoyable to watch because it committed to being silly.
4. That gorgeous architecture that was shot so beautifully. Those ceilings were jaw dropping and the care the film makers took to frame them so symmetrically was meticulous .
5. The Cameos! There were so many, even George Clooney was there!

THE BAD:

1. The ridiculously elaborate opening. I’m nitpicking but I felt that the flashback within a flashback within a flashback type of opening was extraneous and unneeded. Charming, but unneeded.

THE UGLY:

1. The lack of details as to how it was all resolved. I’m all for a happy ending but I could’ve used a bit of the specifics as to how it happened. Who killed the old broad? What alibi did M. Gustave use and why didn’t he use it earlier?

All in all The Grand Budapest Hotel is an incredibly enjoyable film to watch. It’s always so nice to see someone march to the beat of their own drums and Wes Anderson shines the brightest when he just doesn’t give a fuck about what other people will say about his film, as long as he gets to make it exactly to his specifications. Thank goodness that his specifications include a fantastic cast who can deliver, a fun ridiculous plot and a gorgeous backdrop.

THE VERDICT: 8.4/10. Must see, definitely.

*All photos are lifted from the film’s IMDB page.