rien
HOUSE
The Art of
Symmetry and
“The Grand
Budapest Hotel”
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‘The At of Symmetry and “The Grand Budapest Hotel" — papier
At its center, The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) is a tale of days gone by, an era that has passed
us. It is enjoyable because it is a glimpse into a stylized snapshot, potent with nostalgia and
quirky eccentricity, a phrase I'm sure has been used to describe Wes Anderson's films since
Bottle Rocket.
But what makes this film in particular so enjoyable to watch? When it comes to narrative
technique, composition, and dialogue, it really hits the sweet spot, but what interested me
most was the symmetrical composition, which I'm about to dive right on into.
Composition: Color Scheme
hitpstipapierhuis.com/2017/06/23/mavie-macness-the-grand-budapast-hotal’ aneann ‘The Arto Symmetry and “The Grane Budapest Hotel — papier
Qne of the key hallmarks of any Wes Anderson film is his attention to symmetry; as previously
‘Giscussed here, symmetry makes us feel psychologically certain of an uncertain reality ~ it
gives balance to an immediate experience which allows us to make sense of what we are
seeing. Symmetry is also aesthetically pleasing, and Anderson works wonderfully with a set
palette,
When we are first introduced to the hotel, it is 1968, far after its heyday; it is a Soviet relic,
concrete, with the dulled monochromatics of the 1970's: burnt orange, brown, mustard yellow.
‘The autumnal color palette of the 70’s is a whole other topic in itself, a backlash to the
psychedelic, electric colors of the swinging 60's and very much a reaction to the society of its
time - a world mired in war, unstable political spheres, and subterfuge.
The interior of the hotel has changed as well, as fashion trends shift and new management
changed hands, and despite Mustafa owning the building throughout, he most likely was a
distant if not benevolent investor, too busy jetsetting or traveling on business ventures to care
about the design changes. The palette is consistent with the exterior, the same uninspired
adherence to the latest fashion dictum, adding another symmetrical element and continuing
the theme of a once-great institute's slide into mediocrity.
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On the other end, when we see the hotel in its prime, it is delightful. There is clear care and
attention to detail in its presentation, ostensibly by M. Gustaf but of course in reality by M
Anderson, The hotel has been described as ‘a Faberge egg’, and a ‘candy-colored Middle-
Europe Bohemian Theme Park’ - what contributed to these specific descriptions? The
splendor of the hotel is meant to be a throwback to the early 20" century dregs of imperial
luxury, an intricate, finely-made stone before it is skipped across Europe and through two
devastating world wars. Loosely based on the writings of Stefan Zweig, a Viennese writer, and
more specifically on his book “The World of Yesterday’ (although his biography of Marie
Antoinette is none too shabby either). Zweig writes somewhat nostalgically of the last days of
empires before they fall to the new century, and their shifting influence on the people in them
and operating within them, and this influence is layered over the film, right down to the Grand
Budapest itself
Nostalgia can often be likened to viewing at something with rose-colored glasses on. With
Anderson, it is a little more literal.
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ane2722024 The Ato Symmetry an “The Grand Budapest Hoar
This is a specific, continuous palette choice; everything is doused in creams, light pinks, deep
purples, sumptuous red. It all looks like a Viennese pastry, bursting at the gills with
buttercream, glazed in pastels, waiting to be topped with a cherry ~ an incredibly delectable
piece montée, It looks so good, you want to eat it.
In addition, one of the main protagonists is a baker, working meticulously to make beautiful,
towering confectionaries, ones that happen to match the exact scheme of the Grand Budapest.
‘The staff of the hotel are always in the same royal purple, the lawyer, Kovacs (Jeff Goldblum) is
always in dark grey, Agatha (Saoirse Ronan) dresses in cream with blue accents and
occasionally pastels, coincidentally matching the confections that she creates; this film is
hitpstipapierhuis.com/2017/06/23/mavie-madness-the-grand-budapast-hoal! ene2riameo2t ‘The At of Symmetry and “The Grand Budapest Hot ~ papier
mmetrical to its core.
Speaking of symmetry:
Composition: Shots and Framing
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Look at this for a moment - do you see how satisfying it feels?
When we view art, our eyes generally follow a specific layout, and we are naturally geared to
spot patterns and follow them. We look for open spaces to defined the filled ones against and,
unsurprisingly, we look for symmetry
I believe Wes Anderson uses the rules of three in most of his frame composition, but most
certainly in this film: if we split this shot into three, we can break down why it is so mentally
hitpstipapierhuis.com/2017/06/23/mavie-madness-the-grand-budapast-hoal! me2riameo2t ‘The At of Symmetry and “The Grand Budapest Hot ~ papier
comforting to look at, First let's see it split into thirds vertically:
The center of this shot is open, giving us a relatively blank mental space for our eye to wander;
it's a curtained window, plain white, about as plain as you can make something. We are guided
to the left by the handbag, which ends perfectly right before the doorway, and we continue on
to Zero, bookending the shot. If we look to the right through the blank space, the shot is
framed by M. Gustaf’s hand, as well as the bottle of champagne, and ends with the man
himself. Satisfyingly symmetrical on that end,
hitpstipapierhuis.com/2017/06/23/mavie-macness-the-grand-budapast-hotal’ ane2riameo2t ‘The At of Symmetry and “The Grand Budapest Hot ~ papier
Let's look at its split horizontally
on
Our window and curtain there are still our ‘free space, allowing the eye to wander where it
will. We look up, and we see the doorway framed by two panels, perfectly aligned. In the
middle, Zero and Gustav are almost parallel to each other, so much so that you could draw an
almost straight line from nose to nose. Below is mostly filled with their lower body and torso.
