In film you can name just about a million different ways color can be utilized. Some films use it to distinguish characters, some films use it to distinguish setting, some films use it to engage the viewers. Sometimes it’s to create whimsy or nostalgia, sometimes it’s to represent emotions. In this case it is all these ways and more.

Throughout the Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson explores many different uses of color to build and explore the narrative. Wes Anderson’s use of color is not only embedded in the storyline of the movie but is a key fundamental into what makes a Wes Anderson movie a Wes Anderson Movie. 

When talking about characters, the vibrancy of their clothing changes depending on what part of the movie they are in. Most characters in the 1930’s part of the story are dressed in vibrant and exciting colors while characters in the 1960’s and 80’s parts of the film are dressed in browns and finally the young woman in the opening and closing of the film is dressed in Gray. As the years change in the story we see a depleting trend of vibrancy as we get closer and closer to what would be our real time. 

To move off of this the colors of the hotel display this same trend. In the 1930’s part of the movie the hotel is dressed in bright shades of pink and yellow where in the 1960’s scenes the hotel is orange and brown which may be the true color of the hotel. 

Both of these examples of fleeting color show how whimsical and fantastical these characters and the hotel are in the 1930’s area of the movie. Most of the film follows the events of the 1930’s where it may be useful to portray a whimsical and colorful feeling seeing as this is the part of the movie where war is taking place. While the real true events of the outside world are gory and destructive, we are given a view into this world of characters and settings that is bright and playful. This is done on purpose to play as a distraction from the outside horrors or portray how these characters may see the war outside of their walls. As we are being distracted from these serious events the characters are distracting themselves and choosing to ignore these events, only focusing on the things in their lives that matter most to them. Which is what we are seeing. Furthermore as time goes on the colors get less and less vibrant which may represent how us the viewers are discovering the events outside of the story. As time in the movie gets closer and closer to our time we are given more dull colors showing how we as the viewers are not ignoring these horrors and instead acknowledging them by pulling away from the whimsical color. 

This discoloration throughout the timeline of the film also represents nostalgia and how we may see the past. When you think back on memories from childhood they are colorful and fantastical even if that’s not reality, just like the 1930’s are portrayed in this movie. The events are not always pretty or good memories but we are looking at them through a colorful and bright lens which may lead us to believe it is better than it actually was, which is what Wes Anderson is playing at throughout this entire film.

We also see this concept of dulling colors at the end of the film while Gustave, Agatha and Moustafa are in the train and are stopped by soldiers (who are representative of Nazi’s). They are in Gray Uniforms while still being in the 1930’s part of the movie. If it looks out of place that’s because it is. They are dressed in Gray not only to reflect actual Nazi uniforms but to represent the realness of the kinds of characters they are. They are soldiers in a horrible and brutal war that are interacting with our whimsical characters who have been visually and story-wise ignoring reality. They are portrayed dull and lifeless because that is a part of what they are doing to the world with the horrors they are creating. This gray color also evokes a sad or slum emotion when we see it which is exactly how you’d feel upon meeting these soldiers. Putting these almost boring and lifeless characters right in front of our characters eyes in a world that is colorful is to have them stand out and not only allow us as the audience to acknowledge them but for the characters to also acknowledge them. While playing towards Gustave’s selfish character he does not notice the seriousness of them being there, he only questions why the train has stopped and not why countless soldiers are at their backdoor.

This ‘graying’ effect also plays into the scene moments after. The scene turns black and white. I believe this is representative of the term ‘black and white’ which is used to show things are not always black and white and have deeper meaning. For this scene specifically I think it is used in the most literal way possible, by abruptly making the film black and white Wes Anderson is telling us to NOT see things as black and white. Usually this term is used in a world where a lot of colors are dull and it is telling you to see past that and see the world in more colors than it currently has. In this context, a movie that is already brightly colored, we are seeing what needs to be seen ‘colorfully’, or with deeper meaning, in black and white. This abrupt change allows you to pay attention to what is happening and the war that is taking place. 

In conclusion Wes Anderson has shown us the many different ways color can be used whether it be for storyline purposes or to push a concept. He has shown how colors can affect the narrative of the story and that we should pay close attention to the colorization of his work. He not only tells a story through the script he writes or the dialogue he uses but he also tells a story through his coloring. It is a simple concept to use colors to ignite thought into the viewers but it is hard to think of a movie that uses it as well as this one.