Earlier in the week, with a bunch of friends, Rachelle and I went to see Wes Anderson\u2019s latest film The Grand Budapest Hotel. It\u2019s probably fair to say that at this point you\u2019re either a fan of Anderson\u2019s or you\u2019re not. I have always counted myself in the fan camp. His movies are really stories for boys, child-like fantasies that play out like romantic adventures, each one delicately shadowed with a sense of melancholy.<\/p>\n
At the core of the velocity and visual charisma that characterizes his films there\u2019s always a sense of sadness, of a longing that can never quite be realized. However, that sorrow, which is always gently romanticized, never comes to the painful fore but is used more as a prop, with the characters ultimately marching eccentrically past their emotional baggage to their self-determined destinies.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n Some people see this as a failure on Anderson\u2019s part, proof that he will never become an adult director but will always fuss about in a kind of Never-Never Land where nostalgia, loyalty, ardor and boyish courage take the day. For me, that\u2019s enough, and I\u2019m content in middle age to settle into the soft spot of these modern fairy tales for boys.<\/p>\n However, I\u2019d heard great, almost hysterical things about The Grand Budapest Hotel, with critics and friends hailing it as a masterpiece and Anderson\u2019s best, most accomplished work yet.<\/p>\n