History Film / TheGrandBudapestHotel

** To those who know how "Kovacs" is properly pronounced - it is "Kovatch" ("cs" is pronounced as "tch" in Hungarian), actually a common last name for Central and Southern Europe - hearing it spoken all the time as "Kovax" is an additional small source of humour.

* {{Ruritania}}: With its mix of German, Hungarian and Slavic naming elements, Catholicism, fallen nobility and rising fascists, Zubrowka is strongly reminiscent of the former lands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire between the wars. Zubrowka takes cues from a ''lot'' of countries, including Austria (due to the aforementioned Austro-Hungarian bent), Hungary (ditto), Czechoslovakia, Germany (it was largely filmed in Saxony), Poland (the city name Lutz being a shout out to Łódź, and Zubrowka actually being a Polish beverage), Switzerland (the yodeling at the beginning of the film is a Swiss tune), Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Russia (much of the film's music, particularly the one playing over the credits, is actually Russian).

** To those who know how "Kovacs" is properly pronounced - it is "Kovatch" ("cs" is pronounced as "tch" in Hungarian), actually a common last name in other languages of the Central and Southern Europe as well - hearing it spoken all the time as "Kovax" is an additional small source of humour.

* SophisticatedAsHell: The juxtaposition of aristocratic dignity and civility with human brutality and obscenity runs throughout the entire movie. Characters will be speaking in the most polite, clipped, sophisticated language to each other, before suddenly and momentarily lapsing into the most hilarious vulgarity.

->''"You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... [[SophisticatedAsHell oh, fuck it]]."''

->''"You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant...[[SophisticatedAsHell oh, fuck it]]."''

Mr. Moustafa [[NestedStory lived through]] the glory days of 1932, when he was a young immigrant lobby boy (Revolori) being trained by legendary concierge M. Gustave H. (Fiennes). The hotel is glorious, the clientele is rich, and the concierge keeps everything twirling. But danger strikes in the midst of this paradise when M. Gustave is accused... of ''murder!'' What follows is a madcap caper of art, war, secrecy, and, of course, true love.

The film was nominated for nine UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. It ended up winning four of those awards: Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Score (for Desplat), and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. It also won [=BAFTA=]s for those four categories, as well as Best Original Screenplay.

** [[spoiler:When the film makes us momentarily think that Jopling has murdered Agatha, but it's actually the less significant character of Serge's sister.]]

** Gustave gives one of his fellow inmates a bowl of porridge on the day he and his cellmates make their plan to escape. [[spoiler:Later, during the actual escape, that same inmate prevents his own cellmate from ratting them out to the guards, allowing Gustave and co. to carry on.]]

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Zero is a nice young man... [[spoiler:which doesn't stop him from throwing Jopling over a cliff to save Gustave, and seemingly having no qualms whatsoever afterwards.]] Also, stealing the painting is his idea in the first place.

* BittersweetEnding: So much of the film is in flashback, and much has been lost simply because so many years have passed since the story's events. To wit: [[spoiler:Gustave is vindicated of any involvement in Madame D's murder and inherits a large sum of her fortune, including the Grand Budapest, leaving Dimitri with nothing. However, Mr. Gustave is shortly thereafter executed by a fascist death squad, leaving everything to Zero. Soon afterwards Zero's wife and infant child both die from an infectious disease (one which moreover, Zero bitterly remarks, would later become easily treatable). Zero lives at the Grand Budapest while history marches on and the hotel diminishes, decays, and is eventually demolished after his death. However, thanks to the Author's book, the dream of the Grand Budapest at the height of its elegance lives on. Pilgrims come from far and wide to hang hotel keys on the Author's grave.]]

* ChekhovsGunman: The scar-faced inmate who likes the mush Gustave makes. [[spoiler:He lets him and his mates escape when his cellmate tries to call the guards on them.]]

* CommieLand: The grim, faded Zubrowka seen in the 1960s is heavily implied to be part of the UsefulNotes/WarsawPact. Mr. Moustafa notes that the once sumptuous steam baths in the Grand Budapest could not have been maintained because they were "too decadent for current tastes." [[spoiler:The Author later notes that Mr. Moustafa handed over his great fortune to the local commissar to stop the hotel falling into government hands as "communal property"... and it still failed to stop it being demolished, though probably only after his death.]]

