The Strange Reality of The Grand Budapest Hotel

Get a whole month of great cinema FREE with MUBI: mubi.com/thomasflight
References:
The Wes Anderson Collection by Matt Zoller Seitz: amzn.to/3NM6jq1
The Society of the Crossed Keys: amzn.to/3Xt2ut6
Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig: amzn.to/447QIag
The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig: amzn.to/3PxWY6o
An Impossible Exile by George Prochnik: amzn.to/3psJtdN
NY Times article by Christopher Gray: www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/re...
Thank You to Dave Wiskus for the footage of 22 Vanderbilt
& to Barbara Ender for the photo of the Village Voice Bookshop
Additional Images licensed by Getty Images
// Watch this video ad-free on Nebula with a special delete scene at the end:
nebula.tv/thomasflight
-My Podcast Cinema of Meaning:
Ad-Free and early on Nebula: Nebula: nebula.tv/cinemaofmeaning
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4n6zZZQ...
iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
-Rent or Buy My Experimental Documentary:
labyrinthion.com
-Read My Newsletter:
thomasflight.substack.com/
// SUPPORT MY WORK
-Support my channel directly on Patreon: / thomasflight
Patrons get access to a discord community, monthly podcast reviews of everything I watch, and more!
-Sign up for Nebula using my Link: nebula.tv/thomasflight
(using my link helps support my channel financially)
// FOLLOW ME
-Twitter: / thomasflight
-Website: www.thomasflight.com
-Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/thomasflight/
-TikTok: / thomas.flight
// CONTACT ME
-sponsorship and Business inquiries: [e-mail]
-Questions, feedback, other stuff: [e-mail]
(check out my FAQ as well: www.thomasflight.com/faq)
// GEAR I USE: thomasflight.com/gear
#ThomasFlight #VideoEssay

[@sydposting]

I was working at a hotel when Grand Budapest came out in theaters and was just delighted at how sincere it was at depicting the kind of passion some people have for hospitality. The concierge sequence in particular made me so happy, there was almost a sense of honor and respect for the profession in how it depicted these impossibly competent servants. Might be a bit of a weird reason to love a movie, but it resonated with me!

[@antlerbraum2881]

It definitely has a sort of earnest respect towards it.

[@bkbj8282]

Yeah it's almost like you've missed the point of the movie by making it about yourself.

[@guillermogilthemessenger]

@@bkbj8282 you sir, have made this very comment section about yourself. Leave that man alone!

[@gregoriancalendar7747]

​@@bkbj8282you good sir are a hypocrite and I would suggest that you keep your abominable thoughts to yourself

[@KCJbomberFTW]

It’s true seeing an art form done perfectly is 😮

[@someguy1900]

"It was an enchanting old ruin. But I never managed to see it again." I remember a comment on a video showing the movie's ending that connected the quote to 'Old Europe' and the spiritual death of Imperial/Old Europe after the World Wars. After reading such comments, I realised that the movie is a great example of how stories are made to cope with the melancholy of losing a time that is no longer present. This video helped to articulate and explain my feelings about this movie.

[@mitchellskopic1825]

That quote haunts me. Thomas Flight hits on the brevity with which the raw expressions of pain pass in Grand Budapest. Despite being only two sentences, they've lingered with me and carry the entire weight of nostalgia the film achieves.

[@hammerbeam]

I think the multi layered facet also helps the story feel timeless. If you think about it everyone in the story is dead. The author wrote it years earlier about an old Zero, who outlived everyone in the story. That author, we learn in the beginning, has also died. The fact the story remains across these generations and continues to be passed down adds to its timeless quality.

[@gianb3952]

Also the fact that the first and last scenes are never given a date. It could be 1990, or 2010 or 2090 for all we know

[@trinaq]

My favourite Wes Anderson film to date. I love how whimsically quirky it is, and the narrative reflects Zero's memories, showing not only how events were remembered, but how they were experienced.

[@liberalsockpuppet4772]

I think the color palette is Zero's memory, painting his past with nostalgia.

