The Grand Budapest Hotel
NZ release: 07 March 2014
Violence, offensive language, sexual references & nudity Rated on: 26 March 2014
What’s it about?
A writer meets the owner of a once grand hotel, who shares stories of his past adventures as a lobby boy during the hotel’s golden years under the leadership of an exceptional concierge.
The facts
- Directed by Wes Anderson (Fantastic Mr. Fox, The French Dispatch and Moonrise Kingdom.)
- Stars Tony Revolori, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Léa Seydoux, Edward Norton, Owen Wilson, and F. Murray Abraham.
- English, French, and German languages
- Runtime: 100 minutes
- Won four Oscars for Best Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music Score, and Production Design, as well as a grammy for Best Score, and four BAFTA awards.
- Wes Anderson’s films follow a very specific style where comedic content and timings are often combined with deliberately odd but funny scenes.
Why did it get this rating?
This film game was cross-rated by the Film and Video Labelling Body. You can find out more about cross-rating here.
Violence
The violence in The Grand Budapest Hotel is stylised and often darkly comedic. It includes scenes of physical fights, a few graphic moments like a character losing fingers, and some gunfire. While the tone is generally light-hearted, the violence might be unsettling for some viewers. Some of the strongest moments of violence include:
- A prisoner stabs and kills four guards before being killed himself. Though most of the fight is kept offscreen, stabbing and shouting can be heard, and the aftermath is shown with bodies covered in bloodstains.
- During an intense chase scene, a man's fingers are sliced off when a door slams on his hand, and it is implied he is killed off-screen. The severed fingers are shown up close, and his body is later seen briefly in a black-and-white photograph.
- There is a close-up of a woman’s severed head as it is pulled out of a basket.
- A man is pushed from a tall cliff and disappears into the fog. We do not see him land, but his death is implied.
Animal cruelty
A cat is thrown out a window, shown lying in a cartoonish blood splatter. Later, its body is seen in a bloody bag.
Offensive language
Offensive language is used throughout the film. The word “f*ck” is used several times casually, sexually, and out of anger. Other words used are “sh*t,” and “ass.” Homophobic slurs like “f*ggot,” “candy ass,” and “fruit,” are also used.
Sexual references & nudity
The Grand Budapest Hotel includes some sexual references and brief nudity, such as a painting of nude women masturbating each other which appears in multiple scenes, and a quick glimpse of an older character undressed from behind. Sexual content is minimal and implied, with references to affairs and relationships, but nothing explicit is shown.
When content stays with you:
We all have our boundaries, and it’s completely okay if something you’ve watched is weighing on your mind. If certain content lingers with you, consider having a chat with friends or whānau to debrief about what you’ve just seen. But if you’re still feeling affected, please reach out to any of the following helplines for support.
