Hotel Chevalier
Hotel Chevalier | |
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Directed by | Wes Anderson |
Written by | Wes Anderson |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 13 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | English |
Hotel Chevalier is a 2007 short film written and directed by Wes Anderson. Starring Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman as former lovers who reunite in a Paris hotel room, the 13-minute film acts as a prologue to Anderson's 2007 feature The Darjeeling Limited. It was shot on location in a Parisian hotel by a small crew and self-financed by Anderson, who initially intended it to be a stand-alone work. Its first showing was at the Venice Film Festival première of the feature film on September 2, 2007, and it made its own debut later that month at Apple Stores in four U.S. cities.
The day after the film's première, it was made freely available from the iTunes Store for one month, during which time it was downloaded more than 500,000 times. The film garnered acclaim from reviewers, who compared it favorably to The Darjeeling Limited and praised its richness, poignancy, and careful construction.
Plot
In a hotel lobby, the concierge answers a phone call from a guest's room. Jack (Jason Schwartzman) lies on a hotel bed in a yellow bathrobe, watching the black-and-white American war film Stalag 17 and reading the newspaper. After ordering room service from the concierge in broken French, he receives a call from Rhett, his ex-girlfriend. She tells him she is on her way from the airport and asks for his room number. Despite objecting that he did not tell her she could come, Jack consents nevertheless. He then hurriedly attempts to tidy the room – pausing to play the opening bars of the song "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?" by Peter Sarstedt on his stereo system – and runs a bath.
Jack is again lying on the bed, now in a gray suit. Hearing a knock, he starts the song playing again before opening the door to Rhett (Natalie Portman). After staring at him for several seconds, Rhett breaks the silence by asking what music is playing. Receiving no response, she steps into the room and presents Jack with a bouquet of flowers. When she moves to kiss him on the mouth, he turns his head away and they embrace instead. He closes the door and asks how she found him; she replies that it "wasn't actually that hard". She moves around the room browsing through his possessions, brushes her teeth with his toothbrush and declines to take the bath he had run for her.
Stepping back into the bedroom, Rhett turns to face the man and confronts him, asking slowly "what the fuck is going on?" Jack motions for her to join him on the bed and at her prompting, he reveals in the ensuing conversation that he has been living in the hotel room for "more than a month", and that he had left to escape their relationship. They lie back on the bed looking at one another before being interrupted by the arrival of room service. Once alone again, the two kiss and Jack begins to undress Rhett. They have an uncomfortable exchange about not having slept with other people and when Jack notices bruises on her arm after undressing her further, Rhett chooses not to comment on them. Lying on top of him, she tells Jack that she does not want to lose his friendship, that she loves him and never meant to hurt him. He responds coldly that he "will never be [her] friend", but holds her when she embraces him. "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?" starts again and Jack offers to show Rhett his view of Paris.
Rhett is perched against an
Cast
- Jason Schwartzman as Jack Whitman
- Natalie Portman as Rhett
Background and production
It was filmed at the Hôtel Raphael in Paris, on Avenue Kléber, two blocks south-southwest of the Arc de Triomphe.[7] The Hôtel Raphael had previously been used as a setting for the films Love in Paris (1996) and Place Vendôme (1998).[8] It was shot by a crew of 15 in Panavision and used props from Anderson's apartment.[4][6] Filming took two and a half days, and editing (done on Anderson's computer) another week.[2] Despite his use of a wardrobe from prestigious fashion designer Marc Jacobs and a handmade suitcase from Louis Vuitton, the director described the production as "like making a student film".[4]
Anderson initially intended it to be a stand-alone short film,
Release
When it was all done, I didn't want to incorporate the short into the movie. But I couldn't decide how I wanted it to go. I wanted to play the short in front of the movie, but not always. Sometimes I preferred to watch the movie without the short. It became a puzzle to me. So in the end I decided that I would like to have the movie open in America without the short, but I would like people to have access to it if they want to see it first.
