The Grand Budapest Hotel: Mise-en-scène
The mise-en-scène in this part of the film, the start of the film, is to establish character and location.
Gustave
In the film, there are contrasts between Gustave and Zero. Gustave has a bow tie which shows class, refinement and a gentleman style. The bow tie shows that Gustave has confidence and therefore a leadership role because in order to wear a bow tie you also have to have self-confidence. By having a velvet bow tie, shows the luxury that Gustave is trying to show. The colour purple represents royalty and privilege. Like the velvet, this is part of Gustave’s character. By having not only a purple suit, but also a purple velvet tie, it shows the lengths that Gustave is going to show the wealth and class he wants. Gustave also has a moustache which has posh connotations as it is a thing that requires maintenance. This shows that not only does he have authority, but he has enough time to put effort into the moustache. Gustave is also wearing the Society of Keys badge which is being worn like a military badge. This shows the pride and that he is included in a society. The badge also looks like it is made of something valuable, showing again the idea of luxury. Gustave also has a dress shirt on. This is for show rather than comfort showing the extents he is going to, to present this image of himself. Inside the hotel, everyone refers to Gustave in a formal way and polite and consolidates our idea that he is in authority. The notebook and the tiny pencil show his control and efficiency. This also shows what sort of person he is, and what what he wants to project.
Zero
Zero’s purple is duller than Gustave’s purple showing how he is trying to be like Gustave, but doesn’t quite manage it at this point. Whilst Gustave is perfectly presented, Zero is wearing his lobby boy hat in a jaunty way. This shows how Zero is not as clean and neat as Gustave. The moustache that Zero has put on, is showing how he looks up to Gustave. Gustave is shown having bright clothes and having Zero trying to imitate him but not so well shows the characterisation in these characters.
Budapest hotel
The hotel is gold and decorative to show wealth. The hotel is filled with orchid flowers which are expensive and again to show wealth.The red carpets in the hotel are associated with fame and importance. All of this extravagance shows how the hotel wears it’s wealth on its sleeve. Amongst the hotels, there are lots of pinks and purples this makes the hotel looks like a fairytale, and therefore an exaggeration of everything we associate with those places. There are exotic plants throughout the hotel that don’t grow in that climate showing how they have been brought in, exaggerating the lengths that they are going to make the hotel look nice. To add to this, there are marble floors, showing that they have the best that money can buy. As they move through the lobby, we see the grand scale of the hotel, including the staircase.
Shoe-shine boy
To contrast with everything the hotel stands for this is a representation of the poverty, dirtiness and exclusion that comes with the extravagance of the hotel.
People in hotel
The hotel is well staffed, which gives the impression that this would be a place where you would get personal attention. The guests are all upper class, showing that the attempts to make this hotel grand, if paying off. As they walk along, Gustave interacts with both staff and guests. However, the way that Gustave interacts with the different people is different. Gustave is nice with the guests and brief and quite rude with the staff. We also see the hustle and bustle of the lobby as Gustave and Zero make their way further into the hotel. Due to there being many people, the hotel seems to be an important place.
Constant movement in this scene