"The Grand Budapest Hotel": Zweig's world of yesterday

The stars in Austria before the war were shining, including Mozart, Freud, Kafka, Zweig, etc. It was the palace of art and represented an era. ?Before a truly world-historical moment, a moment when human stars shine, a long period of time will inevitably pass by in vain.

Zweig is a writer who is very good at depicting delicate emotions and has a unique style. He often uses long paragraphs of psychological description to let us enter the world in the book. The overall structure of "The Grand Budapest Hotel" draws on Zweig's narrative style, allowing us to feel the world written by Zweig.

The introduction of the protagonist in Zweig’s books always begins with the author himself meeting the protagonist on the way, and then the protagonist starts chatting with Zweig. During the conversation, the protagonist begins to tell his story in the first person. . "The Grand Budapest Hotel" uses this standard Zweig style to tell the story of Gustav and the doorman.

The film creates a sense of layering, allowing the characters to comment on the audience outside the camera many times. It not only tells the story of Gustav, but also tells the story of Zweig, and it also tells the story of that era.

*All the black words below are taken from Zweig's "The World of Yesterday"

"Connect the verses one by one, so that each line is soaked with music and sparkles. "The Grand Budapest Hotel" has used bright colors to cover up people's empty souls and show the glorious moments of that generation. The Budapest Hotel was the epitome of the upper class society at that time, where people paid attention to etiquette and respected art.

Gustav was a representative of that era. He spoke elegantly, chose words carefully, and still wore cologne even in exile. Romantic and romantic, there are shadows of Zweig in the character prototype.

"They sincerely believed that national and religious boundaries and differences would slowly merge into a common humanity."

Gustav's The doorman had asylum status but was still being challenged on the train. Gustav explained to the officer, but was beaten while protecting the doorman. He tried to reason with the army, but his identity certificate was just useless paper in front of the thugs.

"Isn't the true meaning of being a young person lies in trusting the world and abandoning distrust in the world?"

Zweig was a well-known writer before the war. , but was accused by the fascists of having other agendas because of the title of a work. They burned Zweig's books and destroyed his works without giving him a chance to explain. Such a barbaric act dealt a heavy blow to Zweig, who was living in a civilized society.

"Year after year, individuals are given more rights; the administration of justice becomes gentle and humane"

Gustave legally inherited the famous paintings owned by the rich widow "Apple and Boy", but was framed by the widow's son and charged with murdering the widow, and was imprisoned. He firmly believed that he was innocent. While in prison, he wrote to the doorman, telling the hotel staff to maintain order in the hotel, and believed that he would eventually be acquitted. What happened next was not what he wanted.

Zweig, who lived in the world of yesterday, was extremely dissatisfied with the fascist decree "forbidding Jews to rest on benches", and the decree began to develop to the other extreme. Because of the fascist ban, Zweig's mother died in desolation. Her two sons could not return to her, and even other Jewish relatives could not get close to the old man. Zweig's mother died in loneliness. At this time, Zweig, who was despairing of the fascist atrocities, believed that his mother's early death could help her escape the abuse.

"But in our time, literature can only let people see things that feel rich and noble, but not embarrassing and real things"

Gus Taff compiled his life into a 46-line poem in prison. Even on the run, half of the money should be paid as a tip to the person who helped him. Gustave's persistent demeanor seemed desolate and respectable in moments of distress, just like that distant era when trying to maintain nobility was insignificant in the face of the truth.

The decline of Zweig’s motherland caused him to undergo tremendous changes. His travels to other countries ranged from respected author to refugee begging for asylum. This feeling made him miserable.

“Everyone is always ready to cross the ocean with the ruins that life has left them.

"

"It is a nerve-wracking feeling, stepping into the void with your eyes wide awake, knowing that no matter where you stand, you may be driven out in a moment. "

Gustav, who was forced into exile, and Zweig, who was forced to wander, both had to leave their beloved hometown.

"Love and art are the same thing. responsibility. ”

Gustav’s cologne betrayed his whereabouts, but this is not enough to accuse the poetic life. The progression of the storyline in the film is full of rhythm. The body movements of the prison escape, Mrs. D’s son and In Gustav's gunfight, even subtle movements such as Agatha's turning of the head are accompanied by musical rhythms. The more ordinary the movements, the more profound the symbol of art has been integrated into the blood of that generation.

“What a person acquires from the atmosphere of his childhood permeates his blood and will remain with him throughout his life, never leaving him. ”

There is a lot of black humor in the film. At the emergency level where Gustave and the doorman hide their identities and sneak into the hotel, Gustave and the doorman, who are facing life-threatening conditions, ask the new doorman for information. , the doorman who got the necessary information in turn taught the new doorman not to leak the customer's information. The doorman maintained the work philosophy of Gustav's education into old age.

Yesterday's world will not change. Disappearing in an instant, some shadows of the past will still reappear, and then slowly disappear.

"In such carriages, extremely tired people sleep in a thick stench and are being sent to slaughter. A field is no different from an animal. It was a time of heady excitement, a time of unbridled scams, a unique mixture of restlessness and extremism. ”

Gustav was shot by fascist thugs during the war because he was protecting the doorman. He gave his life to defend the creed he had learned.

"Even though we are in this abyss of cruelty, groping back and forth with a gloomy and broken soul, almost like a blind man, I still keep raising my head to see the stars of the past, which once illuminated my childhood. "

In Zweig's last novel "The Story of Chess", the protagonist in the article was tortured by the Nazis until he became insane. The hotel where he was imprisoned may be the prototype of the Grand Budapest Hotel. Zweig did not resemble the protagonist. Choosing to live that way was not forced to end like Gustav. He chose to end his life and say goodbye to the world in person.

"No matter what, the world will still get better. ”