The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest Hotel Literary Elements

Director

Wes Anderson

Leading Actors/Actresses

Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Jude Law, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton

Genre

Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Language

English

Awards

Won 4 Academy Awards: Best Achievement in Production Design, Best Achievement in Costume Design, Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures-Original Score, Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

Date of Release

2014

Producer

Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales, Scott Rudin

Setting and Context

Republic of Zubrowka 1932 and 1985

Narrator and Point of View

Narrator is the Author and point of view is that of Zero

Tone and Mood

Comedic, suspenseful, melancholic

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonists are Gustave and Zero. Antagonists are Dmitri and Jopling

Major Conflict

Madame D. is murdered, Gustave is left a priceless painting and Dmitri, Madame D.'s son, has Gustave arrested for his mother's murder.

Climax

Gustave is cleared of all charges and Madame D.'s fortune is left to him. He is killed on a train by soldiers and his fortune goes to his sole heir, Zero.

Foreshadowing

Gustave appears to be a opportunist with rich women about to die. This foreshadows the death of the countess.

Understatement

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

Allusions

Allusions to romantic poetry throughout

Paradox

Gustave and Zero spray themselves with cologne after Gustave escapes from prison because they stink. Paradoxically, the scent of the cologne gives them away to Henckels, the officer chasing after them.

Parallelism

The train stopping at the barley field at the end of the film where Gustave loses his life parallels the scene earlier in the film where Zero and Gustave are stopped on the train in the same field.

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