Zubrowka, post-1985

In the beginning of the film, we see a girl hang a hotel key on the gravestone of the Author. We know that the Author is an important man, a national treasure, and the author of a book called The Grand Budapest Hotel, but what we don't know is what year we see the girl visiting his grave.

We do know a few things about this "present day." We know that the "present" is some time after 1985, when the author is being filmed, and we know that the scenery and architecture of Zubrowka hasn't changed much in the years between 1932 and the present.

Zubrowka, 1985

In 1985 we meet the Author, sitting in front of a camera in his study. He is getting on in years, although he has a young son. He tells us simply that he's going to tell us a story, and that he'll relay it exactly as it was told to him.

Zubrowka, 1968

We find ourselves in the once-famed and now shabby Grand Budapest Hotel. It feels a bit desolate, but it's not necessarily unappealing; it's got a distinct mid-century vibe.

It's from this setting that we'll launch into the heart of our story. The staging for the hotel itself has been set. Now we only need to jump back a few—or thirty-six—years.

Zubrowka, 1932

We've now made it to the molten core of our story, and have reached the primary setting. Zubrowka in 1932 features a Grand Budapest Hotel bustling with action. It's thriving on the business of its wealthy patrons. It's decorated in a rich color palette. It's exactly the kind of place we'd like to book our next vacation to… if only because we really want to meet M. Gustave.

This film is primarily set in 1932, although we do take a few journeys away from the Grand Budapest itself. We see into Madame D.'s gloomy Lutz manor, the grim Checkpoint 19, and even pop in to an Alpine monastery. What we know of Zubrowka is this: It seems to be shrouded in perma-winter, it's beautiful, and 1932 is the year that war came to tear it all apart.