* CreatorThumbprint: Mocked by Wes Anderson himself. An article reviewing his films noticed that he has a habit of killing dogs. In this film, however, he kills a cat. [[spoiler:It was the attorney's cat, and it was [[DestinationDefenestration thrown out the window]].]]

* DisproportionateRetribution: Gustave [[spoiler:steals a priceless painting that (rightfully) belongs to him]]. Dmitri responds by [[spoiler:framing him for murder -- though he hasn't even realized the painting was stolen, it's out of spite for Gustave even being on the testament.]]

* {{Dramedy}}: The movie cycles between comedy and drama at points, most notably [[BittersweetEnding in the end]]. [[spoiler:After figuring out and foiling the plot, Gustave ends up rich and happy and Zero is successful and married; this quickly turns awful when Gustave is executed by fascist militants, Agatha and her child later die from an easily-curable disease, and Zero inherits the hotel only for it to turn obsolete.]]

* FlowerMotifs: Downplayed, bordering on FreezeFrameBonus. In the scene where grown-up Zero and the Author sit down to have a long dinner, there are two flowers in a vase - a daffodil, and a twig of rosemary. In floriography, daffodils symbolize chivalry (a guiding principle of Gustave's life) and rosemary symbolizes remembrance (Zero lives more in memory than in the present these days).

* HeroOfAnotherStory: The Student's tribute to the Author's gravestone (which is covered in other similar tributes in the form of keys) and the Author's narration makes it clear that the story of the Grand Budapest Hotel was just one of many, many stories the Author uncovered.

** [[spoiler:Kovacs, Serge's sister, Agatha and Gustave.]]

* MacGuffin: The painting "Boy with Apple." [[spoiler:It's first and last seen in the Grand Budapest in the '60s, unnoticed and hanging crooked.]]
* ManlyFacialHair: Gustave manages the seemingly impossible feat of a mustache that is both badass ''and'' elegant. In imitation a young Zero takes to penciling on a fake mustache. [[spoiler:By the end he has grown a real one.]]

* MilkmanConspiracy: A late part of the movie involves the Society of the Crossed Keys, a clandestine international network of hotel concierges, which provides help to Gustave (who is a member himself) to discover [[spoiler:where Serge, Madame D.'s murder witness, is hiding.]] Likely based on the real-life Society of the Golden Keys, a network of concierges that exists within Great Britain and the Commonwealth. Even the emblem and lapel pins are nearly identical, two crossed gold keys.

** Gustave, who, as it turns out, shares Zero's experience in having... well, zero, in addition to [[spoiler:having been a lobby boy himself.]]
** Zero, as well, up until Gustave snaps at him for not bringing the Panache perfume after his escape -- [[spoiler:it's revealed all his family were executed in a war, and those who survived were forced to flee.]]

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Inspector Henckels. When the soldiers rough up Gustave and Zero on the train, Henckels hears them out and tells Gustave to contact him if there is any further trouble with Zero's immigration status. He handles the deaths and crimes that take place very seriously, doesn't allow Jopling to hang around a crime scene (and makes it quite clear he knows he's somehow responsible for [[spoiler:Kovacs' murder]]) and makes finding the murderer of [[spoiler:Serge's sister]] top priority. [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, when a gunfight breaks out between Dmitri (who is trying to shoot Gustave) and the other soldiers staying in the hotel, he orders a full ceasefire and tries to find out who started everything. Upon learning that Dmitri began it but was shooting at a man already wanted for various other crimes including the alleged murder of Dmitri's mother, Henckels orders ''everyone'' to stay where they are until he's had a chance to get to the bottom of things. And when Agatha finds a letter hidden with the painting, he hears her out and reads it in front of everybody, clearing Gustave's name and getting him a fortune.]]

* StockScream: Jopling gives the "Howie Long" variant after [[spoiler:Zero pushes him off a cliff.]]

* ANaziByAnyOtherName: The Fascists in the film are the "Zig-Zag Party," not the Nazis, though that's the role they fill given the period the film is set in. Their emblem is two "Z"s in the shape of lightning bolts, resembling a reverse of the Nazi SS's logo.

