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.
Ah, Inspector Henckels. "By order of the Commissioner of Police, Zubrowka Province, "I hereby place you under arrest for the murder "of Madame Céline Villeneuve Desgoffe und Taxis." I knew there was something fishy. We never got the cause of death. She's been murdered and you think I did it.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
What happened? What happened, my dear Zero, is I beat the living shit out of a sniveling little runt called Pinky Bandinski who had the gall to question my virility, because if there's one thing we've learned from penny dreadfuls, it's that, when you find yourself in a place like this, you must never be a candy-ass. You've got to prove yourself from Day One. You've got to win their respect.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
In the small hours of the evening of 19 October, an individual well-known to the house and staff, a Monsieur Gustave H, did arrive at the Desgoffe und Taxis residence in Lutz and entered by the rear service alley, alerting no one to his presence, and did then proceed by way of back stairs and servants' passage, to deliver himself into the private chambers of Madame D. There is no evidence to indicate whether this visit had been pre-arranged with her or not. The next morning Madame D was found dead by strychnine poisoning. Monsieur Gustave was not observed on the premises again until, of course, 24 hours later. The identity of his accusers is made clear in this notarized deposition. They include, essentially, all members of the extended family, but the key witness who actually ostensibly saw the alleged events appears to have fled the jurisdiction. His whereabouts are currently unknown, but he's being sought and pursued by the relevant authorities. Who is he?
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Serge? I'm afraid so. That little prick. No, I don't believe it. They put him up to it. I've been dropped into a nest of vipers. You have an alibi? Of course, but she's married to the Duke of Westphalia. I can't allow her name to get mixed-up in all this monkey business. Your life may be at stake. I know, but the bitch legged it. She's already on board the Queen Nasstasja halfway to Dutch Tanganyika.
The Grand Budapest Hotel