The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Grand Budapest Hotel is a 2014 comedy-drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Wes Anderson. Ralph Fiennes leads a seventeen-actor ensemble cast as Monsieur Gustave H., famed concierge of a twentieth-century mountainside resort in the fictional Eastern European country of Zubrowka. When Gustave is framed for the murder of a wealthy dowager (Tilda Swinton), he and his recently befriended protégé Zero (Tony Revolori) embark on a quest for fortune and a priceless Renaissance painting amidst the backdrop of an encroaching fascist regime. Anderson's American Empirical Pictures produced the film in association with Studio Babelsberg, Fox Searchlight Pictures, and Indian Paintbrush's Scott Rudin and Steven Rales. Fox Searchlight supervised the commercial distribution, and The Grand Budapest Hotel's funding was sourced through Indian Paintbrush and German government-funded tax rebates. Anderson and longtime collaborator Hugo Guinness conceived The Grand Budapest Hotel as a fragmented tale following a character inspired by a common friend. They initially struggled in their brainstorming, but the experience touring Europe and researching the literature of Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig shaped their vision for the film. The Grand Budapest Hotel draws visually from Europe-set mid-century Hollywood films and the United States Library of Congress's photochrom print collection of alpine resorts. Filming took place in eastern Germany from January to March 2013. French composer Alexandre Desplat composed the symphonic, Russian folk-inspired score, which expanded on his early work with Anderson. The film explores themes of fascism, nostalgia, friendship, and loyalty, and further studies analyze the function of color as an important storytelling device. The Grand Budapest Hotel premiered in competition at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival on February 6, 2014. The French theatrical release on February 26 preceded the film's global rollout, followed by releases in Germany, North America, and the United Kingdom on March 6–7. The Grand Budapest Hotel drew highly positive reviews for its craftsmanship and acting, though occasional criticism centered on the film's approach to subject matter, fragmented storytelling, and characterization. It earned $174 million in box office revenue worldwide, Anderson's highest-grossing feature to date. The film was nominated for nine awards at the 87th Academy Awards including Best Picture, winning four, and received numerous other accolades. Since its release, The Grand Budapest Hotel has been assessed as one of the greatest films of the 21st century.
Bring the table to the window. Yes, Monsieur Gustave. Bring the tray to the table. Right away, Monsieur Gustave. Right there. Have those been brushed and blocked? Of course, Monsieur Gustave. Pack them in the hat boxes. Is that from Oberstdorf & Company? I believe so, Monsieur Gustave. Second trunk. Who has the tickets? I do, Monsieur Gustave. Give them to me.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
I'm not leaving. I beg your pardon? I'm not leaving. Why not? I'm frightened. Of what? I fear this may be the last time we ever see each other. Why on earth would that be the case? Well, I can't put it into words, but I feel it. For goodness sake, there's no reason for you to leave us if you'd... Come with me. To fucking Lutz? Please. Give me your hand.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
You've nothing to fear. You're always anxious before you travel. I admit, you appear to be suffering a more acute attack on this occasion. But, truly and honestly... Oh, dear God. What have you done to your fingernails? I beg your pardon? This diabolical varnish. The color is completely wrong. Don't you like it? It's not that I don't like it. I am physically repulsed.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Truly. Run to the cathedral of Santa Maria in Brucknerplatz. Buy one of the plain, half-length candles and take back four Klubecks in change. Light it in the sacristy, say a brief rosary then go to Mendl's and get me a courtesan au chocolat. If there's any money left, give it to the crippled shoe-shine boy.
The Grand Budapest Hotel