In 2014 (presumably) we watch a young woman enter the Old Lutz Cemetery and leave a tribute at the monument to a favourite author (Tom Wilkinson), a National Treasure. In 1985 that author speaks to a documentary about where a writer finds his material. He has to watch and listen to life. He’s interrupted by a rowdy (but ultimately apologetic) brat. In 1968 the younger version of the author (Jude Law) is told the life story of the classic hotel’s mysterious guest Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham). That starts in 1932, in mythical Zubrowka, i.e. Eastern Europe, between the World Wars.
The young Zero (Tony Revolori) serves as lobby boy to the main character — and dutiful seducer — concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes). When dying guest Madame D (Tilda Swinton) bequeaths to Gustav a valuable Renaissance painting, Boy with Apple, Gustav takes away the painting, to secure it from her evil son Dmitri (Adrien Brody). The faithful butler Serge X (Mathieu Amalric) slips into that package Madame D’s second copy of her second will, which leaves her entire huge estate to Gustave.
To recover that will and the painting Dmitri and henchman Jopling (Willem Dafoe) try to pin the murder on Gustave. With the help of his bakery aide girlfriend Agatha (Saoirse Ronan) Zero helps Gustave break out of jail and flee both villain Jopling and cop Henckels (Edward Norton), whose initial affection and support of Gustave crumbles under his apparent guilt. Having killed Madame D with strychnine, Jopling kills and defingers her legal executor, Deputy Kovacs (Jeff Goldblum), beheads Serge’s sister, kills Serge in the confessor’s booth, and after a ski and sled chase to and over the Winter Games slalom course is on the verge of killing Gustave when Zero rises out of the snowbank and throws Jopling to his death.
Dmitri’s pursuit of the will leads to a chaotic and furious gunfight in the hotel, where few know at whom they are shooting and for what reason, if any. Ultimately the key will is found, order restored, and Gustave gets his estate. He weds Zero and Agatha, who dies soon after of a minor, now easily curable disease. When Gustave is killed by soldiers he leaves everything to Zero. To appease the tyranny Zero gives up his entire fortune just to keep the hotel, where he lives in a small closet, and where he keeps his memory of Agatha alive.
Questions to consider:
What is the point of the story-within-a-story-within-a-story-within-a-story? What does this layering suggest?
1.How does the foreground fiction relate to the hinted backdrop history?
2. Why that particular time period?
3. In context, what’s the point of the brat interrupting the author?
4. How does Anderson develop the theme of loneliness? From the isolates in the modern hotel, how does that reflect back upon Gustave’s function and career and his relationship with Zero? And the formal — coat of arms, etc. — brotherhood of concierges?
5. Why call a central character Zero? Is it related to the war having destroyed his family?
6.What metaphors lurk in the following: the keys left on the author’s monument, the “scribe’s fever,” the 1968 hotel’s vending machines, Zero’s book dedication “From Z to A,” Gustave’s prized Eau de Panache,” the miniature humans shot against vast gates (Checkpoint 19), majestic edifices and natural wilds, the contrasting shots of cramped quarters,
7. What themes are suggested by the film’s visual effects, its look or style?
8. How does the film reflect on our times? On our sense of what history is?
9. What’s the point of these quotes:
— Did he just throw my cat out of the window?
— Keep your hands off my lobby boy!
— I beat the living shit out of a snivelling little runt called Pinky Bandinski…. He’s actually become a dear friend.
— The lobby boy must be completely invisible but always in sight.
— Rudeness is an expression of fear.
— The cheaper cuts are more flavourful. Or so they say.
— I suppose you’d call that a draw.
— The plot thickens, as they say. Why, by the way? Is it the soup metaphor?
— Of course, it depends.
— We found the butler.
— The beginning of the end of the end of the beginning has just begun.
— A pretty boy just on the verge of manhood.
10. What does Zubrowska connote?
11. In context, what’s the point of the animated Russian dance amid the end credits? (Hint: stay for it.)
12. What is the point of using three different aspect ratios (i.e., screen proportions)? Is there a metaphor here? The storytellers are in widescreen and the oldest stories in standard old format. Why the black and white bridge sequence?
13. Why is the history fictionalized? e.g., Nazis as Zig Zag. Zubrowka as the new Fredonia? Is that the Duck Soup metaphor?
14.. Why does Anderson aim for cartoon effects in his actors’ extreme facial expressions, the flatness of the image, the antic pace, the obvious use of models? Could artifice be one of the film’s themes?
15. Though the film pretends to be inspired by Stefan Zweig’s memoirs, how is it rather an exercise in the signature quirkiness of Wes Anderson? In reverse order he directed Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Darjeeling Limited,The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore and Bottle Rocket.
16. How does the star-studded casting affect the narrative? How does Anderson play with or against the actors’ personae? e.g., Harvey Keitel, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, etc.
17. How does Egon Schiele’s (dare we hope fictitious?) Two Lesbians Masturbating reflect on Boy with Apple?
18. Is there any point in the characters’ names? Bill Murray’s name is Hungarian for “What’s going on?” Jeff Goldblum’s is a homage to cinematographers Vilmos Zsigmond and Lazslo Kovacs. Zero Moustafa evokes Zero Mostel. Serge X and Madame D recall other film titles. Isn’t Henckles a knife?
19. So. Jude Law will grow into Tom Wilkinson. Tony Revolon will grow into F. Murray Abraham. In context, what does that tell you?
20. Perhaps the plot — the innermost story — is most explicitly read in Gustave’s relief that “There are still some faint slivers of civilization in this barbaric slaughterhouse that used to be called humanity.”
21. Perhaps the narrative structure — the backward movement through time in the layering of story-telling — develops the mature Zero’s sense that the past glory that Gustave was defending had long since died before he entered. “He certainly retained the illusion with remarkable grace.”
22. What’s the point of all the verbal anachronisms? e.g., two-bit hoosegow, candyass, the bitch legged it, shut the fuck up, what’s the meaning of this shit?
23. What’s the point of concierge Gustave’s passion and knack for poetry, which Zero and Agatha catch?
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