There are some directors whose work you’ll recognize almost instantaneously because of their style. You know that a Michael Bay movie most likely will have some explosions, lots of shots of barely dressed women and a saturated color palette. Quentin Tarantino is known for his dialog and homages to other films and I could name many other examples. If you watch one of their movies you will realize their hand eventually.

One of the most instantly recognizable styles is the one used by Wes Anderson. His movies have a very specific look, where the sets almost have a dollhouse quality to them, often with bright colors and a feel of another time. There are a couple of camera moves he also loves to do, like moving it along one axis….along with the action, often through walls, instead of cutting between faces during a conversation he will actually swing the camera around. The characters in his movies all seem to be unique as well, their clothes having some distinct features which make them stand out. I have to admit that initially I was not a huge fan of his style as I thought his movies were simply strange, but especially with his last couple of movies he has managed to win me over. The stories he tells seem to have become stronger and therefore I was very much looking forward to his new film: The Grand Budapest Hotel.

The movie opens with a quick succession of story elements, a girl at a cemetery who is reading a book of a deceased writer. Then cutting to the writer telling about how he got his stories, then to a 1960’s version of the Grand Budapest hotel. The Grand Budapest Hotel once was “an institution” amongst hotels which was frequented by the rich. In the sixties it is a former shadow of itself. Its owner (played by F. Murray Abraham) tells a young writer (Jude Law) how he came into possession of it. It’s a story within a story within a story. That might make you wonder if this is Anderson’s version of Inception, but it isn’t. It is just a unique and interesting way to quickly draw the viewer in, in typical Wes Anderson style.

The meat of the story is set in the twenties where Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) is running the hotel. He is a man who does everything for the guests in the hotel, especially the old and lonely women. One of them (an unrecognisable Tilda Swinton as Madame D.) frequents the hotel every year and is deeply in love with Gustave. Shortly after she leaves the hotel she passes away and Gustave, together with his bell boy Zero Moustafa (Tony Revelori), head on over to her estate to pay their respects. When the will of Madame D. is read it means the start of a long adventure for Gustave and Zero.

The Grand Budapest Hotel won me over in no time. It has all the things you’d expect from a Anderson movie and the result is stunning. When you look at the cast it is stunning how many well-known actors make an appearance here and it is a joy to see them, even in the smaller roles. Something which also stood out to me was the aspect ratio of the movie as most of the film is shown in a 4:3 ratio (except for the part set in the late sixties). It is something which stood out, but you never miss the extra screen space. The imagery within that small box simply is so well shot that you are drawn in. Wes Anderson love symmetry and it shows in almost every shot. It is beautiful to look at with characters often in the middle of the frame and everything in the scene perfectly aligned.

The movie somehow reminded me a bit of Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, but that might be because the story is set against an imaginary war (where instead of the SS it is the ZZ who appear on-screen). It is filled with humor and great performances and already one of my favorite movies of the year. The Grand Budapest Hotel is a hotel you’ll want to visit, even if it is just for the running time of the movie as you will enjoy you stay there.