Love and Loyalty: Zeros Grand Budapest Hotel
Zero Moustafa was a penniless Middle Eastern immigrant who worked in the make-believe Eastern European country of ‘Zubrowka’. He was a lobby boy in one of the finest hotels there, which is referred to as an institution. By the time he narrates his story, he had become one of the wealthiest people in Zubrowka. He then traded his vast wealth to keep the institution that he loves so dearly long after its glory days had ended. Before I proceed, I must share with my reader that you do not have to be familiar with ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ to read about Zero’s story.
Zero’s story begins with him meeting ‘The Author’ who visits the Grand Budapest Hotel in the off-season of 1968. After they become acquainted with one another, Zero invites the Author to have dinner with him where he narrates his own life and talks about how he became the proprietor of the hotel. There is only one mention of Zero’s life before the hotel. A war was raging in his native land and a firing squad killed his entire family; those who survived fled and so Zero came to Zubrowka. After working at a few hotels, a young Zero landed the job of a lobby boy in the Grand Budapest Hotel where he met Monsieur Gustave H., the vain, seductive, renowned concierge of the Grand Budapest Hotel. Monsieur Gustave H. was definitely a character who upheld the illusion of living a glamorous life. To me, he was larger than life, eccentric and particular, and most importantly, warm and loyal to both the guests and his employees. Zero’s story is incomplete without Monsieur Gustave H., because of how pivotal he is to Zero’s character. Monsieur Gustave H. took Zero under his wing and forged a bond with him. As the two grow closer, one can see Zero become more mature and confident in himself.
Sometime after the two met, Monsieur Gustave H. was framed for the murder of a dowager, with whom he was having an affair for the past two decades by the dowager’s eldest son, Dimitri, and his henchman, Jopling (not implied but who else could it be). This is followed by a cat-and-mouse game between the police and Gustave H. and Zero, aided by Zero’s girlfriend, Agatha who worked as a baker at Monsieur Gustave’s favorite bakery, ‘Mendl’s’. After a series of mishaps, an elaborate prison escape, and run-ins with Jopling which eventually ended with Zero pushing him off a cliff and Jopling plummeting to his inevitable death, it all led them back to the Grand Budapest Hotel. In the end, we find a secret will of the dowager that she prepared in case she was murdered, in which she bequeathed everything she had to Monsieur Gustave H. That’s how Gustave H. got the Grand Budapest Hotel, and then he anointed Zero as his successor. Unfortunately, when Monsieur Gustave H. was traveling through Zubrowka with Zero and Agatha, he was shot to death by a terrorist squad. After this tragedy, everything fell on the shoulders of Zero and this is how Zero became the proprietor of the Grand Budapest Hotel.
My admiration for Zero Moustafa does not stem from his story. The most intriguing quality about him surfaced when I pondered on a simple thing. That is, why was his story, the one he was narrating about his own life, felt more like the story of Monsieur Gustave H. and his escapades, with only minimal mentions of Zero’s own life. According to me, he was and should have been the primary protagonist of the film but anyone who has seen the Grand Budapest Hotel will know that this is not the case and the story mostly revolves around Monsieur Gustave H. Zero, who served him with loyalty throughout the film was portrayed as a side character.
In retrospect and after many rewatches of the Grand Budapest Hotel, I can only draw two conclusions as to why this could have been the case. First, his love for Agatha. No one had more impact on his life than her and even someone who is completely oblivious to love can see how much Zero cared for her. As an old Zero sat with the Author, narrating his life story, at the first mention of Agatha tears start rolling down his eyes and he cannot control his emotions whenever he talks about her. They both were deeply in love. We also find out that two years after Monsieur Gustave H. was shot, both Agatha and their child died of a disease called the ‘Prussian Gripe’. It is never talked about how lonely and old Zero was, an observation made by the Author too, I can affirm that Zero never got remarried, he had no family and quite possibly never found someone to love again. Since the thought of Agatha was too painful for him to talk about, he simply just didn’t and in doing so, he didn’t talk about his personal life much which is one of the reasons why we are robbed of details of his life and why he felt like a side character in his own story with minimal attributes about himself.
The other conclusion I draw is also based on his present-day loneliness. Throughout the film, the only two people Zero had in his life were Agatha and Monsieur Gustave H. and after they both passed away in succession, Zero was all alone. The loss of both his mentor and dear friend as well as his wife could have very well led Zero to reminisce about this period of his life as the ‘good old days’ where once upon a time, he was happy. This, coupled with the fact that Zero is the one narrating the story and we only see these characters through his eyes and his recollected memories, could very well be the reason why Zero talked about Agatha and Gustave H. lovingly and in detail, as they are no longer with him and he’s all alone. This again contributes to the fact that he rarely ever talked about himself and why we know so little about Zero’s own life.
My fascination for Zero emanates from what I’ve written about but my admiration for him simply comes from who he was and how his character was depicted. Zero Moustafa grew so much during the time we saw him on screen. The nervous young boy who drew a mustache every morning to look like a man had turned into a courageous person. In my opinion, he was always a brave person and his love for Agatha and loyalty to Monsieur Gustave H., just brought it out to the forefront - whether it be giving Monsieur Gustave H. indicative looks to steal the ‘Boy with Apple’ from the dowager’s estate or it is pushing Jopling down a cliff. Zero was always willing to take a leap of faith and was valiant toward someone he loved. According to me, Zero, like many others, was driven by love. The love he had for Agatha was truly unconditional and heartwarming to see and one can easily conclude he was ready to do anything for her. Another aspect that proves this was the reason Zero kept the Grand Budapest Hotel and traded his vast wealth for it was - as he said to the Author – “I kept the hotel for Agatha as we were happy here. For a little while.” Long after she was gone, Zero kept the place only to feel connected to her.
To bring this piece to an end, I’d like to iterate that what I really admire about Zero is that he’s just like the rest of us. I definitely believe anyone and everyone has the capacity to be fearless. We just need a catalyst that can bring it to the forefront and for Zero it was love and loyalty.
- Written by Rae Khanna
ncG1vNJzZmialanEprHNrZ%2BenqKWuqa%2Fjaysm6uklrCsesKopGioX6G8t7GMmqWdZZykxqK407Jks52ipMBus9GapZ1lkqqxorzErKs%3D