—Wes Anderson, October 2007[11]
Hotel Chevalier was screened as part of the program at the world première of The Darjeeling Limited at the
The film was withdrawn from iTunes after having been available for download for a month.
Critical reception
Hotel Chevalier was one of the year's most discussed short films,[4] and attracted considerable praise from film critics, who compared it favorably to The Darjeeling Limited. Gary Susman of Entertainment Weekly described it as "an exquisite short story where we learn not much but exactly enough about these two characters", adding that "Chevalier sees Anderson working in his customary jewel-box/dollhouse mode, but the form and length really suit each other here."[18] Armond White of New York Press judged the short "moving and genuinely contemporary", citing its "lost-girl poignancy".[19] The film drew some attention for Portman's brief, partial nude scene, and for her bruised body.[2][20][21] Portman expressed disappointment at this undue focus, saying "[i]t really depressed me that half of every review ... was about the nudity". The episode made the actress reconsider the wisdom of this aspect of her performance,[22] and she subsequently swore off nude appearances in film.[22]
While The Darjeeling Limited did receive generally positive reviews—having attained a 68% approval rating on the review aggregator
References
- ^ "Hotel Chevalier (2005)". Film & TV Database. London: British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 17, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sanders, Peter (September 24, 2007). "Coming soon: a new take on the old double bill". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
- ^ Brody, Richard (November 2, 2009). "Wild, wild Wes". The New Yorker. pp. 48–57.
- ^ a b c d e Lee, Chris (September 24, 2007). "A tantalizing taste of Darjeeling". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
- ^ a b c Thielman, Sam (September 26, 2007). "'Hotel Chevalier' checks into iTunes". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
- ^ a b "Despite notable year, mainstream success eludes short films". The Hindu. Chennai, India: The Hindu Group. Associated Press. October 26, 2007. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
- ^ "Hôtel Raphaël: Location". Les Hotels Baverez. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
- ^ "Press kit 2009" (PDF). raphael-hotel.com. Hôtel Raphaël. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 21, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
- ^ IFC News. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Corliss, Richard (September 3, 2007). "Owen Wilson: art imitates life". TIME. Time Inc. Archived from the original on September 5, 2007. Retrieved November 29, 2009.
- Boston Phoenix. Phoenix Media/Communications Group. Archived from the originalon July 7, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
- ^ a b c Scott, A. O. (September 28, 2007). "Brothers, and their baggage, in India". The New York Times. Retrieved November 29, 2009.
- ^ Sciretta, Peter (September 24, 2007). "Wes Anderon's Hotel Chevalier on iTunes". /Film. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Miller, Lia (October 22, 2007). "'Darjeeling' to be paired with a short". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- ^ Wloszczyna, Susan (September 25, 2007). "'Darjeeling' director Wes Anderson powers this train". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved November 29, 2009.
- ^ Gumbel, Andrew (January 23, 2008). "Christie and Day-Lewis lead Oscar charge". The Independent. London: Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on July 9, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2009.
- ^ Anderson, Wes (Winter 2007). "Hotel Chevalier". Zoetrope: All-Story. 11 (4). American Zoetrope. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
- ^ Susman, Gary (October 2, 2007). "Snap judgment: Wes Anderson's Hotel Chevalier". Popwatch. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
- ^ White, Armond (March 26, 2008). "Asia Minor". New York Press. Manhattan Media. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
- ^ Breznican, Anthony (October 22, 2007). "'Darjeeling Limited' leaves mysteries in its path". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-7486-2603-8.
- ^ a b "Natalie Portman: no more nude scenes". CBS News. CBS Interactive Inc. January 8, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ "The Darjeeling Limited - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- ^ Zacharek, Stephanie (September 28, 2007). "The Darjeeling Limited". Salon.com. Salon Media Group. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
- guardian.co.uk. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
Further reading
- OCLC 286519386.
External links
- Hotel Chevalier at IMDb
- Hotel Chevalier at Errata magazine
- Hotel Chevalier at Short of the Week
- Raphael Hotel