the wes anderson collection the grand budapest hotel book

The sad comedic nature of The Grand Budapest Hotel, and perhaps all of Wes Anderson’s films, is Anderson’s portrayal of truth, which is mostly engineered by clever dialogue like this quote from Monsieur Gustave: “You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity.

It does for Zero anyway, who loses his entire family and becomes a refugee, until he becomes the lobby boy for the Grand Budapest, finds a new friendship in Monsieur Gustave, and finds love in the Grand Budapest’s pastry chef, Agatha ( Saoirse Ronan). But in between all the madness, the process of losing and finding brings a little bit of hope.

They represent what we inherently desire and fear, they represent our loneliness, hope, youth, successes, and failures, and our confusion about what it means to live in this crazy world because these characters’ worlds are just as crazy. But in the foreground of these intricate miniatures and enriching colorful settings, are characters that are indeed questionable, amusing, and flawed, but undoubtedly relatable because they are the archetypes of the shared human experience. You can only go so far as to make something quirky and unconventional before it loses its magic because there is nothing for the audience to resonate with. Ultimately, it is the characters and the forging of friendships in Wes Anderson’s movies that really make his stories great.

The wes anderson collection the grand budapest hotel book