Pondering The Grand Budapest Hotel

   Watching the movie was entertaining, yet it left me with thoughts I cannot (but want to) ignore. Movies do that sometimes, as part of the cinematic art.
  
(Image source Tim Savage from Pexels)

   I've written a lot on the game Two Point Hospital lately. I'm currently stuck on a level (good lessons take big challenges, I suppose) and figure it's probably time to focus on other things for awhile. The subconscious needs to percolate a bit while I struggle through whatever my shortcomings are in the game.

   In the meantime, there are plenty of other bits of entertainment that have nuggets of wisdom and interesting perspectives to explore. Today's was The Grand Budapest Hotel.

The Chaotic Plot

   I had seen the movie before, but when my partner tried to remind me of the plot, I couldn't remember it to save my life. As soon as we started watching it, however, every scene was familiar; I had indeed seen it, there was no mistake. But the plot doesn't really explain the feeling of it.

   Trying to catalogue it in my mind with a description seems near impossible. If anything, the most memorable aspect that links to the overall tone is 'a movie about a concierge and a lobby boy in royal purple uniforms trying to maintain a sense of propriety in the pre-war era near Germany.' But even that falls short.

   The overall theme of it is more a state of being than it is a plot line.

Thought Provoking Moments

   Honestly, if you're as introspective and insightful as I am, there's a lot of them. My partner and I spent a good portion of the movie pausing after Gustav reacted to things, discussing our take on what they meant. He saw Gustav as an older reflection of Zero, traumatized and dissociative. I saw him as a well-adjusted sociopath. We both felt he was fundamentally good, regardless.

   The end inspired the most thought, however, as it ends rather abruptly in my opinion. The last line was something like I intended to go back, but I never saw that hotel again. Then the credits rolled. It left me suddenly feeling every moment in my life I had intended to do something and hadn't done it. There's a lot of that for me. This was a feeling I wasn't really looking forward to confronting.

   I can't help but wonder if that was the point the director was making by ending it that way. Was this part of the experience he envisioned? It's entirely possible he wanted people to walk away from the movie wondering about their own lives; were they intending to go back to their "Grand Budapest" but not making any formal plans? What is a life that contains too many of these, for the sake of security and comfort in not taking risks to make things happen?

   Food for thought, I guess. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but the movie really shed light on this issue for me.

   Do you have things you intend to do someday but haven't gotten around to it yet? Share your thoughts below or on Facebook.

   As always, see ya next time, Internet Drifters!