The Grand Budapest Hotel is mix of comedy and drama that tells of a story within a story within a story. It begins with a teenage girl visiting a monument dedicated to a writer known simply as “The Author” in a cemetery. She holds a small book in her hands, written by the Author, which tells of a trip he made to the Grand Budapest Hotel in 1968. The hotel is located in the mountains of a fictional European country, and has fallen into a state of disuse and disrepair that disguises its once illustrious and renowned facilities. The Author meets an old, fashionable man named Zero Mustafa, the wealthy owner of the hotel. Zero tells him the tale of a legendary concierge named Monsieur Gustave whom he worked under as a lobby boy and whom was his best friend, and how he eventually took ownership of the Grand Budapest Hotel.

Filmed in its entirety in Germany, the movie was directed and co-written by Wes Anderson, a native Houstonian and University of Texas at Austin product. The movie is a distinctly Wes Anderson-type film. From gorgeous and vibrant visuals to clever, rapid-fire dialogue to the ingenious camera work, which makes each shot seem as though it were a piece of artwork in a museum, Anderson has meticulously covered every detail and thought. The acting is nothing but exceptional, and Ralph Fiennes, who plays Gustave, is perfect in his debonair conduct and hilarious wit. The story moves along quickly and may at times be difficult to follow. Anderson portrays brutal and terrible scenes of invasions and murder as easily as he does scenes of the carefree, everyday life of a lobby boy and concierge. The Grand Budapest Hotel combines elements of loyalty and love, greed and violence and absurdity and shocking realism into one 100 minute film. It is entertaining at its worst and brilliant at its best.

Senior Molly Oretsky was highly impressed with the film and praises Wes Anderson originality and skills.

“Wes Anderson is one of those directors that has such a distinct style, and you can definitely feel his stamp on this movie,” Oretsky said. “It’s quirky, inventive, chaotic, and tons of fun, like all of his films. Throw in a cast that includes Fiennes, Brody, Dafoe, and Norton, and I was immediately sold.”