** After the prison breakout, Inspector Henckels instructs his crew to [[Film/TheFugitive set up roadblocks in a 50 km radius, stop all trains within a 100 km radius and search every house, farmhouse, bakery etc. We're looking for Mr Gustave H]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Gustave. The moment that best demonstrates this is the scene that takes place after Gustave's jail break. After Zero forgets the l'Air de Panache, Gustave launches into a fairly politically incorrect rant out of frustration; when he learns, however, that [[spoiler:Zero is a refugee who lost his family and friends to execution or exile because of war]], he immediately takes back everything he said, calls himself out on his own selfishness and insensitivity, refuses to accept Zero's JerkJustifications and apologises sincerely while [[SoProudOfYou telling Zero he's proud of him]]. It's a touching moment, and marks a turning point in their relationship from a typical Vernian master-and-servant duo to TrueCompanions.

* PaintingTheMedium: The film repeatedly switches among various {{Aspect Ratio}}s depending on the current time period being showcased; scenes taking place in the 1930s are in 4:3, scenes set in the 1980s are in 16:9, and scenes set in the 1960s are in 21:9.

* PaintingTheMedium: The film repeatedly switches among various {{Aspect Ratio}}s depending on the current time period being showcased; scenes taking place in the 1930's are in 4:3, scenes set in the 1980's are in 16:9, and scenes set in the 1960's are in 21:9.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Inspector Henckels. When the soldiers rough up Gustave and Zero on the train, Henckels hears them out and tells Gustave to contact him if there is any further trouble with Zero's immigration status. He handles the deaths and crimes that take place very seriously, doesn't allow Jopling to hang around a crime scene (and makes it quite clear he knows he's somehow responsible for [[spoiler:Kovacs's murder]]) and makes finding the murderer of [[spoiler:Serge's sister]] top priority. [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, when a gunfight breaks out between Dmitri (who is trying to shoot Gustave) and the other soldiers staying in the hotel, he orders a full ceasefire and tries to find out who started everything. Upon learning that Dmitri began it but was shooting at a man already wanted for various other crimes including the alleged murder of Dmitri's mother, Henckels orders ''everyone'' to stay where they are until he's had a chance to get to the bottom of things. And when Agatha finds a letter hidden with the painting, he hears her out and reads it in front of everybody, clearing Gustave's name and getting him a fortune.]]

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Kovacs' very precise manner of speaking.

* DecapitationPresentation: When Inspector Henckels pulls Serge sister's head out of the basket.

* DisproportionateRetribution: Gustave [[spoiler:steals a priceless painting that (rightfully) belongs to him.]]. Dmitri responds by [[spoiler:framing him for murder -- though he hasn't even realized the painting was stolen, it's out of spite for Gustave even being on the testament.]]

* FirstNameBasis: Both Gustave and Serge are known only by their first names and even in the most official context only the first letters of their surnames are given, H. and X. respectively, and X. may be indicative only of a lack of known last name. The Society of Crossed Keys also all go by "Monsieur [first name]."

* LostInTransmission: Surprisingly averted when Gustave calls the Society of Crossed Keys for emergency assistance. Despite being relayed via telephone through no fewer than five concierges, with each conversation lasting mere seconds, Gustave's message is conveyed perfectly to its final recipient. {{Justified}} since the message is being relayed by the staff of the best hotels in Europe; [[FridgeBrilliance it is a given that they would execute any request to the letter]].

* MenacingStroll: Dmitri attempts this while following Agatha, but when he rounds a corner he realizes that she started running as soon as she was out of sight, forcing him to start frantically sprinting after her.
* MilkmanConspiracy: A late part of the movie involves the Society of Crossed Keys, a clandestine international network of hotel concierges, which provides help to Gustave (who is a member himself) to discover [[spoiler:where Serge, Madame D.'s murder witness, is hiding.]] Likely based on the real-life Society of the Golden Keys, a network of concierges that exists within Great Britain and the Commonwealth. Even the emblem and lapel pins are nearly identical, two crossed gold keys.

** Gustave makes a formal request of the Society of Crossed Keys, a network of other concierges at other classy hotels. There follows a long sequence of each member being interrupted to take a phone call and then calling the next member to pass on the information.

* SkewedPriorities: Apparently the [[spoiler:Society of Crossed Keys]] will abandon whatever they're doing to help a fellow member, up to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and assisting evacuation during a fire.

