Opening in the lobby of a famous European hotel, director Wes Anderson’s colourful new inter-war film plays out in a fantasy world of yellows, oranges and reds.

And yet it has a sudden relevance to the dark side of the current Ukraine crisis, too.

Everything from tanks in newspaper headlines to the corrupting nature of status, wealth and power make his self-penned script feel like it’s sitting on top of a contemporary powder keg.

The story is set between the two world wars in a typical spa town of a fictional Eastern European land known as The Republic of Zubrowka.

Society is changing rapidly so when the 84-year-old Madame D (Tilda Swinton) dies there’s a mad scramble to inherit her wealth - especially as she hasn't left her priceless Renaissance painting Boy With Apple to her avaricious son.

Freed from the responsibility of directing his last two movies, Ralph Fiennes has never enjoyed himself more on screen as the hotel’s legendary concierge, Monsieur Gustav.

Especially when teaching lobby boy Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) how to be discreet.

Inspired by the writings of Viennese writer Stefan Zweig, the film’s style is far removed from Sacha Baron Cohen’s vision of Borat.

It’s more a cinematic cross between the inventiveness of the French cinema pioneer Georges Méliès (who inspired Scorsese’s Hugo), The Pink Panther and Benny Hill – hence the pervading sense of fun, optimism, speed and lightness of spirit.

Told in different flashback periods with production design by Adam Stockhausen (from the Oscar-winning 12 Years A Slave), much of The Grand Budapest Hotel is shot in old fashioned square format – yet you are unlikely to even notice the cleverness of the initial switch of styles.

More noticeably, Budapest Hotel also has a truly all-star cast including the youngest best actor Oscar winner Adrien Brody as Madame D’s villainous son Dmitri, Willem Dafoe (henchman Jopling), Jeff Golblum (attorney Vilmos Kovacs) and French star Mathieu Amalric (trusted butler, Serge X).

Other stars include Saoirse Ronan as bakery apprentice Agatha; Edward Norton as Lutz Military Police Captain Albert Henckels; Jude Law as Young Writer; Harvey Keitel as a tattooed convict called Ludwig and Owen Wilson as a military concierge.

And you can throw in everyone else from Anderson regulars like Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman to Bob Balaban and F Murray Abraham.

What is remarkable is that instead of overcooking this film, the big names add value to a remarkably inventive and wholeheartedly fun, cinema-going experience, powered by another fine score from Alexandre Desplat (six Oscar nominations since 2007, including Philomena).