Ralph Fiennes doesn't know how to clap. The accomplished, prolific actor is the de facto star attraction at the Berlin International Film Festival's opening night, as he's anchoring the premiere of "The Grand Budapest Hotel." But if one thing is clear from a shot mid-way through the very long opening ceremonies, he hasn't quite mastered applause just yet.

A few hours earlier, stars, press and fans started gathering outside the venue to catch a glimpse of Fiennes, director Wes Anderson, Tilda Swinton, and Bill Murray among others. A group of Germans dressed as Ghostbusters ("Die Geisterjäger") drew a fairly steady crowd of press and fans who wanted to chat with them about one of Murray's most famous and enduring roles. And as anticipation built for the Festival's opening ceremonies and the premiere of the film... well, we were about 15 minutes away across town at the "overflow theater."

Before you think the press, media and fans were jammed into a tiny, dirty theater, the overflow venue was the Friedrichstadt-Palast, boasting 1,891 seats and the largest stage in the entire world. Here we were greeted to a delayed replay of the opening ceremonies, which was... surreal, to say the least.

Imagine crowding into a gorgeous theater with thousands of other audience members dressed to the nines. You sit down in your seats. The moderator announces the beginning of the opening ceremonies. And then onscreen, you cut to a gorgeous theater with thousands of other audience members dressed to the nines, with a moderator announcing the beginning of the opening ceremonies.

Anchored by a German comedian, the event managed to be twice as long by replaying nearly every joke in both German and English, testing even the patience of the star-crowded audience in the main theater. This was interrupted -- twice -- by a German band singing Iggy Pop songs in English, in case the whole thing didn't feel enough like a dream.

It was after their first performance that the camera cut to Fiennes in the audience. After several cutaways during the song, of audience members yawning, scratching their noses and generally looking exactly how you don't want an audience member to look in a cutaway, Fiennes was the capper. The actor clearly was surprised when they cut to him, and proceeded to clap first by grabbing his fist, then trying again and missing, then finally getting his applause right, to huge (generous, not mean) laughter from the audience in the overflow theater.

Later, the host/comedian entered the audience, and Fiennes proved his good humor by interacting with her playfully. Swinton, though, got the biggest laugh of the night. "Are you Tilda Swinton?" the comedian asked, fawning. "No, I'm David Bowie," Swinton shot back.

Even the jovial opening ceremonies couldn't escape certain specters, though. Traveling through the audience some more, the host talked to one man in German, asking playfully what he was doing there. He answered in German that he was (we think) honoring the memory of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Which brought everything to a standstill, as the host tried to recover the light, airy nature of the ceremonies. Even across the Atlantic, Hoffman's legacy looms large.

Finally, the opening ceremonies ended (after individual montages introducing the festival jury, which includes Christoph Waltz and Greta Gerwig), and the film was introduced. Luckily for the antsy crowd in the Friedrichstadt-Palast, there was one more surprise. Given the delay, certain members of the audience from the main venue had time to come over to the overflow venue. And in ran Wes Anderson and Bill Murray, to huge applause from the crowd.

The duo kept things brief, with Anderson welcoming the crowd and thanking them for watching the film. Murray then grabbed the microphone, saying, "Through the magic of television, here we are. And now, through the magic of television, you'll watch the best film this man has ever made. Mr. Projectionist, shtoop that hoofer!"

Huge applause ensued again as Murray ran offstage, and the movie started. The film itself is a delightful confection worthy of Mendl's Bake Shop (the store Saoirse Ronan works at in the movie): funny, sometimes mean, sometimes violent, but always impeccably composed. Fiennes anchors the film beautifully, and as promised by Anderson during the press conference held earlier in the day, pays tribute to both movies and stories gorgeously.

After the movie is the after-party, which R. Kelly would be pleased to know took place in a hotel lobby. The packed party had everything: grown men dressed as lobby boys; scale models; dancing Germans; and John Lithgow. Though the stars of "Grand Budapest Hotel" had ventured over initially, they quickly vacated the spacious but crowded venue for, one assumes, a quiet dinner of weiner schnitzel and sauerbraten.

That doesn't mean there wasn't plenty of gawking to do. It was the sort of party where you could see the stars freely mix with regular people, and regular people, such as your faithful reporter, mistaken for the stars. "You did a great job," one reveler said grabbing my arm and looking into my eyes, thanking me for my work on "Grand Budapest Hotel." "A really great job."

I thanked him, and then nearly accidentally knocked the host of the opening ceremonies down the stairs, into the opening ceremony band who was trying to get into the back VIP area and being repeatedly turned away.

After that, it was back into the Berlin night. "Grand Budapest Hotel," and dozens of other films will play over the next two weeks in (and out) of competition, with one eventually being crowned grand champion.

Will it be "Grand Budapest Hotel?" Regardless, you can check out the movie for yourself when it hits stateside on March 7 from Fox Searchlight.