As a fan of Wes Anderson's movies, it is always possible that I will become too repetitive in my fawning of his work. There are certain artists that, for whatever reason, feel special to us. It may be, in part, that even though he has amassed quite a following over the past 18 years (has it really been that long?), his appeal is still somewhat selective. His movies do not hit the ground in thousands of theaters, and they never make a whole lot of money. It could be that therein lies some his appeal. To those of us who love his work, we feel that we have found something special that has not gained universal popularity.
The movie follows a story in flashback told by Zero (F. Murray Abraham). He tells the story of how he came to be the owner of the Grand Budapest Hotel, since he came to the country as a poor immigrant refugee. In the years before "the war", Zero comes under the tutelage of Gustave (Ralph Fiennes), the concierge at the hotel. Gustave is the master of the house, knowing every inch of the hotel, and providing exemplary service to all his customers (for some customers, even a little too exemplary). One of his elderly customers (an almost unrecognizable Tilda Swinton) dies and leaves a valuable painting to Gustave in her will. The customer's greedy son Dmitiri (Adrian Brody) wants the painting, and when Gustave takes the painting and replaces it with a painting with a sexually graphic image, a caper of sorts ensues.
The plot actually sounds rather standard, but this is a Wes Anderson film, and the journey and the scenery are every but as much a character in the movie as the people themselves. The settings in all of Wes Anderson's movies are evocative of a certain geographical place, but they are never specifically set anywhere. For instance, "The Royal Tennenbaums" is clearly set in New York, but there is almost no familiar New York imagery in the movie. This gives Anderson's work the advantage of being otherworldly and familiar at the same time. The story in "Hotel" is set in the 1930s just before World War 2, or at least, the setting and situations in the movie call that period of our history to mind. The countries' names are changed to fictional names, and a harsh looking image which is not a swastika is hung all over the hotel once the brutal occupying force has arrived. The name of the hotel gives us a certain permission to think about Eastern Europe, but some of the Alpine imagery makes us think of Austria and Switzerland as well.
If one watches all of Anderson's movies, each one seems to become more elaborate. The set designs and characters become increasingly complicated and intricate. What astounds me as I watch his movies is how much is still emotionally invested in his characters as well. Whether its the lonely high schooler Max Fischer living with his widowed father in "Rushmore", the estranged father Royal in "Royal Tennenbaums, or the lonely lobby boy Zero here in this film, Anderson injects genuine emotion into his characters, and that is what elevates these movies from being merely quirky to being genuinely moving experiences.
The intricate sets and world in which this film is set live side by side with characters who are equally obsessed with details. Gustave is highly interested with the details of his hotel. He walks through its lobby much as a king, and this level of control is important to him, as he seeks to maintain the high reputation of the Grand Budapest. In the end, Zero has held onto the hotel for very different reasons, and Zero's reasons for that (plus his relationship with Gustave) is the place where this movie truly finds its heart.
The ability of Anderson to balance wacky and dry comedy, human drama and a mystery caper is what I find special about him. It is also what seems so true to me about his work. Even though his films are almost surreal at times, the truth of his work always rises to the top. The characters in this movie are obsessive and funny, to be sure. But they are also people with deep pain, regrets, and their own share of faults. The combination of the fanciful elements of the plot with the humanity of the characters are a huge strength of this movie. Anderson has also managed to assemble casts in his movies that are second to none. Bill Murray and Owen Wilson are only on the screen for minutes in this movie, but they contribute so much to the texture of the work. This holds true for all of the fine actors who have parts in this movie, both big and small. Add to all that the beautiful and complex composition of each frame of the movie, and I find myself genuinely invigorated about what I am watching.