[@dynomar11]

It's a beautiful story about stories and how stories are made and how people consume stories and what meaning they have

[@jakecreighton9039]

Love how your video is framed like a Wes Anderson scene. Straight on, symmetrical, meticulously decorated and set like a doll’s house. Plus boy with apple in the back. I see the resemblance

[@DusanPavlicek78]

Also the fact that he manually handles physical prints of the photos that he subsequently shows on the screen 😁

[@madsb6409]

I think one of the most interesting parts of Zweig's works, which always clearly shines through in nearly all of his stories, is his romantic view of Europe, especially Vienna and Paris, and how free and open he feelt in these places, and his attachment he feels towards it. One chapter in particular of Zweig's memoir (which was written close before he comitted suicide), he goes into detail about the eroticism in Vienna, which was hidden away behind closed doors, and not talked about in public. But Zweig felt an urge to put it into writing; try to capture all of these things, even though they were taboo subjects, because he felt it was lost. He was convinced that nazi germany would win the war, and all he loved would be lost forever. In his memoir "The world of yesterday" he recounts all of these memories of pre war Europe beautifully, but with a ever looming sadness. Nostalgia for whatever good of bad memories you have, is always painful. Zweig lost hope because he clung onto all the things that he lost, and never accepted the impermanent nature of all things. Although Zweig found love and beauty in the Brazilian nature, where he would spend the last parts of his life, he never found beauty in humanity again. Even though he was surrounded by people who loved him, and admirered him, he lived in the past, and he didnt want to let go of it, which let him down a tragic path. I just want to say to anyone reading this, that if you're feeling hopeless about our future; feeling like we're loosing what we love, don't get caught up in the past, live in the present. There is and always will be beauty in this world, and your happiness can never be taken away from you by any external forces. You can find beauty anywhere. Live in the present; love it; fight for it, but don't let it take your happiness from you

[@juliawidmaier5334]

Beautifully said 👏

[@heltaku9397]

I think what's kinda sad is that, regardless of whether they won the war or not, the Nazis still destroyed the beautiful past that Zweig clung to. It was an inevitability though. One way or another, things change. It's too bad he couldn't come to terms with that.

[@jameswood9512]

@@heltaku9397 I imagine that it's not merely the past that Zweig mourned, but the future as well. In these places he saw a way forward for the world, a model for what mankind could be. And what happened? It was not merely devastated but nearly exterminated. Even with the fall of the Nazi's, we still are gripping with the aftershocks of their horrendous ideology to this day. Look at how they went after gender institutions and how the bigotry there has only intensified as the past was seemingly swept from the publics mind. Look at the way that leftist politics is still treated as a bigger boogie man that actual fascists. Look at the far right rhetoric and ideology that's pervasive and on the rise across Europe and still with a stranglehold on American politics. Was he wrong? For all the good and growth the globe has done since ww2, that optimistic life that Zweig lived and saw is gone and not replaced by something better.

[@janedoe3043]

The pay is the only place where beauty can thrive

[@madsb6409]

@@jameswood9512 I think that in todays world, everything that is wrong with it; all the horrendous things that we do, is more visible to the naked eye than it ever has been. Personally, I have found myself worrying about things happening in America, even though i live in Europe; I've found myself worrying about sociopolitical problems all over the world. If you want to see wrong in the world, you always will be able to. I don't mean to say that you should turn a blind eye to the problems of the world, or that you shouldn't have compassion for the people facing injustice, but I believe that you can see the world for what it is, and still be happy; be fulfilled. I agree that we're seeing a rise of fascist and far right movements throughout the world, but I don't believe that in order to fight it, we need to be unhappy doing so, even if it feels like a loosing battle. It's important to see your emotions, not as something dictated by the world around you, but as something dictated by you. We don't need to torture our own mental health, in order to find the will, to make positive change. Your emotions, however hard they to control, are controlled by you, and you can choose to fight with compassion for what you love, instead of hatred for the injustice. You can be loving and still fight. It is of course easier for me to say all this, when I'm not the one facing opression. I could never imagien what it must have felt like; the emotional trauma that Zweig experienced, being forced to flee his home, having his family and friends executed by the nazi regime, seeing people of his faith get put into extermination camps, seeing his books burned, seeing Europe fall. But i don't believe that there is a point in your life where you have faced too much hardship to feel happiness again. My material conditions are not great, and I live in a country with great inequality, but im still fulfilled, even though i know that my conditions are unfair, and i'm fighting for change. You can always find happiness, no feeling is final

[@pashadwantara]

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a fascinating film. It's basically a story within a story. Well, actually four stories. The cinematography style, story arcs and the music are memorable to the viewers.

