1025 The Grand Budapest Hotel

[domino harvey]

I didn't realize I'd logged in to Tumblr

[Jeff]

Yahoo Movies has a new clip.

That's an awful lot of white dudes.

I know, right? Central Europe. 1920s. What are the odds?

[Jeff]

The soundtrack will be released on March 4. It's almost all original Alexandre Desplat pieces, with a few Russian folk songs.

You can read the track listing here, if you can get past the article that refers to Futura font as "future" and The Kinks as "The Kings." This is why we don't write articles on phones with autocorrect. Of course the article also uses the phrase "cursive and other non-standard fonts," and I don't suppose we can blame autocorrect for that.

[rohming]

Yahoo Movies has a new clip.

That's an awful lot of white dudes.

I know, right? Central Europe. 1920s. What are the odds?

I get it, just looks like half of '20s Central Europe is in the movie.

[rohming]

Also, women are nice, too.

[flyonthewall2983]

[Jeff]

I believe those images come from Akademie Zubrowka, Fox's new website for the film. I think that it is supposed to represent some sort of alt-universe microfiche containing all manner of ephemera relating to the film, if you've got four or five hours to kill.

[bainbridgezu]

David Ehrlich's truly excellent review. Very thorough, but no reason to be wary of spoilers. He simply clarifies some of what we already knew from the trailers (settings, aspect ratios, narrative lines).

This was already my No. 1 "must-see" for the year. But after reading this, I can't think of a single thing I'd rather do than watch this movie. Seriously inspiring criticism.

[mfunk9786]

My god, "It's his most Wes Anderson film yet" has officially become the laziest thought in all of film criticism

[jindianajonz]

My god, "It's his most Wes Anderson film yet" has officially become the laziest thought in all of film criticism

I'd love to see an algorithm for determing the value of how Wes Anderson a given movie is. Then we could find out which, say, Robert Bresson or Stan Brakhage film is the most Wes Andersony!

[Soothsayer]

Four Nights of a Dreamer is Bresson's most "Wes Anderson"-y film, no formula required.

[Oedipax]

Online film discourse is exhausting.

[Jeff]

Save for an unmoved Stephanie Zacherek, the early reviews are ecstatic.

David Ehrlich's review mentioned above is indeed the best. I love the intro:

The Grand Budapest Hotel is the film with which Wes Anderson finally answers his critics, and the message could not be clearer or more immaculately embossed in Futura on an insert shot of the most delicate stationary: “Go fuck yourselves.” Anderson has been contemporary American cinema’s most hostile aesthete for well over a decade, and ever since 2003’s The Life Aquatic made it obvious that the filmmaker has exactly zero interest in apologizing for his affectations, each of his subsequent projects has been met with the kind of ecclesiastical rapture and blind derision typically reserved for racist politicians and superhero movie casting.

Some other choice notices:

Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel is opening the Berlin Film Festival, and it’s the most intensely pleasurable curtain-raiser in recent history, if not ever. Compared with the grimy liqueur that often gets chosen, it’s like a magnum of house champagne. You might get light-headed on the pure fun of it, which unleashes fresh waves of fun-within-fun at every point where you worry it could dry up.

While it has many familiar ingredients — from the atmosphere to the ensemble of Anderson regulars in nearly every role — in its allegiance to Anderson's vision, everything about "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is a welcome dose of originality...

Despite the relentless charm factor, Anderson's whimsical expressivity is not devoid of greater significance. A comedic allegory for wartime relationships, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" explores the tragedies of socioeconomic collapse in the wake of Communist uprising and fascist threats without giving the conflicts a name.

At no point in its fleet runtime does anyone break into an actual dance routine -- and honestly, someone probably should -- yet the average Busby Berkeley musical barely contains as much regimented choreography as Wes Anderson's dizzy, chintzy and improbably touching "The Grand Budapest Hotel." Cast members don't walk; they glide, skip and occasionally pop into the frame as if released by a lever. The camera doesn't pan or track; it whirls and soars. The mise-en-scene is pulled into shape via an intricate operation of cogs and pulleys -- some of them visible. All moving parts -- cars, trains, bobsleds, even actors -- run like artisan-built clockwork toys.

What I'm saying, I suppose, is that this is Anderson's busiest, even fussiest, film -- in a filmography that has never wanted for clutter or garnish. Hell, it might be more animated even than "Fantastic Mr. Fox." This should be bad news, at least for this viewer: Anderson's wondrously worked worlds can feel as airless and affected as they are artful, and the potential in this project for twee rigidity is off the scale. Why, then, am I simultaneously so tickled and moved by "The Grand Budapest Hotel?"

With an attention to design detail that now has perhaps morphed from a preoccupation into a mania, this is as densely aestheticized an experience as has come from a quasi-mainstream American filmmaker in many a moon. In a very appealing if outre way, its sensibility and concerns are very much those of an earlier, more elegant era, meaning that the film's deepest intentions will fly far over the heads of most modern filmgoers...