** The film uses a large amount of miniature models for exteriors. The sled chase scene is the most obvious example.

** When Madame D. begs M. Gustave to accompany her home, he chuckles and says "To fucking ''Lutz?''", implying he hates the place. In a previous film, one of Ralph Fiennes' underlings feels the same way about being Film/InBruges.
* AffablyEvil: The inmates Gustave becomes friends with. Gustave beats the stuffing out of one of them, Pinky, for questioning his virility, [[DefeatMeansFriendship which earns him their respect.]] Later, they come to regard him as one of their own, and incorporate him into their plan to escape from Checkpoint 19. After they escape, Ludwig wishes him and Zero the best, right before they kill an innocent man and hijack his car to escape.
* TheAlcatraz: Checkpoint 19 where Gustave is held awaiting trial.
* AmbiguouslyBi: M. Gustave is foppish, claims, "I go to bed with all my friends", and responds to the remark, "We think you're a real straight fellow," with, "Well, I've never been accused of that before." He's never actually shown engaging in sexual activity with anyone but women, however, so the ambiguity is probably intentional.
-->'''Gustave:''' I thought I was supposed to be a "fucking faggot."\\
'''Dmitri:''' ''[beat]'' ...You ''are,'' but you're bisexual.
* AnachronismStew: In a few ways, ranging from props (e.g. Henckels using an electric megaphone) to people using terms that would not be seen for decades (e.g. "candy-ass"), to historical references: after PuttingOnTheReich all through the war and suggesting that CommieLand immediately follows, the film informs us that [[spoiler:Agatha and her baby]] died after the war from the "Prussian grippe," a clear Expy of UsefulNotes/TheSpanishFlu which killed millions right after World War ''One''.

* AndStarring: During the end credits: "Introducing Creator/TonyRevolori as Zero".

* ArcSymbol: Two crossed keys, a symbol of the aptly named [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Society of the Crossed Keys"]], are seen at several points throughout the movie.

** After being thoroughly unimpressed with Zero's resume, Gustave asks him why he wants to be a lobby boy. Without a hint of sarcasm, Zero responds "Who wouldn't at the Grand Budapest, sir? It's an institution." He's hired on the spot.

** After killing [[spoiler:Jopling]] and before making their escape, Gustave has them pause for a moment of silence for "a loyal servant killed violently in the conduct of his duties." At first it seems like a bit of black comedy as a memorial to the man who just tried to kill them but then Zero chimes in with a short "Goodbye [[spoiler:Serge]]".

** The same applies for the German names: Nebelsbad literally means "fog bath". Lutz (possibly a play on the real Polish town of Łódź) is actually a pet name for "Ludwig" (Louis).
* BittersweetEnding: So much of the film is in flashback, and much has been lost simply because so many years have passed since the story's events. To wit: [[spoiler: Gustave is vindicated of any involvement in Madame D's murder and inherits a large sum of her fortune, including the Grand Budapest, leaving Dimitri with nothing. However, Mr. Gustave is shortly thereafter executed by a fascist death squad, leaving everything to Zero. Soon afterwards Zero's wife and infant child both die from an infectious disease (one which moreover, Zero bitterly remarks, would later become easily treatable). Zero lives at the Grand Budapest while history marches on and the hotel diminishes, decays, and is eventually demolished after his death. However, thanks to the Author's book, the dream of the Grand Budapest at the height of its elegance lives on. Pilgrims come from far and wide to hang hotel keys on the Author's grave.]]

* BondVillainStupidity: Jopling dramatically taking his time to kick free a cliffside somebody is clinging to, [[spoiler: which gives Zero the chance to [[DisneyVillainDeath shove him off of it]] from behind]]. He also had an excellent opportunity to kill Gustave and Zero as well as [[spoiler: Serge]] in the monastery, but leaves after accomplishing the last.
** Dmitri's similarly drawn-out pursuit of [[spoiler: Agatha]]. He even manages to easily corner her in an elevator and not-so-surreptitiously confirm she's holding [[spoiler: "Boy With Apple"]], yet allows her to exit and waits for a few seconds before following, presumably for the opportunity to menacingly stroll after her for effect. This allows her to escape when rounding a corner puts her out of sight for a moment, during which she breaks into a sprint and is halfway up the hall before he realizes it.

