It may seem odd to some to see this film listed here, but it shouldn't.
The Grand Budapest Hotel is an Academy Award nominated film that was a bit of a surprise hit last year. At least its a surprise to me, as it's the sort of unusual "small" story that we don't see get much attention anymore. The film itself almost recalls movies of the 1930s, during which it is set, more than contemporary movies. And perhaps its a bit of a tribute to those films really.
It's masterfully done as well. Set in a fictional Eastern European country that we're lead to believe must have been part of the defunct Austro Hungarian Empire prior to its World War One collapse, the movies does a surprisingly good job of capturing the feel of those countries which had only lately entered into independence. The Austro Hungarian Empire being multinational in nature, the mixed culture of those countries and those in its influence and orbit, such as Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and so on, is very well captured. The film features a fair amount of the use of the German language. French shows up as well. Last names are Slavic, German and perhaps Turkish. The depiction of the cities is appropriately ornate. The uniformed services shown in the film are also appropriately late Austrian in appearance.
This film is in many ways truly odd, and very well done. It is funny, but some of the humor is really off color and not appropriate for younger audiences. That comment would also apply to some of the things depicted in the film. But an American film pitched at a modern audience which features an Eastern European theme, set in the very early 1930s, is a real surprise, and that it did well is an even bigger surprise.
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