The Grand Budapest Hotel

The latest picture from auteur director Wes Anderson is in my opinion, his finest to date. A typically lavish and exquisitely designed movie, it stars Ralph Fiennes as M. Gustav H, a respected concierge at The Grand Budapest Hotel. Pitched as a sort of cross between a Palatial residence and the hotel from The Shining, The Grand Budapest is seen in all its splendour during the majority of the film. The movie opens however around thirty years after the events to be depicted in, at a time during which the grand old hotel is but a shadow of its former self. The action is depicted in flashback, from the memories of Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), a once Lobby Boy and apprentice to the aforementioned Gustav H.

In 1932, Gustav H. is seeing off one of his many elder lady friends, a rich widow by the name of Madame D. (Tilda Swinton). Gustav’s charms have lead to an on off affair which has lasted for many years and she is upset to be leaving the hotel over which he holds sway. Days later the woman is dead. Gustav H. rushes to her Estate in the hope that his romantic efforts have written himself in the will and sure enough discovers that they have. The deceased’s son (Adrien Brody) is outraged at the reading of the will and accuses the concierge of murder. Gustav H. is soon on the run and ends up under lock and key inside an intimidating maximum security jail.

Inside Llewyn Davis

As with any new Coen brothers film, I eagerly anticipated the release of Inside Llewyn Davis and the good things I’d heard from America before its UK release only added to my excitement. The fact that it’s taken close to a week to write something about the film though, might tell you something about my reaction to the movie. Unfortunately I left the cinema feeling disappointed. I’d go so far as to say that I didn’t really like or even enjoy the film and the last week or so has found me struggling to find a spin on it so that I could reward it with a favourable review. Alas I’m out of time so here’s what I think.

To put it bluntly, the film did little for me. I wasn’t entertained and was rarely amused. I didn’t get much from the story and disliked the central character. It left me feeling cold and uninterested and I never got on board with Llewyn, willing him on to succeed. Instead I just thought he was a bit of a dick. His misfortunes were often his own and his undoubted talent was clouded by his personality. Although the Coens’ attempt to present other characters even less favourably, I still wanted nothing to do with him and was only happy when he was singing.

Amadeus

Amadeus is an Academy Award winning period drama that sheds light on one of the most famous names in musical history, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The film is told through the eyes of his contemporary and rival Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) who as an old man recounts the tale of his ambition and jealousy as well as his part in the death of the great composer thirty years earlier. By having Salieri and not Mozart tell the story we are able to contextualise the man and his music and get to know the actual composer rather than seeing him through his own rose tinted spectacles. What the film introduced to me was a very different Mozart to the one I was aware of. Like I expect most people my knowledge of him stretched about as far as knowing where and roughly when he was born, that he was gifted at a young age and composed some famous operas. Amadeus introduces an audience to the real Mozart, to the talent and the arrogance, the playboy, the debtor and the genius.

The film retells the life of not only Mozart (Tom Hulce) but also of Salieri and their brushes with friendship and rivalry. The movie is set up as a double headed biopic with both musicians getting ample screen time and plot development. By including a second man in the story of the more famous composer the film feels much more detailed and well rounded than perhaps it would have been if it had only focussed on Mozart. I really enjoyed learning about the two men and their strange society. The plot is detailed and incredibly interesting as well as being filled with fascinating side characters such as Mozart’s wife Constanze (Elizabeth Berridge) and Emperor Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones). The film is as much about 18^th Century customs and society as it is about the two men and their music and this further stretches the film’s appeal and scope.