[@mdterps0325]

all of his stories are stories within stories! I think Thomas has spoken to this, actually

[@jaredt.murphy8257]

The line that you feature from M. Gustave right in the middle is one I hold near and dear. "Rudeness is merely an expression of fear." What a powerful sentence! I think of it often, for it explains so much of human behavior. Racism, war, even the smallest discourtesy is rooted in someone else's fear. I sense a similar "beautiful grief" in "Howl's Moving Castle". Between those two films, we find nostalgia for a time and place that never existed, but design, color, and style of an idea. Of decadence, of simplicity, of beauty, culture , all cut by the ugly knife of war. Now, add to that grief, as you eloquently described, our own modern hyperawareness, of the wide and deep darkness of humanity, of corruption and abuse that poisons our world seemingly without hope of defeat. I think that is what is so beautiful about that movie - because life is always ugly, it's just different now, less decadent. What, perhaps, is left behind, is a feeling. A craving and a yearning. That feeling which existed then, by gum, it exists in us still! That beauty is not gone from our human souls, and what a celebration of it Mr. Anderson has given us. Thank you, Thomas Flight - this made my day.

[@loganwelty7094]

What a beautifully written and thoughtful conversation Thomas. It’s so cool to see how much depth and research influenced one of the best movies of the last decade.

[@dmfitzsim]

Totally agree. It was an exercise in film critique to an exceptional level.

[@QuantumHistorian]

The way Thomas copies of idiosyncrasies of the film he's talking about, while talking about it, never ceases to make me smile. Not only is a fun joke, it also serves as an example of the point being made. Very clever. Any chance of a video on "Asteroid City" soon? I can't work out if it's a clever multi-layered work with deep symbolism, or merely masturbatory self indulgence; my opinion flips between the two extremes every time I think about it.

[@zachbagley6215]

Why are Wes Anderson haters so obsessed with masturbation

[@lindapgolan7070]

No offense, found it flat, boring, and charmless. Moonrise and GBH far superior

[@googoogaga7986]

I was kinda disappointed by Asteroid City, went to see it on the second of July for my 18th birthday but it fell flat, I wanted something zany, it had wes’s cinematography but felt empty and less well written and energetic as his other works, I think Wes made it to bring his work attention since it included so many celebs, I can’t blame him because his high effort, along with that of his team, deserves huge amounts of attention and more love that I’ve seen it recieve, but it was a discredit to be honest, deserved to be just as fun as his older films

[@ucantSQ]

If Asteroid City is masterbatory self-indugence, then sign me up. I've only seen it once, and I could have easily missed the crucial moment. I remember waiting... waiting... knowing that Wes Anderson delivers. For me, the whole film seemed to balance upon the scene on the balcony, the two actors talking across the alley. I found the film inpenetrable until that scene. The depth of that one scene lent credence and meaning to the seeming banality of the rest of the film. In some ways the film does fall flat, but it also seems like it's supposed to. And somehow, "falling flat" doesn't seem an inappropriate description of the aesthetic.

[@avisliberis]

This video is a work of art. It needs to be added to a Criterion version of the Grand Budapest disk.

[@multi_rosa]

@criterion

[@mdacostatuff7762]

@criterioncollection

[@Scipio488]

I'll have to take your word for it; I only lasted six minutes. But since the Criterion Collections consists of films that are IMPORTANT but not necessary GOOD, you may well be right.

[@duff3r00]

It really bums me out when people critique Grand Budapest as not “being about anything.” It always feels so easy and unwilling to actually dig in and try to figure out what it’s “about” or why having the obvious themes it does and the production, writing, directing, and performances aren’t enough. Just frustrates me because it’s by far my favorite Anderson

[@MariaVosa]

People must be blind, deaf and dumb (as in stupid). This movie is about a lot of heavy themes. It's about xenophobia, fascism, misogyny, classicism - and especially about their opposites: love, acceptance, respect, loyalty and bravery. I love this movie, and it never fails to make me cry.

[@duff3r00]

@@MariaVosa that’s what I’m saying!!! I feel like when people can’t identify a single extended metaphor they think it means the movie isn’t saying anything. Frustrating stuff

[@hastyscorpion]

@@MariaVosathose things are touched on. But it’s not really “about” any of them. The movie is pretty unfocused to me.

