# The Grand Budapest Hotel **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 22, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323 "2014-03-22T23:39:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/21 "2014-04-07T13:18:02Z")
Aarrggh. I saw it this weekend, and it was _such_ a beautifully shot movie and I so loved the setting, time period, and idea of it. But I was amazed how sloppy and random the plot felt. In a movie with such intricate scenery, how is it possible to have a story that feels so underdone and half-digested? And one that, I think, was a bit off-key: this was a movie that should have been silly _and_ sophisticated. But instead of sophistication (Ralph Fiennes calling everyone “darling” doesn’t count) all we got was silly, slapsticky, gaggy stuff. In short what the movie needed but didn’t have was the Lubitsch touch. There was, as one of the defenders said above, great emotional resonance in seeing how fascism and communism killed off that entire world. I just wish they had illustrated that same point more through the story and characters. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/22 "2015-01-18T02:07:03Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/23 "2015-01-19T21:21:01Z")
Saw it today on HBO on-demand and agree with the posters who said it was a beautiful film that had no emotional resonance at all. I didn’t care a bit about any of the characters, nor the plot, which meandered so many times that it felt more like a series of scenes rather than one coherent story. I did think the use of different aspect ratios for the different time periods was clever, but why the one with the most screen time had to be the square felt way too “look at me” precious. No idea how this got nominated for Best Picture, sure it’s pretty but there is nothing there. Was George Clooney one of the ZZ officers that had a close up during the shootout? I didn’t see his name in the credits but it sure looked like him. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/24 "2015-02-15T22:08:59Z")
NPR on the beards and mustaches of the film (which I loved, loved, _loved_): [At 'The Grand Budapest,' A Banquet Of Beards And Melange Of Mustaches : NPR](http://www.npr.org/2015/02/14/384130972/at-the-grand-budapest-a-banquet-of-beards-and-melange-of-mustaches) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2015, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/25 "2015-02-15T22:32:23Z")
Fisher Stevens! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2015, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/26 "2015-02-15T23:48:26Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Aarrggh. I saw it this weekend, and it was _such_ a beautifully shot movie and I so loved the setting, time period, and idea of it. But I was amazed how sloppy and random the plot felt. In a movie with such intricate scenery, how is it possible to have a story that feels so underdone and half-digested? And one that, I think, was a bit off-key: this was a movie that should have been silly _and_ sophisticated. But instead of sophistication (Ralph Fiennes calling everyone “darling” doesn’t count) all we got was silly, slapsticky, gaggy stuff. In short what the movie needed but didn’t have was the Lubitsch touch. Good analysis. I kept waiting for the story to draw me in; there were scenes but not story. And no characters worth the name. > [@](#): > > There was, as one of the defenders said above, great emotional resonance in seeing how fascism and communism killed off that entire world. I just wish they had illustrated that same point more through the story and characters. Part of my problem is that I see the aristocratic world to be as evil and needing killing as I do the worlds of fascism and communism. The movie endorses that view until the ending. The rich customers and the family with the painting are horrible creatures. They created nothing. Their money created things we happen to value today, more so than the things the money of the fascists and communists created, but they shouldn’t get credit for that. They didn’t deserve the painting. They deserved nothing. But the movie kept finding itself celebrating that world - an internal contradiction that it never overcame and eventually sank it. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/27 "2015-02-16T05:30:28Z")
But it wasn’t celebrating the aristocrats’ world - it was celebrating Gustav’s world. Gustav followed his code of behavior not to serve them, but because he truly believed in it and exemplified it. Personally, the movie resonated hugely with me. It was, in my eyes, a Holocaust movie, with Gustav standing in for the Jews of Central Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/28 "2015-02-16T06:03:53Z")
I loved it: absurdist humor over a beautiful collection of postcards - if there isn’t a Taschen book with the settings and decorations, there should be. The viewer isn’t expected to identify with the characters, but to look at them and go “OMG! :eek: :smack:”; the story looks shallow while actually touching on issues that a serious setting could easily make painful, boring or horrifying. ---
**Author:** ![Grey\_area](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Grey\_area](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey_area)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/29 "2015-02-16T21:38:02Z")
What a quirky, charming movie, and I usually don’t like Wes Anderson. I thought _Steve Zissou, Royal Tenembaums_ was meh (mostly boring), and _Mr. Fox_ was alright but overrated. But at the strong recommendation of a friend I gave it a chance and I thought the movie was delightful. Little things touches could have felt gimmicky (as I thought in his other films) I thought worked in very well in the context of the film’s sort of children’s bookish world. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/30 "2015-03-03T05:03:29Z")