This shot is just one of thousands of examples in Anderson's works; he has an amaz
attention for detail. Let's continue:
ing eye and
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one2riameo2t ‘The At of Symmetry and “The Grand Budapest Hot” ~ papier
Obviously, at center in this scene is Dmitri (Adrian Brody), because he is the character
speaking in the shot and therefore the focus point. Once again, the symmetry of color
continues in the costuming choices, as all five characters present are mostly, if not exclusively,
seen in all black throughout the film, a sinister color for sinister villains.
hitpstipapierhuis.com/2017/06/23/mavie-macness-the-grand-budapast-hotal’ sone2riameo2t ‘The At of Symmetry and “The Grand Budapest Hot ~ papier
Let's split the shot up the same way as before
Dmitri takes up the central panel, giving us enough solid color and taking up enough of the
foreground focus to leave the background readily available. His sisters clump together into the
first third, and his henchman, J.G. Joplin (Willem Dafoe) takes up residence in the very back at
the far end of the third section, Both sides serve much the same purpose as above, to act as
frames for the shot.
Let's see it horizontally:
hitpstipapierhuis.com/2017/06/23/mavie-macness-the-grand-budapast-hotal’ mearma The Att Symmetry and “The Gand Budapest Hot — paper
ae: ‘The top is left open,
but symmetrical, again much the same as the scene above. The central focus is still Dmitri, but
because the sisters are packed like sardines into the left panel, Joplin on the other end is at the
bo
far side to allow for the negative space. If he were closer in the frame, it would clog the depth
perception and make the viewer feel claustrophobic; it is also is fitting with both sets of
characters: the sisters, massed together like a tumorous cell, and Joplin, always watching and
waiting, biding his time.
Finally, as my last note on the rule of thirds in the film, let's see a scene where there's only one
character, and how Anderson works both in frame composition and characterization through
set work:
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M. Mustafa, the enigmatic owner of the hotel, sits alone. Once known as Zero, and hired
during the hotel's glory days, he is now an old man, alone and lonely (yes, the two are
different). He has no partner, no children, no protege, and a hotel crumbling to time that he
sees as a reliquary of nostalgia and memory.
The center is clear, save for a map of the hotel and the potted plant. To the left, the chairs are
so milquetoast as decor that they practically blend in with the walls. To the right is M. Mustafa
himself, sitting glibly. The relative emptiness of this particular shot tells us of his isolation and
establishes him as a solitary man, neither engaging with his guests or hiding unseen in his
hitpstipapierhuis.com/2017/06/23/mavie-madness-the-grand-budapast-hoal! rane2722021 ‘The At of Symmetry and “The Grand Budapest Hotel" — papier
xa0m, but simply and sorrowfully there.
Again, we have a blank centerpiece, framed on either side by prop and actor. The upper
portion is unremarkable save for the signs above Mustafa's head, breaking up the monotony
and leading our eye down to the focus of the shot. The bottom and the blank carpet also
makes us travel to where the action is, if only to get away from that beige. In this frame, where
does our eye go but straight to Mustafa, making us as curious as the Author is about his
identity. Who is this man wearing a splash of red in a sea of carby beige?
Anderson is in full symmetric fashion in this film. I think that going forward I'll probably wean
off plot commentary and head more towards focusing on the technical aspects of the film of
the day, its composition, the cinematography, the color choice, ete. Overall, The Grand
Budapest is truly a delight to watch, but as much as I enjoy the why of it, now I want to get to
the how, mainly how directors and cinematographers produce the ambiance and atmosphere
of the films they create.
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‘The At of Symmetry and “The Grand Budapest Hotel" — papier
Bosted in Essays on Film, Movie Madness, Writing and tagged Adrian Brody, Cinematography,
Tolor Palette, Color Scheme, Composition, Empirical Pictures, Film, Film Review, Movie
Review, Ralph Fiennes, Saoirse Ronan, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Tony Revolori, Wes
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Comments Add yours
<1
a
er fisherpatrick on June 24, 2017 at
59 am Ok Like
This is an awesome analysis! I've been following Wes Anderson for a long time and I
think you choose an excellent film to take a closer look at the rule of thirds on. And
that colour palette! Thankyou!
EL Biron on June 24, 2017 at 11:44 am Liked by Lperson
‘Thank yout I almost think his attention to detail made it too easy, but it’s a beautiful
film that I wanted to explore a little more - picking it apart and seeing how it works
makes it a
EL Biron on June 24, 2017 at 11:44 am * Like
*seeing how it works makes it a hundred times better to me
Movie Madness: “Shot Composition and Framing in Hamlet: Part I” - an
exploration on June 30, 2017 at 5:49 pm He Like
[..] Let's break the frame down like we did with Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest
Hotel: [..]
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