[@Trenz0]

How silly. Even if it wasn't about anything, why is that in and of itself a valid criticism? If a film is entertaining, evokes emotion, and expresses a style or beauty, who gives a shit if it's "about anything?"

[@duff3r00]

@@Trenz0 preaching to the damn choir pal

[@radioguy1667]

That's the thing. It was never the visual aspect that continues to attract me to Wes Anderson. I mean sure, it's cool and adds a lot. The thing that makes him stand out to me is how he is able to capture that specific kind of potent bittersweet melancholy that I rarely see portrayed ever (past and present). (I can only think of a few other things off the top of my head that do evoke it: The Charlie Brown Christmas Special and the ending of The Big Lebowski. Also Joe Pera.)

[@somethingunusual8456]

Totally agree. For me, the bittersweet melancholy staple is Series of Unfortunate events. I actually haven't heard about those you cited, I'm definitely checking that out

[@googoogaga7986]

Exactly! It feels like his films often bring back feelings that we remember from childhood or at least the whimsy of things children imagine up during their childhoods, a lot of them are warm, nostalgic and kind

[@Aardydarling]

Yes I love the happy sad movies so much

[@creativename8275]

You, you get it

[@lydia1634]

I wasn't interested in The Grand Budapest Hotel, until I read an Atlantic article arguing the movie is about the Holocaust. It shows a Europe about to be engulfed in Fascism in a story centered on a Queer man and a Romani-coded boy, and all of the beautiful things that were destroyed in the process. I watched the film afterward and definitely agree with this lens.

[@ultimateeick2910]

This is why you’re one of my favorite KZbinrs and probably my favorite video essayist. You take the themes of the media you discuss and you incorporate them into the very fabric of your essay in this really fantastic kind of way. Excellent video. I’m gonna go rewatch The Grand Budapest Hotel now.

[@DESSERT_X]

Same. He is my fave one too. He is Smart. Educated. Sophisticated. Cultured. The Grand Budapest Hotel is mesmerising. And I love Budapest and its Museums and Galleries.

[@kobuseksteen411]

Wes Andersen always hits you with a stabbing sudden emotional beat right after a sequence of quirky capers, and that makes it all the more poignant and effective. (The cheff scene in French Dispatch most recently caught me completely off guard.)

[@zitti6483]

Stefan Zweig's 'The World of Yesterday" is so immaculate, that is all.

[@paithancampbell7289]

I first saw this movie when living in Vienna in 2014. Then when I was living in Halle in 2020 I read all of Stefan Zweig's works. I had been to his house in Salzburg. I thought, when reading his work, that it reminded me a lot of this film. Cool connection made here.

[@jackiedaytona1017]

My favorite movie for so many reasons. The technical execution, the artistic direction, shot composition, dialogue, themes, humor. Every time I watch it, I smile, laugh, and try to hold back tears. It’s the entire package and so much more.

[@G3SM]

Wes Anderson’s meticulous attention to detail is incredible. His films are the only ones that consistently overwhelm my ability to take in the entirety of the moment, which I love. Kudos to you for consistently approaching your essays with a similar care and craft. I appreciate not only sharing in your appreciation, but learning at the same time.

[@robcampbell3387]

I think you absolutely nailed this. I love that you mention just how emotional the movie actually is. In general, Wes' movies tend to have a lot more depth and emotion than they're often given credit for, but GBH in particular definitely stands out among his work for this. There's a ton of sadness bubbling underneath the surface, and it's really a very melancholy (but beautiful) film. After seeing the movie a few times, old Zero recounting his story is absolutely heartbreaking.

[@sunb5738]

It always pains me so much when such grand and historical places are destroyed or replaced with modernity :(

[@jackzilla321]

Unfortunately the processes people use to preserve historical places are often abused- we encase the past in amber, turning swaths of cities into museums with no life of their own. stories allow us to preserve the past without needing material relics that can stand in the way of the future.

[@caringheart34]

Modern architecture really does suck with the brutalism and all

[@SodiumWage]

I think one of the (many) reasons why the film speaks to people is because we recognize that a disease is again present in our society and that same disease was once responsible for the murder of millions. But because (in part) because of Zweig and Anderson, we're armed with the knowledge of what to do before that disease kills us and takes our dreams away. We can't just sit aside and remain nostalgic for our past at the expense of the future, we have to actively fight against anyone who tries to take that past (and our future) from us.