I tried to watch it this evening, and shut it off after about 20 minutes. It was way too artsy-fartsy even for me. Sorry, folks. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/31 "2015-03-03T05:31:23Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The kid who plays Zero is only 18 years old, and he really draws your attention. Because of his character, he has to stay straight-faced, so I hope that isn’t a reflection of his followup films. I never guessed watching the film that he was of Guatemalan descent and comes from Anaheim. He did a good job. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/32 "2015-03-03T17:54:35Z")
This might also be of interest - Dafoe discusses TGBH a bit: [In which I meet Willem Dafoe - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=725540) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/33 "2015-03-26T16:10:08Z")
Watched the film again recently, and loved it all over again. A funny, quirky valentine to Ruritanian grand hotels and outsize personalities between the wars, and a lament for all that was lost to fascism and communism. An all-star cast, with everyone chewing the scenery with great abandon - lots of laughs - amazing cinematography. And, of course, the bond between M. Gustave and Zero is very appealing. Here’s an interview with the director and two stars. Scroll down about halfway. If you can get past Wes Anderson’s stammering, it’s worth a look: [http://www.mbird.com/2014/04/glimmers-of-civilization-and-grace-in-the-grand-budapest-hotel/](http://www.mbird.com/2014/04/glimmers-of-civilization-and-grace-in-the-grand-budapest-hotel/) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/34 "2015-03-26T16:28:20Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I tried to watch it this evening, and shut it off after about 20 minutes. It was way too artsy-fartsy even for me. > > Sorry, folks. I’m only sorry I wasted twice as much time as you and that I deleted my scathing review I posted while that turd was fresh in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![rock\_party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@rock\_party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rock_party)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/35 "2015-03-26T16:36:15Z")
The sets were incredible, and the characters were zany and colorful, but many of the set ups were meh…with a little better writing it could have been hilarious, but it ended up being mildly amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/36 "2015-03-26T16:41:13Z")
Heheheh. The hotel is even on Trip Advisor!: [http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel\_Review-g6840479-d6776131-Reviews-The\_Grand\_Budapest\_Hotel-The\_Republic\_of\_Zubrowka.html](http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g6840479-d6776131-Reviews-The_Grand_Budapest_Hotel-The_Republic_of_Zubrowka.html) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/37 "2015-03-26T16:43:37Z")
I usually don’t care for Wes Anderson films and… this was no different. It had more of an actual plot than some of his other work, but it was still every bit as much a Wes Anderson film as all the others. I just don’t get the appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/38 "2015-03-26T18:03:28Z")
I liked it, more than _Tennenbaums_ and a lot more than _Zisou_. I haven’t seen Anderson’s other films. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/39 "2015-03-27T01:24:05Z")
- Tennenbaums was just boring. Mr Fox was not much better. Grand Budapest had the same lack of an emotional centre, but it was lovely and fun and unexpected. It felt like being in love. ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2015, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323/40 "2015-08-05T04:02:00Z")
> [@MovieMogul](#): > > While I admit it was a lot of fun, ultimately, it was for me a testament to gorgeous production design but had little emotional resonance. Certainly, it didn’t come close to tapping the vivid restless undercurrents of adolescence in _Moonrise Kingdom_ or the ache of middle-aged angst like _Rushmore_. It is a frolic and an incredibly enjoyable one, but without a whole lot of depth or emotional dimension. It says something that the two most moving moments are both narrated off-screen and not actually depicted: The deaths of both Agatha and Gustave. > > Heck, even _The Fantastic Mr. Fox_ had a more effective narrative arc. _Budapest_ is 90% incident and 10% drama. It is gorgeous to look at (I can’t imagine any film this year coming close to its meticulous artfulness in every set and landscape) and the music score is quite wonderful, too. So it’s not a bad film at all, and the acting across the board is uniformly good. > > But I found it an emotionally distant experience. Nothing wrong with that. Anderson’s films often feel like the domain of a puppet master who overwhelms us with this hyper-stylized world. But there’s usually a character who provides some kind of emotional hook–Hackman in _Tenenbaums_, Blanchett & Dafoe in _Aquatic_–that breathes life into a world that’s otherwise pure artifice. > > There was no such character here–the closest, for me, was adult Zero, but again, that’s just a function of narration since Abraham is not part of any of the actual action. So while it was a masterclass in what Anderson does most conspicuously, I ended up walking out wishing it amounted to something more. Still definitely worth seeing, though. Nicely put. Captures my sentiments exactly – you know, if I thought about it that much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-budapest-hotel/684323.md?page=3)