The Grand Budapest Hotel 15

From the archive

This film was last shown on 24 June 2015

The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune - all set against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.

After a showing of The Grand Budapest Hotel, there will be a free lecture by Alex Clayton, Head of Film and Television at the University of Bristol, under the title ' "No time to gab": What is the value of art?'. What role does art play in our lives? What purpose, if any, should it serve? Taking an expansive view of art that includes not only poetry, painting and storytelling, but also cake-making, perfume appreciation and the art of customer service, this talk considers The Grand Budapest Hotel as a meditation on such matters, and wonders whether the film’s own self-consciously artful form amounts to more than mere frippery. And what’s wrong with frippery?

The lecture is free and open to all. It will start at 8.30pm and will be held in the Showroom Café.