[@Bushflare]

Wether you’re being literal about the coronavirus or figurative about fascism you’ve got the spirit of the work right but are applying it incorrectly. It’s laudable to be aware of forces in society but it’s somewhat insulting to the memories of the people who suffered under those forces in their extremes to catastrophise extremely minor expressions of those forces as though they pose as much of a threat as the ones which upturned society. Moreover it places one at risk of ignoring people suffering under far more potent extremes to which you’re not attuned. The ghosts of the past are scary but ultimately just images of what is long since dead. One’s attention is better paid to the contemporary circumstances which motivate those who threaten their revival. A small fire cannot spread if you take away the fuel keeping it burning.

[@Laocoon283]

Meh Camus' The Plague did it better

[@dahterrasse]

The more I think about Grand Budapest Hotel, the closer it moves me to tears. I feel we live in a time of great loss, and experience myself being torn between a deep sense of grief, an attitude of cynicism, and then again a thoroughly moving appreciation for beauty and art. Grand Budapest Hotel captures these feelings and adds to them in the most perfected way I could even imagine.

[@bruuuuuuuuuuni]

Thomas, I appreciate your fearlessness in experimenting more and more with the medium itself to convey your points, and in venturing towards ever more abstract and nuanced points in your essays. Please keep it coming!

[@davidci]

I've been on a Grand Budapest Hotel streak recently, rewatching it twice already and admiring even more details than I had before. I'm so happy to get to learn even more about this amazing movie!

[@ScopeView007]

This is my single favorite film ever made. The score, coloring, story, characters, and everything else made for a truly magical experience. It has this whimsical feel to it that no other film has replicated

[@whatkindofnameisella682]

this is an absolutely amazing video essay, and among all the new things i realized about wes anderson's works while listening to you, one of them was the thought that a lot of these ideas about the power of stories to keep alive lost times, people, and places carry over into the french dispatch. of course the whole thing is framed as an obituary, but nearly every story is a sort of memorial to someone, or something --- especially the last piece, which always makes me cry. wes is so good at depicting the underlying melancholy that can sort of sit and marinate within us in daily life. it's part of what i love so much about his movies.

[@jasonadams4487]

This is a great video Thomas. Grand Budapest is my favorite Wes and probably my favorite movie of all time. It's lovely to see video essays about this even 9 years after the release. A testament to it's greatness

[@JMilesTV]

Big fan of Zweig, and Anderson. Thank you for this profound and fearless analysis. Really wonderfully done.

[@VicVeld]

By far my favorite channel on this platform at the moment, thanks for all the great content Thomas!

[@BlacklistBill]

Really enjoyed the video. As someone who clearly appreciates the written word, uniqueness is not a matter of degeees, it is singular.

[@jjforcebreaker]

One of my favorite movies from recent years. Absolutely delightful on every level.

[@l.w.i7478]

THANK you for making me aware of the Stefan Zweig-connection! He’s one of my favorite authors (I’m German) and human mind, and even though I know Ungeduld des Herzens (original title of Beware of pity), I didn’t recognize the quotation in the film. I like your video a lot (and of course, GBH).

[@adamjuice]

You put so much love and care into your videos. It's delightful

[@Band_From_Chat]

Wes Anderson is one of the directors that expanded my thoughts on cinema, and it was a joy to be able to see "Asteroid City" in theater with my family.

[@jadechan8673]

How serendipitous. I watched the German movie Chess Novel (2021), based on Zweig's short story, two weeks ago and immediately bought Zweig's "The world of yesterday" to retrieve his thoughts on the loss of values and ideals of the Europe he once knew. And now my favorite KZbinr explores exactly the same themes in this wonderful essay! I went to Vienna last year and read up on just how much of its culture, in which Jewishness had a crucial part, was destroyed or banished during the Holocaust. 200,000 Jews in Vienna in the early 30s, a mere eight after WW2... These themes of a lost world, of a deep sadness and nostalgia for something irretrievable are, to me, deeply linked to the brutal annihilation of Jewish life and culture throughout all of Europe. I'm glad that the story of the Grand Budapest Hotel resonates with so many people.

