The Grand Budapest Hotel

Last night I saw The Grand Budapest Hotel. Wes Anderson is one of my favorite directors, and this film is really a masterpiece. The first Wes Anderson film I saw was Moonrise Kingdom a couple years ago. I loved the film, but the biggest problem I had with it was that child actors are never very good. The movie had some amazing actors, and when put next to little kids it felt disappointing. I loved the movie, don't get me wrong, but throughout the entire thing you just want Tilda Swinton and Edward Norton and Bill Murray to get more screen time. The other three Wes Anderson films I had see before The Grand Budapest were Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Besides Fantastic Mr. Fox, I couldn't find that personal connection to the films that let you really fall in love with the film. Rushmore and The Royal Tenebaums were amazing films, I always liked Moonrise Kingdom better just because the story really hit me in a great way, but Moonrise Kingdom had that big issue with the actors with me. The Grand Budapest Hotel gave me everything I wanted in a Wes Anderson film. It was whimsical, but serious. It was hilarious, but depressing. And like all of Wes's films, it looked beautiful. And unlike Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest doesn't have those moments where you look over he weaker acting skills. Even the young actors, Tony Revolori and Saoirse Ronan, are fantastic.
The film is also more beautiful than any other Wes Anderson film I had seen. It was the old European setting that mixed perfectly with Anderson's style. Anderson has this great command of color, which is a weird characteristic to give to a director.

With these three stills from film, you can see how Anderson uses wardrobe to match the backgrounds. And in the last two, it's more apparent that even skin color is something that he takes into account when setting up these shots. There are so many other shots that I couldn't find on the internet, but they're all as carefully crafted as these.

He sets up his shots like a painter, and that started to get me thinking. I want my next big art project to be in the style of Wes Anderson, particularly in the style of The Grand Budapest Hotel. I want to capture the beauty and humor and composition that exists in every shot of The Grand Budapest Hotel.