Plot: A teenage girl visits the monument of the writer who penned the book, "The Grand Budapest Hotel". In 1968, that author was inspired to write the book when he visited that hotel, located in the European mountainous country formerly known as Zubrowka. Once a luxurious hotel, it, in 1968, has fallen on hard times. The author meets the then current owner, Mr. Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham), who recounts the story of how he became the hotel's owner and why he holds onto it and keeps it open despite it obviously making him no money. Zero's story begins in 1932, when the hotel was in its golden era. Zero (Tony Revolori) was the novice immigrant lobby boy, who, like all the other hotel staff, was under the guidance of M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes), the devoted concierge. Gustave aimed to please, he giving the guests whatever they wanted, especially the wealthy blonde women. The story largely revolves around one of those women, the wealthy Madame Céline Villeneuve Desgoffe-und-Taxis - better known as Madame D. (Tilda Swinton) - her opportunistic son Dmitri (Adrian Brody), the bequeathing of a valuable painting called "Boy with Apple" to Gustave, the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death which is initially pinned on Gustave, and the attempts of Zero, his girlfriend - a baker's assistant named Agatha (Saoirse Ronan) - and others to clear Gustave's name while Dmitri does whatever he needs to get what he believes is rightfully his, namely the painting.
Alternative Plot: In the 1930s, the Grand Budapest Hotel is a popular European ski resort, presided over by concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes). Zero, a junior lobby boy, becomes Gustave's friend and protege. Gustave prides himself on providing first-class service to the hotel's guests, including satisfying the sexual needs of the many elderly women who stay there. When one of Gustave's lovers dies mysteriously, Gustave finds himself the recipient of a priceless painting and the chief suspect in her murder.
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