[@onurbschrednei4569]

It's actually incredible how many Viennese-Jewish writers there are from this time: Paul Celan, Arthur Schnitzler, Franz Werfel, Rose Ausländer, to an extent Kafka, Max Brod, Leo Perutz etc.

[@vibesmom]

Thomas Flight, the content you create is fabulous. I love your channel. I always have something to ponder when I’m done watching.

[@pameladaley955]

Thank you SOOOO much, Thomas! Your thoughtful attention to beauty and detail on top of the thoughtful attention to the beauty nd detail of your subject makes your videos just...astonishing and warm and thrilling. I'm so glad you exist!

[@Albanolopolis]

Thomas, I'd like to thank you and I will support you and your channel for the amount of huge film culture you've given me these last years. You're a very special guy, thanks for all the beautiful insight regarding the movie andnthe quality of this content. Cheers man!

[@cegalo12]

Thank you for this excellent video, Thomas Flight! The Grand Budapest Hotel is my favorite film directed by Wes Anderson, and one of my favorite movies in this 21st century.

[@Thorndyk3]

A genuinely fabulous video, this Thomas.. Wonderfully put together..

[@ConfusedRevolutionary]

Monsieur Gustave is an inspiration. Taught me so much about manners and to enjoy the present.

[@MAli-xg3gj]

Wow, not only is the content of this video excellent, but you couldn't have nailed the homage to Wes Anderson more perfectly.

[@rob9943]

What a wonderful, thought-provoking video. The Grand Budapest Hotel has long been a favourite of mine, and I appreciate you giving me a good reason to watch it again.

[@pleasestopdisassemblingmylimbs]

just recently rewatched this movie, very stoked that you uploaded at such a fitting time

[@noisebites]

this is so beautiful. thank you

[@janedoe3043]

The loss of idealism happens to all around 25. But it truly has been lost as a whole now. The world is dystopian and it gets even worse.

[@yayayayayaya8140]

bro, every video is a banger. as a writer and essayist ur videos are always so inspiring to watch.

[@outofthecommonphotography5503]

I love that you have the picture from the movie behind you! I really like your whole setup! And, this was another great observational video to help us all appreciate what we've seen and heard. Thank you for this!

[@ahtasham97]

This is great work man.

[@anthroposium]

All of this is excellently researched, well done!

[@markbennett3980]

This was illuminating. Thank you Thomas. I'm sure Anderson has far too many ideas of his own to bother with this but the idea of him taking on a Nabokov short story, novel or even memoir gives me chills.

[@ben251]

Your video essays are edited and structured so cleanly and beautifully!

[@maxand1797]

Not only is this video informative, it is so well shot! I really enjoyed the filmography and the care he took to mimic Anderson's style.

[@tomaso0]

You are on a roll man, the quality and attention to detail of your last videos has been breathtaking

[@mariannna7943]

thank you so much for this video, you're amazing!! 💌

[@jaeycc]

This video essay was brilliantly done in the style of the movie! Wes Anderson has been one of my favourite directors for a while now and his movies never fail to leave me with a sense of nostalgia - like they are from a more colourful time in the past

[@aleksthegameboy8565]

This has so much work put behind it and it shows, well done man this is amazing

[@slowerpanther2463]

I had just watched The Grand Budapest recently and it quickly becaem one of my favorite movie. I even decided to get the Criterion Blu-Ray, so the timing of this video is perfect for me, keep up the great work Thomas!

[@ha_ruh]

Thank you for such a high quality video! This is something that gives me optimism.

[@virgilodunen4397]

This video made me think and feel. Thank you very much for that.

[@joefanelli5744]

These videos are just becoming better and better. Bravo

[@kaithecactus3714]

this was one of the most sophisticated essays I've seen on yt thank you

[@josephkrausz9557]

I'm glad that you discussed the theme of loss in GBH, which I thought was missing from your podcast about it. Thanks for this video.

[@kildareire]

This is top notch research, story telling, production values, and editing Thomas. High marks amongst your own back catalogue, most of which I have watched.

[@vinylarchaeologist]

Was _glued to the screen_ throughout this wonderful presentation. Well done!

[@mykingdomforafilm]

LOVE this essay! Great job, Thomas!