** Madame D's dress sense pegs her as an artifact of the Georgian period even further back.

* EndOfAnAge: The film is set immediately before the outbreak of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII (or a close fictional analogue) in Europe. The war, and [[spoiler: the end of Gustave's reign as concierge]], signal the end of the hotel's glory days of glamour, which is DoomedByCanon by the early scenes in the hotel's sad state in the 60's.
* EvilIsPetty: While Mr. Gustave is set to inherit "Boy With Apple" (said to be a very expensive work of art), Dmitri is still the heir to almost the entirety of his mother's vast estate. Dmitri's attempt to keep this ''single painting'' out of the hands of Mr. Gustave is the basis for the entire movie.

** The MacGuffin painting titled "Boy with Apple".
** The replacement painting is named in the credits as "[[GirlOnGirlIsHot Two Lesbians Masturbating]]".

* FirstNameBasis: Both Gustave and Serge are known only by their first names and even in the most official context only the first letters of their surnames are given, H. and X. respectively, and X. may be indicative only of a lack of known last name. The Society of Crossed Keys also all go by "Monsieur [first name]".

** These and other clippings, such as the report of [[spoiler: Deputy Kovacs's]] death, are reproduced in full in a booklet included in Creator/TheCriterionCollection's 2020 [=DVD=]/Blu-Ray release.

* {{Homage}}: As pointed out by [[https://youtu.be/3GK_3KgZios?t=187 this video]], the sequence where Kovacs is pursued by Jopling is nearly a shot for shot recreation of a very similar sequence from ''Film/TornCurtain'', down to the way both characters turn before exiting the museum. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, Kovacs isn't as lucky as Paul Newman's character]].
* HopeSpot: When Kovacs is chased across the Kunstmuseum by Jopling, he opens a door and sees a bicycle standing outside, [[HeroStoleMyBike ready to be used for his escape]]. [[spoiler:However, before he can do so, Kovacs is being pulled back into the building and KilledOffscreen by Jopling]].
* IdiotBall: Deputy Kovacs realises, while on a public tram, that he is being pursued by an assassin, so he gets off at the next stop and wanders into a near-empty art museum all alone.

* KickTheDog: When [[spoiler:Jopling defenestrates Kovacs's cat in front of him, a couple of hours before murdering Kovacs himself]].

** Madame D, whose death drives the plot forward.

** Agatha and Zero hanging from below the balcony at the Grand Budapest Hotel. Their fall gets [[CarCushion cushioned by Mendl's delivery van]].

* MacGuffin: The painting "Boy with Apple". [[spoiler:It's first and last seen in the Grand Budapest in the '60s, unnoticed and hanging crooked.]]

* MenacingMuseum: Deputy Kovacs realizes he's being tailed by Jopling and tries to lose him in the Kunstmuseum. Unfortunately, he happened to try this around closing time, meaning that the museum is almost deserted and also worryingly dark, resulting in a very tense pursuit through the shadows. [[spoiler: It ends with Kovacs losing all the fingers on one hand, then being beaten to death and stuffed into a sarcophagus.]]

* MilkmanConspiracy: A late part of the movie involves the Society of Crossed Keys, a clandestine international network of hotel concierges, which provides help to Gustave (who is a member himself) to discover [[spoiler:where Serge, Madame D's murder witness, is hiding.]] Likely based on the real-life Society of the Golden Keys, a network of concierges that exists within Great Britain and the Commonwealth. Even the emblem and lapel pins are nearly identical, two crossed gold keys.

* ANaziByAnyOtherName: The Fascists in the film are the "Zig-Zag Party", not the Nazis, though that's the role they fill given the period the film is set in. Their emblem is two "Z"s in the shape of lightning bolts, resembling a reverse of the Nazi SS's logo.
* NestedStory: The plot goes about four levels deep: the film opens with a present-day student reading the memoirs of a late author; said author writes his memoir in 1985; said memoirs cover The Author's stay at the Grand Budapest in 1968; during the said stay, he meets hotel owner Zero Moustafa, and hears his story of how he moved from lobby boy to the proprietor in 1932.

* NoNameGiven: The character played by Tom Wilkinson and (as a younger man) by Jude Law is never given a name. He's listed as "Author" both on the credits and his own monument, and the credits and subtitles call his younger self "Young Writer". The young woman in the beginning is also known only as "Student" in the credits.

* PaintingTheMedium: The film repeatedly switches among various AspectRatio[=s=] depending on the current time period being showcased; scenes taking place in the 1930's are in 4:3, scenes set in the 1980's are in 16:9, and scenes set in the 1960's are in 21:9.

