Moonrise Kingdom & The Grand Budapest Hotel; what makes them so interesting?
Let me start with the obvious; the colour grading is so unique in its pastel flavours whilst the cinematography is so very peculiar it is almost impossible for these 2 productions to be anything other than engaging, however, even more than this, it is the premise of these 2 films that make them so immensely beautiful to watch. Let me explain.
What truly makes Moonrise kingdom and Grand Budapest Hotel so interesting, engaging and unique is the fact that their storylines are based on delving into the real grit of people with life choices and occupations that we simply don’t think about. Anderson manages to turn what appear like random, uninteresting occupations such as Khaki Scouts and Hotel Bell Boy’s into the premise of his films, and he makes them look so exceptionally interesting.
By the end of the films, you truly believe that it would be exciting and thrilling to be the bell boy of a prestigious yet almost chaotic hotel, or a member of a scout group so regimental it makes school look like an atrocity. By giving small, seemingly unimportant jobs a real and professional status, it allows us as the audience to understand what it must feel like to belong to a group who take even the lightest job as a strict routine that must be followed. That has power.
As a viewer, it makes me wish I had as much passion and discipline as to carry out my job in the way Anderson manages to portray the characters within his film. And that’s what film is all about; allowing the viewer to escape to a reality that they cannot possibly escape to in real life. Without Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel, I would not have given hotel staff or scout groups a second thought, and now, I see their lives and their stories as so interesting and different, I can’t help but think of an alternative reality whereby I venture into these professions; but hey, maybe I’ve been watching too much Rick and Morty.