Anderson's style can as easily be praised for being formal, rigorous and precise as it can be criticized for seeming artificial, fastidious and fussy; especially here, applied to a tale set in Ruritanian Europe of 80 years ago rather than the United States, his approach may well seem off-putting and weird to the general public.

But more discerning viewers will perhaps respond to the underlying air of melancholy and regret for the passing of a time marked by certain social niceties, subtler sophistication in relations between the sexes and an appreciation for the art of living, concerns the writer-director no doubt values in the work of the great Austrian writer of a century ago, Stefan Zweig, whose inspiration Anderson credits onscreen as a prime instigation for this project. Such an influence is a rare thing for a younger American filmmaker to fall under, let alone make use of in his work, and only a minority will respond to it. But it's very much there.

It's taken five weeks, but 2014 finally has a great movie on its hands...Simply, Anderson's latest is an example of an auteur at the peak of his cinematic powers.

To be completely honest, if this had been released in late November or December of 2013, this pundit is convinced it would have made the Best Picture field. It's accomplished, entertaining, funny, has a subtle serious undertone to it and features an incredible acting ensemble including a "give this man a Best Actor nomination" turn by Ralph Fiennes.

[D]espite the madcappery, this is probably Anderson’s most melancholic film. M Gustav is referred to as a man out of time, even in his own time; he is dainty, elegant, he is suave (if also unexpectedly profane—all the character’s notes are hit absolutely perfectly by Fiennes, who is perhaps the film’s revelation). Gustav is a representative of a "dying breed of civility in a time of encroaching barbarity," and he is the hero not because he is the man of the hour or even of the decade, but because, as the older Zero lovingly recounts, “he sustained the illusion with a marvelous grace”—and it’s hard not to think of Anderson himself in these terms. This, coupled with the film’s meditations on aging and the simple, sad truth that time passes and people die and cherished worlds decay, is where we get to, leaving behind the Lubitschian hijinks of earlier. It is a gear shift downward, and if it can't help but feel deflating overall, there is still something sweet in the film’s sadness. Anderson may make you crave, the way he clearly does, the kind of world in which preternaturally gifted pastry chefs turn every cake into a work of art, or fussy concierges have a secret society populated entirely by the best practitioners of their profession. It is indeed a strange thing to feel a little sad at the absence of something that you never had, but where on earth in the real world might we ever encounter such craft, such dedication to beauty, such attention to detail? Perhaps nowhere, except in a Wes Anderson movie.

A warmly whimsical and deftly magical tale of love, robbery, murder and comedy mishaps all set against the fantastical backdrop of an imaginary central European region, Wes Anderson’s beautiful and thoroughly enjoyable The Grand Budapest Hotel sees the director deliver his best film.

One of the more frequent accusations leveled at Wes Anderson — that he’s a filmmaker who favors style over substance — will ring even hollower than usual after “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” a captivating 1930s-set caper whose innumerable surface pleasures might just seduce you into overlooking its sly intelligence and depth of feeling. As intricately layered as a Dobos torte and nearly as rich, this twisty tale of murder, theft, conspiracy and unlikely friendship finds its maker in an unusually ambitious and expansive mood — still arranging his characters in detail-perfect dioramas, to be sure, but with a bracing awareness of the fascism, war and decay about to encroach upon their lovingly hand-crafted world. The result is no musty nostalgia trip but rather a vibrant and imaginative evocation of a bygone era, with a brilliant lead performance from Ralph Fiennes that lends Anderson’s latest exercise in artifice a genuine soul.

This might just be Wes Anderson’s best film; it’s certainly his most thrilling. The cult director has bolstered the whimsical humor and trademark character studies with a raucous crime caper in The Grand Budapest Hotel, and it’s a riot...

It is fast-paced and funny, but it’s also a compelling exploration of storytelling. As the narrative unfolds through a series of flashbacks, we see the way great stories are passed through the generations while the physical world fades and crumbles...

The conceit allows Anderson to muse on the question of storytelling—and movie-making—which he previously delved into with the campfire stories read aloud in Moonrise Kingdom. Come for the exploration of narrative form—stay for the hilarious romp.

While other filmmakers get their hands dirty in kitchen sinks, Wes Anderson surely slips his into luxury cashmere mittens. His films overflow with intricate detail and make no pretence of existing in a world other than their own, just-about-earthbound parallel universe. So the five-star premises of his energetic new comedy ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ – a wedding-cake-like, pastel-coloured establishment situated somewhere in 1930s Mitteleuropa and peopled by eccentrics and lunatics – feel like business as usual. What’s different, though, is that the film’s shaggy-dog, sort-of-whodunit yarn offers laughs and energy that make this Anderson’s most fun film since ‘Rushmore’.

Today's press conference was pretty entertaining, and features a majority of the sprawling cast. Anderson talks about his numerous and varied influences for the story and style, from the stories of Stefan Zweig to films by Lubitsch, Mamoulian, Borzage, and Bergman.