** Zero and Gustave use a humorously pornographic painting ([[AllThereInTheManual the credits title it]] "Two Lesbians Masturbating") to replace "Boy with Apple", yet Dmitri doesn't notice until much later.

** The ''Boy With Apple'' painting can be seen in the 1968 Grand Budapest Hotel (hanging behind the Concierge desk) before it becomes relevant to the plot. Also, Monsieur Jean has Crossed Keys lapel pins, and a similar design on a placard beneath his desk.

''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' is a 2014 comedy film released written and directed by Creator/WesAnderson, inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig. The film stars Creator/JudeLaw, Creator/FMurrayAbraham, Creator/RalphFiennes Creator/AdrienBrody, Creator/SaoirseRonan, Creator/BillMurray and Creator/WillemDafoe among [[TheCameo many]], [[AllStarCast many others]]. Music/AlexandreDesplat composed the soundtrack.

The film takes place in [[{{Ruritania}} Zubrowka]], a Mitteleuropean nation that was "once the seat of an empire" but is now recovering from war, poverty and rule by first fascists and then communists. [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep "The Author"]] (Tom Wilkinson) relates the story of the Grand Budapest Hotel: in 1968, the Author (played as a younger man by Law) took a trip to the alpine hotel, by then very much fallen on hard times. He met the owner, Mr. Zero Moustafa (Abraham), who told him the story of how the hotel fell into his possession and why he maintains it despite its clear decline.

''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' is a comedy film released in 2014. It was written and directed by Creator/WesAnderson and inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig. Music/AlexandreDesplat composed the soundtrack.

The film takes place in [[{{Ruritania}} Zubrowka]], a Mitteleuropean nation that was "once the seat of an empire" but is now recovering from war, poverty and rule by first fascists and then communists. [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep "The Author"]] (Tom Wilkinson) relates the story of the Grand Budapest Hotel: in 1968, the Author (played as a younger man by Creator/JudeLaw) took a trip to the alpine hotel, by then very much fallen on hard times. He met the owner, Mr. Zero Moustafa (Creator/FMurrayAbraham), who told him the story of how the hotel fell into his possession and why he maintains it despite its clear decline.

Mr. Moustafa [[NestedStory lived through]] the glory days of 1932, when he was a young immigrant lobby boy (played by Creator/TonyRevolori) being trained by legendary concierge M. Gustave H. (Creator/RalphFiennes). The hotel is glorious, the clientele is rich, and the concierge keeps everything twirling. But danger strikes in the midst of this paradise when M. Gustave is accused... of ''murder!'' What follows is a madcap caper of art, war, secrecy, and, of course, true love.

The film also stars Creator/AdrienBrody, Creator/SaoirseRonan, Creator/BillMurray and Creator/WillemDafoe among [[TheCameo many]], [[AllStarCast many others]]. It was nominated for nine UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. It ended up winning four of those awards, for Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Score (for Alexandre Desplat), and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. It also won [=BAFTA=]s for those four categories, as well as Best Original Screenplay.

* DistinguishedGentlemansPipe: The Author.

* ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow: RareMaleExample with Jopling.

* FirstNameBasis: Both Gustave and Serge are known only by their first names and even in the most official context only the first letters of their surnames are given, H and X respectively, and X may be indicative only of a lack of known last name. The Society of Crossed Keys also all go by "Monsieur [first name]".

** [[spoiler: Kovacs, Serge's sister, Agatha and Gustave.]]

* LowSpeedChase: Many example, many taking place inside the Grand Budapest, perhaps justified by the decorum and elegance it imposes imposed.
** Most notably, the film's climax involves an extended sequence in which [[spoiler: Agatha retrieves the painting, is pursued by Dmitri, and both are pursued by Zero and Gustave]], nearly all at walking speed.

* NiceToTheWaiter: Jopling, [[TheDragon of all people]], is shown tipping a gas station attendant who refuels his motorcycle.

* ShootTheDog: Zero [[spoiler: pushes Jopling off the cliff]], an action that is a surprising act of violence for him, but allows him to save Gustave and resolve that whole plotline.

