When investigating further into the details of mise-en-scène and Wes Anderson, I came across an interesting video (linked below) that combines a concept explained in Chapter 3 of Bordwell’s textbook and practice found in Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel”: symmetry. On page 143, Bordwell unpacks the stylistic preference of directors to film shots that are balanced, known as bilateral symmetry. However, The Grand Budapest Hotel (and Wes Anderson’s directorial style more broadly) suggest a further dedication to this symmetry. Specifically, as the video notes, The Grand Budapest Hotel contains shots that are framed symmetrically, but also whose composition is symmetrical to scenes before and after.

Such an instance can be noted during the will reading in the movie, Dmitri, angered by his mother’s choice to gift the invaluable “boy with apple” painting, punches M. Gustave. In retaliation, the screen cuts to the young Mr. Moustafa returning the punch in the same position. During this shot-reverse shot sequence, while we cut to the subject of interest, we also see their actions and placements are identical to the scene before, drawing out the various differences that imbue each character with distinct qualities. This allows the audience to directly compare the stances, gestures, and actions of characters to one another, establishing a unique set of characters for the viewer to enjoy seeing. Here, mise-en-scene helps us better understand the choices that underscore every scene. By situating the subject of each scene in the center, and maintaining that straight shot through each scene, the audience is able to enjoy an aesthetic and interesting sequence of shots.

Such symmetry is also pointed out in the video by comparing the “patterns of shots” that are seen in the movie. The most obvious example can be noted during the phone call scene, in which the audience watches a repeating montage of a hotel manager dialing up another, a cut to a set of keys, a cut to whatever mundane task they are doing, interrupted by a phone call and subsequent passing off their current responsibility to their lobby boy, and another phone call being made. Each scene that we are taken on is carefully situated to mirror the last, providing a fascinating opportunity for comparisons between all characters. All in all, I thought this was a really cool video that merged together the idea of mise-en-scène and symmetry to The Grand Budapest Hotel and wanted to share.