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The Grand Budapest Hotel Analysis

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The Grand Budapest Hotel is a story of an extravagant hotel managed by extravagant people in the extravagant—and fictional—country of Zubrowka. The story is told in four different time periods and in several different parts. In order of appearance, the first storyline is presumably in present of a young girl visiting a monument to the hotel, then the setting jumps to the author of the story of The Grand Budapest Hotel, again it jumps to the present-day hotel, and finally Zero’s story of how the hotel was while he was a lobby boy. Zero tells of the past grandeurs of the hotel and its concierge, Gustave H. He finds himself wrapped up in a murder mystery involving one of Gustave H’s closest visitors, the wealthy Madame D. Gustave is accused and sent to prison, and Zero becomes his outside accomplice. After breaking him out of prison, Zero attends to Gustave while he embarks on a quest to clear his name. Their adventure ends in success and Gustave inherits all of Madame D’s riches. Gustave entrusts ownership of the Grand Budapest Hotel to Zero. Even though the hotel falls into disrepair, Zero still visits in an attempt to relive these days, even sleeping in his old, cramped servant room.
One theory regarding The Grand Budapest Hotel is that it is taking place before, during, and after the Holocaust. There are many subtle parallels between this fantasy world and Europe throughout the film, but the one that stands out most is the military seizure of The Grand Budapest. Banners

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