I saw an excellent movie last night - but before I go any further, I would like to ponder just a little bit about what makes us like (or dismiss) certain things. For example, this was something that immediately struck the chord of recognition with me, because I love quirky art film, saw some of them previously and found everything about it simply delicious. On the other hand, there are people who simply won't have similar point of reference or take movies just as they take their food - instant gratification based on stereotypes, not going far beyond previously known, without much expectations and refusing anything too foreign. As I am reading all the negative reviews and critics finding faults with what I believe is masterpiece, I am reminded of a friend who insisted (and seriously recommended) that I should see latest Dracula movie - which I actually saw on cinema posters during my last visit to Amsterdam and it didn't even occur to me to buy into it.
Sadly, most of the time when I find myself working on a ship for 6 months at the time, work colleagues are perfectly happy with blockbusters and as they have no serious background in neither history of cinema nor special love for directors, if they ever talk about movies its usually trough achievements of whatever is being hyped or advertised currently - not to mention garbage that I occasionally see on TV here during my vacation, kind of mindless time-killing fluff done "professionally" (read: cliché on top of cliché) but without any real substance or message or even opinion besides audience manipulation with sounds and special effects. Crime and brutality for the sake of viewers titillation. Sometimes I wonder whatever happen to real film makers, does anybody still remembers Ingmar Bergman and did cinema industry really turned into juvenile jokes full of farting, burping and hangover after oh-so-entertaining boozing? I am very much aware that it is my age & experience talking here, because I am not a teenager anymore and have seen tons of mindless movies previously. But along the way I have also seen movies that either were true classics or became one, each decade had something original and unusual to offer, we just need to be a little more cautious and selective.
The first thing that struck me with "Grand Budapest Hotel" is how much it reminded me on quirky "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain" (2001) which I loved back than and always will. No one usually talks much about it but I see traces of "Amélie" very often here and there, the narrative, voice-over and all. Apparently this director is already known for his highly recognisable visual style and equally criticised and loved for it - I for one, love it and not only that I "get it", I actually wallow in every meticulously pre-arranged scene that makes movie look like some overblown marzipan cake it would probably take me several re-viewing to grasp all the countless little details. So what is here not to be liked? I really wonder - since it delighted me so much - who are those people who snicker and dislike what I find to be unforgettable joy of a movie? Could it be they are so used to familiar action/crime/murder clichés that they wont accept anything that is not fitting into boxes? That Wes Anderson (who, by the way was born in the same year as me, and uses my beloved Stefan Zweig as reference) is too creative and original for them? Contrary to these opinions, I am so relieved, glad and yes, thrilled that there are still directors around who love what they do and follow their own muse instead of making just another forgettable products on the factory line - "Grand Budapest Hotel" might seem odd to some, but to me it stands head and shoulders above anything that I see advertised these days.
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