The Grand Budapest Hotel
Mar. 30th, 2014 09:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redfiona99Wes Anderson is a 50-50 director for me. I really liked 'The Royal Tannenbaums' but disliked his version of 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'.
He's now batting at .667.
I liked it. It's not perfect by any means, it's probably a bit to deliberately artsy for it's own good, but you know,
I particularly liked the set design. It managed to convey the three eras the film is set in very well. It seems strange to start off with a set design comment but given how much the era the films are in matters (not that Anderson belabours the point, it's all done with a very light hand), the film catches them perfectly. Particularly in the framing segments, that ramshackle end-of-Communist era feel is spot on.
Also, I love the Czecho-Austro-Hungaro-Slovak country they've invented (I believe it borders on Ruritania, in the sense of being blatantly the Austro-Hungarian empire).
It's a nice bit of confection, which I think benefits amazingly from Anderson's distant sort of direction, because it would be easy for it to be over-wrought and it's not. I think the fact that the story focuses on Zero and Gustave helps as well.
Tony Revolori is wonderful as young Zero. He's a teenage boy in all the good ways, but there's this age and shadow to him (the reason is revealed later on). F. Murray Abraham is exceptional as the older Zero, because he's not sorry for himself but he's sorrowful and holding on a past that even he knows wasn't all that good. There's this wonderful bit in the middle where Older Zero says [about Agatha] something like "more than that, she was brave. I believe she was born that way." And it's so full of longing. So of course, you spend the rest of the film waiting for something horrible to happen to her, leading to much sharp intake of breath from the audience when Jobling (Willem Dafoe doing his usual fine line in tiny, crazy and dangerous) sends a head to our heroes, shortly after we see him told to find Serge X., and having figured out that Gustave got out using Mendl's confectionery and hearing thumping feet enter Agatha's workplace.
It's not her head, but it works as a jolt, as does Jobling's stalking of Kovacs.
There are people who are being very wrong about this film, complaining that there's no characters to relate to. And normally I'm live and let live about subjective things like that but they are wrong about Zero. And Agatha. I could understand it if Gustave H. was the main character but he's not, it's just Ralph Fiennes getting the "here's an actor you all recognise" coverage in the adverts. Because he's a well known actor and Tony Revolori isn't. I'm also amused at all the critics going "OMG Ralph Fiennes can do comedy. He is not dark and brooding all the time." My amusement is being the first thing I saw him in was The Avengers which was a terrible film but he's got a fantastic touch when he needs to go light.
Actually, I like Gustave, in all his pomposity and silliness and seducing of grannies, because he is a relic of world that never existed, and he is carrying it off with great finesse. And because deep down he is honourable, and will fight, quite literally, to the death for his friends. We could do with more Gustaves (and Zeros and Agathas and probably The Authors).
Definitely worth a watch.
He's now batting at .667.
I liked it. It's not perfect by any means, it's probably a bit to deliberately artsy for it's own good, but you know,
I particularly liked the set design. It managed to convey the three eras the film is set in very well. It seems strange to start off with a set design comment but given how much the era the films are in matters (not that Anderson belabours the point, it's all done with a very light hand), the film catches them perfectly. Particularly in the framing segments, that ramshackle end-of-Communist era feel is spot on.
Also, I love the Czecho-Austro-Hungaro-Slovak country they've invented (I believe it borders on Ruritania, in the sense of being blatantly the Austro-Hungarian empire).
It's a nice bit of confection, which I think benefits amazingly from Anderson's distant sort of direction, because it would be easy for it to be over-wrought and it's not. I think the fact that the story focuses on Zero and Gustave helps as well.
Tony Revolori is wonderful as young Zero. He's a teenage boy in all the good ways, but there's this age and shadow to him (the reason is revealed later on). F. Murray Abraham is exceptional as the older Zero, because he's not sorry for himself but he's sorrowful and holding on a past that even he knows wasn't all that good. There's this wonderful bit in the middle where Older Zero says [about Agatha] something like "more than that, she was brave. I believe she was born that way." And it's so full of longing. So of course, you spend the rest of the film waiting for something horrible to happen to her, leading to much sharp intake of breath from the audience when Jobling (Willem Dafoe doing his usual fine line in tiny, crazy and dangerous) sends a head to our heroes, shortly after we see him told to find Serge X., and having figured out that Gustave got out using Mendl's confectionery and hearing thumping feet enter Agatha's workplace.
It's not her head, but it works as a jolt, as does Jobling's stalking of Kovacs.
There are people who are being very wrong about this film, complaining that there's no characters to relate to. And normally I'm live and let live about subjective things like that but they are wrong about Zero. And Agatha. I could understand it if Gustave H. was the main character but he's not, it's just Ralph Fiennes getting the "here's an actor you all recognise" coverage in the adverts. Because he's a well known actor and Tony Revolori isn't. I'm also amused at all the critics going "OMG Ralph Fiennes can do comedy. He is not dark and brooding all the time." My amusement is being the first thing I saw him in was The Avengers which was a terrible film but he's got a fantastic touch when he needs to go light.
Actually, I like Gustave, in all his pomposity and silliness and seducing of grannies, because he is a relic of world that never existed, and he is carrying it off with great finesse. And because deep down he is honourable, and will fight, quite literally, to the death for his friends. We could do with more Gustaves (and Zeros and Agathas and probably The Authors).
Definitely worth a watch.