[@Izabela.Antunes]

Your content is so good! Thanks for sharing so much knowledge with us.

[@angelorossowrites]

Excellent Video. Thank you.

[@thornsandrosesofficial]

i love how this video literally feels like The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. the attention to detail is awesome.

[@MrPiou2]

Great research, great content. Thank you.

[@Jaded_AF]

I saw the movie when it came out on a whim. I was going to the theatres, and nothing else caught my eye. It has remained my favourite movie. Its one of the few films that i enjoy so much, that I could literally watch it any time. I honestly doubt any movie will ever top it.

[@postwage]

What a wonderful and captivating video essay!

[@najiteachebo7795]

Thanks for the amazing video! I’m always impressed with your fantastic presentation and you outdid yourself with this one, even the pacing of the presentation of info was similar to his films. Tremendous work!

[@williamwatson.]

Dude, you’re raising the bar for this kind of content!

[@jeanlamontfilms5586]

Something rubs me very wrong with how he juxtaposes nostalgia and suffering in this film. It forces you conceive of them as ideas that coexist in harmony

[@davidpendock6481]

Jesus Christ your videos are amazing. How it must feel to find your vocation.

[@filmvideodottext8519]

More appreciation for a film I already greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[@pattongilbert]

One of my very favorite videos of yours. Poignant, well-written, and visually interesting. Well done.

[@kestrel4733]

Beautiful, thank you

[@DESSERT_X]

Thank you Tomas for another mesmerising insight.

[@anakrajinovic1767]

This was really beautiful, thank you! I think I finally understand why I usually only like movies with a strong message and resolution, and I'm excited to see more of a shift to meta-modernism. It's because I haven't grown up in an optimistic mindset about the progress of the world. Growing up in a war-torn country and seeing all the consequences it had for people in Croatia and Bosnia, I have always felt like there is no reason for optimism. Whatever progress we make, we can just as easily just tear it all down. Hopefully, stories we tell can inspire us to strive towards progress nevertheless.

[@solg6748]

❤ thank you for this beautiful video! I've seen Grand Hotel Budapest at the cinema three times, and love it dearly. Your work has shed new light on something beloved ❤

[@donaldkelly3983]

Good take on GBH! Thanks for boosting Stefan Zweig, one of my favorite writers!

[@imbrittjones]

Dude I am blown away by the effort you put into these videos. Better every time!!

[@morenofranco9235]

Thanks, Thomas, for a wonderful analysis of the world behind the iconic "Grand Budapest Hotel".

[@GoTeam383]

I love the Grand Budapest hotel and also A Hidden Life. Thanks for the great video essay! The train footage transition at 17:35 was brilliant, by the way!

[@FabiulousGames]

Can’t wait for Thomas to change title and thumbnail 7 more times! Jk, your videos are amazing keep up the great work 💪

[@TheBiggervern]

Thanks Thomas for the interesting video. Very much appreciated your homage to Wes Anderson in the production of your piece. I watched this a couple of days ago on Nebula but cannot comment there, so thought I would do it here. Thanks also for the MUBI recommendation which has led me on to the MUBI podcast where I have now listened to all of the needle drop episodes from season 3. Best wishes from the UK.

[@athousandmen]

Thank you for your critique of the film. I really enjoy the easter eggs and the background detail on every aspect of this and many other films. Keep it up.

[@shuang7877]

One of the best video essays I have ever watched - and I watched a lot of them.

[@VioletIzzBlu]

the commentary on loss very much evoked for me viktor frankl's sentiment: “having been is also a kind of being, and perhaps the surest kind.”

[@alexanderarden2152]

I love that your video is framed like a Wes Anderson scene! Great analysis as well, thank you!

[@DavetheTurnip]

Not only did this wonderful video inspire me to revisit The Grand Budapest Hotel, it also lit a spark to perhaps try my hand at film criticism again. Thank you for your great work. 😀

[@michaelmccenna1378]

Absolutely brilliant video 👏👏👏❤

[@User123456767]

Great video love all the different angles used to get at one central point

[@morriemukoda45]

A beautifully crafted and researched episode to one of my fav movie. Well done!!

[@olgazadig4961]

Parfois, l'algorithme de YT réserve de belles surprises. Thank you.

[@DawsDaws860]

You did so good! Great job on the video