Out of the innumerable movies that I have seen, The Grand Budapest Hotel is the closest example of perfection that I have ever had the pleasure to witness. Wes Anderson designs this film with a smoothly soft palette of pastel, but the plot line and characters are anything but dull.
It is quite simple why I place The Grand Budapest Hotel as my #1: I want to be there. When a story has a life so real that I am profoundly sad that I cannot physically be a part of it, that is the essence of greatness in art. No doubt, it is entirely possible that I may be one of the few in the world who has a tattoo of Agatha’s pendant to show how genuinely in love I am with the world it has created. Nor do they have the fictious portrait of “Boy With Apple” hanging above their key rack. You’ll see why when you dive into this imaginary place of wonder and excitement.
Moment to moment, I am never bored or lacking a feeling of engagement. All my chips are in, and I hang on every bit of dialogue, scenery in the foreground, background, costume design and so on. If a painted work of art could be a moving picture, this is it. The Grand Budapest Hotel is so beautiful to admire and feel captivated by that I could watch many times more. In fact, I lost count, that’s how many viewings I’ve dedicated to it.
Casting is phenomenal, which is fairly consistent in Anderson’s films, and is his signature touch, as is the thematic color choice. Standing apart from his usual choices: Ralph Fiennes has shown quite possibly his best performance to date as Monsieur Gustave, F. Murray Abraham, Jude Law and Tom Wilkinson eloquently lead the narration, and the list goes on. Of course, Saoirse Ronan is absolutely excellent alongside Tony Revolori who may have achieved something monumental in these breakout roles. You will be irresistibly intrigued or enamored by them all. Not a single actor or character is remotely disappointing or insignificant. There are so many other big names that grace the screen, and there is not a corner to look at without something interesting or gorgeously designed to admire.
This is a film that I wholeheartedly refuse to spoil a single moment of. Simply know that even if you do not see the magnitude of magnificence that I do, you will still be entertained. Everyone has that movie like this that makes their hearts swell with joy, that is what The Grand Budapest Hotel is to me. In the end, I tear up, every single time.
For Agatha, always.
Rating: 10/10
Through the Looking Glass 