Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and I have been watching movies from September through November for our Comfy, Cozy Cinema.

For this week Erin suggested Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), which I had never seen and wasn’t sure I wanted to until I watched the trailer and thought it looked like a fun ride. It was a fun ride but it was also so much more. It was mildly offensive to me in some places and heart wrenchingly endearing in others. Overall, it had me laughing and then a few minutes later I would feel a peculiar sadness because I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to feel sad or impressed with how Anderson can twist social commentary up into a neat, comical, satirical package that sends the mind spiraling off onto paths it did not originally plan to take when it pushed play.

The best way to explain this movie is bizarrely ridiculous, quirky, strange and fun while also being oddly delightful. It is not, however, “clean” in parts so if you don’t like movies with some nudity, crude references, or swear words, this is not the movie for you. It is not usually the movie for me either since I don’t watch a ton of rated R movies, but I do, on occasion, watch some rated R movies – so I am not a total puritan over here.

The movie is a story within a story. It is also full of so many famous actors it’s a bit overwhelming. Instead of saying who all is in this movie, one could really say, “who isn’t in this movie?”

Among the actors in the movie are Ralph Fiennes, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Tony Revolori, Tilda Swinton, Jason Swartzman, Owen Wilson, William Defoe, F. Murray Abraham, Saoirse Ronan, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Harvey Keitel, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Murray, and …many, many more

We begin with and author, portrayed by Tom Wilkinson as an adult, talking about  his time at a hotel called The Grand Budapest Hotel and then we switch to a younger version of himself portrayed by Jude Law. Law is leaning on the front desk of The Grand Budapest Hotel, which has seen better days. There is an older gentleman in the lobby of the hotel and Law’s character learns that he is the owner of the hotel.

Eventually the two end up talking and we find out how the owner – a man named Zero Moustafa – came to own the hotel. So, we are being told a story by Law’s future self, who is being told a story by Zero’s future self. Zero as an older man is portrayed by F. Murray Abraham.

Zero tells of how he became a lobby boy under the tutelage of Monsieur Gustave H. (Fiennes), the hotel’s concierge, an eccentric man who liked to sleep with many of his guests.

One of those guests was a very wealthy Octogenarian (Swinton ) who ends up passing away. After she passes away, Gustave tells Zero (the younger zero is played by Tony Revolori) he must come with him to see the woman in her casket and say farewell to her. While at the mansion, Gustave finds out a will reading is going on and he has been bequeathed a very expensive painting called Boy With Apple.

The wealthy woman’s son (Adrien Brody) doesn’t want Gustave to have the painting and tells Gustave and Zero to leave the room. They do and Gustave takes Zero to see the painting. They are alone in the room so Zero suggests they steal the painting. They do and take off back to the Grand Budapest Hotel.

Unfortunately, the police arrive the next day – not to retrieve the painting but instead to charge Gustave with the murder of the wealthy woman.

All sorts of craziness ensue after the arrest (as if things haven’t already been crazy) and the friendship between Zero and Gustave deepens as zero works to help Gustave clear his name.

There is a lot of humor in this movie but also a dark undercurrent of commentary about the state of the world throughout the years in relation to wars, greed, and power.

I don’t know how to explain a Wes Anderson film if you haven’t seen one, but it is essentially like watching people act with little emotion yet still conveying emotions that make you think.

I’ve only seen drama movies with Ralph Fiennes so seeing him in a more comedic role was different for me, but, like Erin, I can’t imagine anyone else pulling this role off. I mean, maybe if I thought hard enough about it I could, but at this point, I couldn’t.

The script for this film was written by Anderson and Hugo Guinness, and, according to Wikipedia (reliable source? I’m not sure.), “Anderson customarily employs a troupe of longtime collaborators—Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Edward Norton, Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, and Jason Schwartzman have worked on one or more of his projects. Norton and Murray immediately signed when sent the script.”

For some, this movie might not seem like a comfy or cozy movie and I get that. It’s more quirky than cozy. Like Erin mentioned to be yesterday (when she showed me part of her post), though, the part of the movie that is cozy is the friendship between Gustave and Zero. Zero is sort of yanked into Gustave’s world and become his friend without even knowing what it is going on, but it is still a friendship. Zero looks up to Gustave both as an employer and a person.

I think the theme of the movie can be somewhat explained with one of the popular quotes:  You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity.” As well as the extension of that, “There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity… He was one of them. What more is there to say?”

Have you ever seen this one? What did you think of it?

To read Erin’s impressions of it visit her blog.

Also, we will be watching Chocolat, or next movie, together via a watch party at 7 p.m. on Sunday, November 17 and YOU are invited. We will be pressing play together on the movie and chatting in our Discord server, which you can join here: https://discord.gg/TpWNxJ4Z

I really hope you will join us! If not, it will just be Erin and I chatting with each other and that’s not all bad either. Haha!