Grand Budapest Hotel

By Amit. S. Pangali
Grand Budapest Hotel is a 2014 film directed by Wes
Anderson and starring Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Adrien
Brody, Edward Norton, Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman,
Willem Defoe and Bill Murray. It won 4 Oscars and was
nominated for 5 more including Best motion picture of the
year. Considered by many to be Wes Andersons magnum
opus. The film has style. So much so that you can take a
single image from the film with no context, and you know
what it is from. But why though why is the art and
cinematography so iconic and what can be learnt from it?
Well let’s find out
Colour
During shots in the Budapest the colours are more saturated compared to into prison where
it is a lot less saturated. I immediately noticed this when first saw the film and it is an easy
way to show the mood of the characters.
The Budapest exterior is pink to show it peace and harmony. This is due to the fact that the hotel
is a peaceful place for the people that visit. Which is due to Gustave and he is the reason many
people stay also his colour is purple. The colour for eroticism, but it also means mystery and it
fits as his past is a mystery.
Colour
The colours can change based on the scene like when Gustave is taking Madame D out of the
hotel the red of the elevator represents love. As Madame D loves Gustave and vice versa but in a
later scene when Agatha is in the hotel with Dmitri the red can signify danger.
Mise-en-scene
The scene is just as insanely detailed in the film. Everything important is in centre frame not only
that but everything is symmetrical. Take this shot here with the first will reading. The room is
symmetrical. Every wall dressing to the lights to the people is symmetrical. And Gustave and Zero
are in centre frame wearing purple and Serge X wearing white to contrast with everyone else
wearing Blacks and greys.
Sounds
The sounds of GBH are a mix of diegetic and
non diegetic. From diegetic paper rustlings
fuel pumping and wind, which shows the
distance between characters to the non
diegetic narrations and soundtrack. But it is
also the mixtures of diegetic and non
diegetic. The narration is both diegetic and
non diegetic as it is not happening in the
scene but there is a character describing it in
the story and is shown doing so. And when
Zero and Gustave walk into the church we
hear chanting in the score.
Camera movement
The camera movement is iconic to Mr
Anderson. He has a style. His pans and
tracking shots are comparable to Edgar
rights match cuts and whip pans. Also the
tracking shots always have the character
they are following in centre frame and they
always have a side scrolling like movement
to them
In conclusion
This is a good movie with meticulous attention to detail. And I have learnt a lot
from it. How colour can be used and transformed based on context use dynamic
lighting in unconventional ways. Symmetrical designs can help bring importance
to outliers.