The Grand Budapest Hotel
Rudeness is merely the expression of fear. People fear they won’t get what they want. The most dreadful and unattractive person only needs to be loved, and they will open up like a flower
The thirteenth newsletter! Taylor Swift fans will understand why this number is so exciting (it’s her lucky number.) If I hadn’t already covered the All Too Well short film in February, I would’ve done it this week. Instead, I’m covering The Grand Budapest Hotel, and the only way I can think to relate it to Taylor is that Saoirse Ronan stars as Agatha, and she was once on the Graham Norton show with Taylor, making her Swift number a solid 1! Also, does anyone else remember the time someone started a rumor Wes Anderson was directing the ME! music video? That would have been fascinating!
I will honestly admit this is the first time I watched a Wes Anderson film all the way through, though they’ve all looked very aesthetically pleasing, so I understand why he’s such a beloved director. The idea to watch The Grand Budapest Hotel came when my lovely friend Ava Williams went viral on TikTok for her Wes Anderson video, which has since been reiterated by several other TikTok users. I encourage you to do the same if you’d like, but give credit where credit is due!
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When deciding which Wes Anderson film to watch, it came down to which plot sounded the most interesting and which actors I was most interested in seeing. I will watch pretty much anything with Saoirse in it. Ever since The Lovely Bones, I’ve admired her acting. Then in 2017, me and so many other women felt connected to her with her performance in Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird.
If you haven’t heard, she was also set to star in Barbie but had to drop out due to schedule conflicts, which is absolutely devastating! I also liked that The Grand Budapest Hotel has Tony Revolori, who gave an iconic opening scene for Scream 6, and it’s refreshing to see a person of color playing a lead role in a Wes Anderson film since that seems to be a rarity for the director.
The Grand Budapest Hotel’s plot also drew me in. From its description, it sounded like a murder mystery, and while it didn’t necessarily go in this direction, I found it quite enjoyable. I think I expected something like Knives Out or 1985’s Clue, which I should definitely cover in this newsletter sometimes, I’m the master of that board game, and I always like it best when the maid is the killer because she has the strongest motive, in my opinion.
Wes Anderson never fails with his directing style, even though The Grand Budapest Hotel did fail the Bechdel test. The colors and shots were astounding and made the film feel like it took place in a fantasy land. One of the best things about watching movies is getting to escape reality for a while, and Wes Anderson created this experience flawlessly, as he does with all his films.
His movies are so recognizable and unique to him, and he makes people want to be a part of his world. I think that’s why there are so many people on TikTok dressing up in Wes Anderson-inspired outfits and mimicking his color palettes. His movies allow his audience to play pretend, and at times, his sets have even resembled dollhouses. The hotel in the movie looks like a big Barbie dream house, and the home at the beginning of Moonrise Kingdom feels like the kind of wooden dollhouse you would see in an old antique store. I really respect the director’s imagination.
As I mentioned, The Grand Budapest Hotel initially presents itself as a murder mystery. Concierge M. Gustave learns that Madame D, an old woman he’s been having an affair with for 19 years, was murdered, and he inherited her valuable painting titled Boy with Apple. Her son Dmitri, who desperately wants the painting, frames Gustave for his mother’s murder.
The rest of the film is an adventure following Gustave’s arrest and escape from prison with the help of his friend and lobby boy Zero, who sparks up a relationship with pastry chef Agatha. The film is told from Zero’s perspective, and as we know, when a film is told from a character’s perspective, things aren’t always very accurate. Just look at the countless Titanic theories people have written, accusing Rose of being an unreliable narrator. This could be why so much of the film feels comical and light-hearted despite covering some very dark topics, i.e., MURDER!
Zero’s story is the typical rags-to-riches success, which occurred when he inherited everything from Gustave after his death. Everything was quite a lot, given Gustave ended up with a lot more than a painting when a different will was discovered on the back of the painting. The new will was only to be used in the case that Madame D was murdered, and it stated that everything should be given to Gustave.
Some have taken this to mean that Gustave really did murder his lover. After all, it seems quite suspicious that he inherited so much from her while her family was left with nothing. However, in an earlier scene, Gustave tells Zero that he has an alibi. He was out with another woman but can’t tell anyone because he doesn’t want to drag her name into the messy situation.
Others have pointed out an obvious clue as to who the real murderer is. Jopling had poison on his desk, which links him to Madame D’s murder because she was poisoned to death. Though, he likely wasn’t working alone and was only assisting Dmitri, who was clearly after his mother’s wealth.
Since the film never gives a definite answer, there’s really no wrong theory. So here’s mine. It does seem quite convenient that Gustave got everything from Madame D based on a will, specifically in the case she was murdered. If Gustave found out about this will, which he likely could have since he was her lover, he might have killed her so he could inherit her wealth.
“To Be Frank, I Think His World Had Vanished Long Before He Ever Entered It.”-Zero, The Grand Budapest Hotel
However, an even more intriguing angle would be if Zero was the one to kill her. After all, he was the one to inherit everything in the end. It’s hard to say if he played a role in Gustave’s death or if he just knew one day the Concierge was bound to die and would leave everything to him. Of course, this is my theory based very little on facts and mostly on my imagination, which in the setting of a Wes Anderson film, feels highly appropriate.
If you’ve read my past newsletter, you’ll know most of the time, I like to analyze films for a deeper meaning. I find the most inspiring messages in the movies I watched as a child, but I’ve also been influenced by movies like Hidden Figures and the 2023 Oscar-winning Women Talking. After watching The Grand Budapest Hotel, I searched the internet to see if there was something I was missing, and I found that Wes Anderson isn’t one to put some deep inspirational message in his films, which is kind of a bummer for me because I’ve spent hours analyzing The Princess Diaries finding messages of self-belief and courage.
I accept that Wes Anderson has set out to do something different with his films, and creating a world that seems like a fantasy is one of these things. There is a lot of power in that. I also saw some people online interpreting the film as nostalgia, which is why it’s told from Zero’s perspective, looking back on the past. It’s obvious in the way he tells the story that this is true, especially when he speaks about Agatha. He seems to have a hard time discussing her death, as well as Gustave’s, which is why he brushes past it quickly in his story.
I saw someone else say the film is about storytelling, and they compared it to a play. It’s true that Wes Anderson’s movies feel a lot like stage productions, and if The Grand Budapest Hotel ever hits Broadway, I will be there on opening night. I’m already fan-casting Aaron Tveit as Gustave, but all other roles are open to debate!
I watched the trailer for his upcoming film Asteroid City afterward, and it's as aesthetically pleasing as his other movies. It has a very old Hollywood feel to it, not only because of Scarlett Johanson’s haircut but something about the credits rolling over the shot of the train and the desert location reminded me of an old Western movie. I also have to admit I’m obsessed with the cast. Tom Hanks, Maya Hawke, and even Sophia Lillis, who I loved when she starred as Beverly March in Andy Muschietti’s 2017 IT adaptation.
You might find me at the movie theater for this one, and it could land itself in my newsletter if it resonates enough. I may have never seen a Wes Anderson film before, but I am fascinated after watching The Grand Budapest Hotel. Even though I couldn’t analyze it as passionately as I could with Titanic or Legally Blonde, maybe I’ll revisit it in the future and come out with a new perspective and a deep dive into a hidden message I didn’t pick up on the first time.
You should watch the French dispatch :)