[FrauBlucher]

Oh my! When this film was announced and story line detailed, I immediatley had very high expectations for it being something special. Then the cast was named and the bar was raised even higher. Well, it sounds like my expectations have been met. All I have to do now, is see it. I am being careful on how much I read as to not spoil, but the little quick blurbs of praise and euphoria have me extremely excited. Usually when one goes into a film with the promise of greatness it usually leads to disappointment, but I'm confident this will not do that. Nothing left for me to say except, Bring it on!

[Jeff]

Anderson discusses the origin of the screenplay, casting, and the technical challenge of presenting a film in three aspect ratios in the junket roundtable at Berlinale.

[mfunk9786]

Wow, the formatting of the way those questions are written is so puzzling. Why do they all begin with "Anderson"? Kept making me think I was reading someone else talking about working with Wes Anderson. Is this some journalistic thing I'm not aware of?

[Lars Von Truffaut]

Not sure if this belongs here or in the Wes Anderson thread, but the director will be present for a Q&A at Chicago's Music Box Theater on March 1st. Tickets for the Q&A along with an advanced screening of GBH go on sale at noon on February 25th. The theater will also be showing his entire oeuvre throughout the week.

[Jeff]

NY and LA only on March 7; most other major North American markets on March 14.

[willoneill]

Some opening dates for Canada:

March 14th – Toronto, Vancouver
March 21st – Edmonton, Montreal, Quebec City
March 28th – Calgary, Halifax, Ottawa, Victoria, Kitchener

[Movie-Brat]

NY and LA only on March 7; most other major North American markets on March 14.

Well, hopefully it'll get to Florida.

[FrauBlucher]

NY and LA only on March 7; most other major North American markets on March 14.

Sorry to see where it's playing in NYC. I thought for sure it would open at the theaters geared towards independent/art house films like the Anglelika or Sunshine, and not the two big Cineplex theaters in which it is opening (Union Square and Lincoln Square. There shopping malls of Movies, blagh).

[mfunk9786]

So you get the movie a week+ early and still have the gall to complain? Those "shopping malls" are where most of the rest of the country has to see movies, by the way, as soon as you get outside of pretty much any major city. I'm sure you'll be fine.

[adavis53]

NY and LA only on March 7; most other major North American markets on March 14.

Sorry to see where it's playing in NYC. I thought for sure it would open at the theaters geared towards independent/art house films like the Anglelika or Sunshine, and not the two big Cineplex theaters in which it is opening (Union Square and Lincoln Square. There shopping malls of Movies, blagh).

once i saw that Inside Llewyn Davis opened up at Union Square and Lincoln Square I knew we had no chance to get Wes Anderson in a nice smaller cinema. And not that I'm complaining (I don't think Frau was either?) but the larger multiplexes just seem to be an indication that distributors find Anderson mainstream as opposed to relegating him to "arthouses." I'm quite glad he's reaching larger audiences and is gaining increasing popular appeal; I think it's great that his films are now opening in large cinemas as opposed to the limited releases of a decade ago regardless of how shitty it can be to see them in crammed loud cinemas.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

NY and LA only on March 7; most other major North American markets on March 14.

Sorry to see where it's playing in NYC. I thought for sure it would open at the theaters geared towards independent/art house films like the Anglelika or Sunshine, and not the two big Cineplex theaters in which it is opening (Union Square and Lincoln Square. There shopping malls of Movies, blagh).

Why? It's a film with a large cast of stars and was funded by a major studio. Doesn't seem to qualify as art house or independent. The studio is going to want to make it's money back. They're not doing this for your benefit. And besides, as far back as I can remember, EVERY Wes Anderson film had a similar rollout release at multiplexes since The Life Aquatic,which I saw at a multiplex, along with all his films since. It's a perfect marketing strategy for films which are definitely not geared for the masses.

[FrauBlucher]

First off let me say that I know I'm a spoiled NYer. We are fortunate to have all these options of films and where to see them.

And that is what I'm referring to. Not marketing or the business side of it. It is strictly selfishly my own interests of wanting to go to a theater that is shared with other folks that have the same taste in films, and not go to a Cineplex that shows 8 to12 movies and you're herded around long lines. Those in NY know what I'm talking about. Especially those that have been to the Union Square Stadium theater.

I made the mistake of calling the Angelika and Sunshine Art House theaters. They are not. They show art films but also get some bigger budgeted movies as well. Blue Jasmine has been playing at the Angelika since it opened and Nebraska is currently playing there. They have had other high profile films show but you won't see many of the films seen (blockbusters, redundant comedies and sequels squared) in multiplexes at the Angelika and Sunshine theaters. A Life Aquatic and opened at the Angelika back in 2004. The ambience is just wonderful for film lovers. From the coffee bars with tables and couches to the reading material and old posters adorning the theaters.

But I will be thrilled to see The Grand Budapest Hotel wherever it plays.