** The Desgoffe-und-Taxis family are a nod to the real-world Central European aristocratic Thurn und Taxis family, who had a virtual monopoly of courier services in the early modern era and are still extremely wealthy. Which might also be a ShoutOut to ''Literature/TheCryingOfLot49'' by Creator/ThomasPynchon, featuring Thurn and Taxis.

* UnconventionalVehicleChase: [[spoiler: Jopling]] escapes the monastery on skis, and Zero and Gustave pursue him on a dogless dogsled down the mountain.

* OnlySaneMan: In a cast where everyone is just a little bit out there, Deputy Kovacz - the inversion of the AmoralAttorney - and Inspector Henkels - perhaps the most honorable military or peace-keeping captain in the film - stand out as relatively normal. Especially notable with Henkels, who chases down Gustave first for his theft of ''Boy with Apple'' and then for the escape from Checkpoint 19 prison, but also approves Zero's work status as a immigrant [[spoiler:/refugee]] and oversees and approves the reading of the second will that [[spoiler:transfers everything over to M. Gustave]].

* AmoralAttorney: Inverted. Not only is Deputy Kovacs honest, he actually refuses to act corruptly ''because'' he's an attorney. [[spoiler: Sadly, Jopling murders him when the Desgoffe-und-Taxis discover he can't be bought.]]

* TheDragon: Jopling is this to Dimitri.

* {{Fingore}}: [[spoiler:Kovacs's fingers are severed when Jopling slams a door on them.]]

* InstantDogend: M. Jean.

* NaziNobleman: Dmitri is associated with Zubrowka's "Zig-Zag" fascist movement.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Dmitri calls Gustave a "fucking faggot" when accusing him of seducing his mother. When Gustave points out how the accusations conflict, Dmitri covers by claiming that Gustave's bisexual. He also calls him a "fruit", which had similar connotations.

* SelfMadeOrphan: [[spoiler:Dmitri is guilty of this, and the murder is what sets off the plot.]]

* TattooedCrook: Creator/HarveyKeitel's convict character, Ludwig, who plots the escape with his shirt off.

* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:Jopling is pushed by Zero down a cliff and plummet to his death.]]

** When Madame D. begs M. Gustave to accompany her home, he chuckles and says "To fucking ''Lutz?''", implying he hates the place. In a previous film, one of Ralph Fiennes's underlings feels the same way about being Film/InBruges.

* TheAlcatraz: Check-Point 19 where Gustave is held awaiting trial.

* CreatorThumbprint: Mocked by Wes Anderson himself. An article reviewing his films noticed that he has a habit of killing dogs. In this film, however, he kills a cat. [[spoiler:It was the attorney's cat, and it was thrown out the window.]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Gustave is vindicated of any involvement in Madame D's murder and inherits a large sum of her fortune, leaving Dimitri with nothing (though he escapes). However, the hotel falls on hard times, Gustave is shot by enemy soldiers after defending Zero yet again, and Zero grows old and lonely after Agatha and his infant son succumb to a fatal disease. The story of the Grand Budapest does live on long after the building is demolished however, immortalized by the Author -- his book was apparently so successful that not only was he buried in Zubrowka, but people come from far and wide to hang hotel keys on his grave.]]

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Inspector Henckels. When the soldiers rough up Gustave and Zero on the train, Henckels hears them out and tells Gustave to contact him if there is any further trouble with Zero's immigration status. He handles the deaths and crimes that take place very seriously, doesn't allow Jopling to hang around a crime scene (and makes it quite clear he knows he's somehow responsible for [[spoiler:Kovacs's murder]]) and makes finding the murderer of [[spoiler:Serge's sister]] top priority. [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, when a gunfight breaks out between Dmitri (who is trying to shoot Gustave) and the other soldiers staying in the hotel, he orders a full ceasefire and tries to find out who started everything. Upon learning that Dmitri began it but was shooting at a man already wanted for various other crimes including the alleged murder of Dmitri's mother, Henckels orders ''everyone'' to stay where they're at until he's had a chance to get to the bottom of things. And when Agatha finds a letter hidden with the painting, he hears her out and reads it in front of everybody, clearing Gustave's name and getting him a fortune.]]

* TranslationConvention: Most of the on-screen text (signs, newspapers, documents, etc.) is in English (with several instances of German), so is the dialogue (with some instances of subtitled French and one instance of unsubtitled German), leading to the conclusion that English stands in for Zubrowkan language for the viewers' convenience.