Hotel Chevalier (2007)

A short prologue of one heartbreaking history of love and the prologue of the travel told in The Darjeeling Limited.

Director:

Wes Anderson

Writer:

Wes Anderson

Stars:

Jason Schwartzman, Natalie Portman, Waris Ahluwalia

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jason Schwartzman	...	Jack Whitman
Natalie Portman	...	Jack's Girlfriend
Waris Ahluwalia	...	Security
Michel Castejon	...	Waiter

Storyline

Grief? Depression? Ambiguity in a Paris hotel room. Jack Whitman lies on a bed, ordering a grilled cheese sandwich from room service. His phone rings; it's a woman on her way to see him, a surprise. He readies the room, moving without affect, drawing a bath, changing his clothes. She arrives, as does the food, and the complications of their relationship emerge in bits and pieces. He invites her out on the balcony to see his view. Will they make love? Is the relationship over?

---

Plot Keywords:

prologue | hotel | grilled cheese | balcony | view | 

---

Genres:

Short | Drama | Music | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA France

Language:

English French

Release Date:

26 October 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Part 1 of 'The Darjeeling Limited'

Filming Locations:

Hotel Raphaël, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, American Empirical Pictures, Première Heure

Technical Specs

Runtime:

13 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to director Wes Anderson, the movie was filmed in two and a half days. The film was also edited entirely on his personal computer.

---

Quotes

Jack: How do you say 'grilled cheese'?

---

Connections

Features Stalag 17 (1953)

---

Soundtracks

"Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)"
Written by Peter Sarstedt
Performed by Peter Sarstedt
Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

The beginning of a journey...

This is a wonderful short film to introduce us to one of the main characters in Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited. A broken romance sends Jack (Jason Schwartzman) off to a Paris hotel to lick his wounds it seems. In this short the ex-girlfriend has arrived and Jack must come face to face with her and his pain. Pay very close attention as you watch this as I think it will pay off. Personally I found this to be a nice little gift from Anderson as we wait for the release of The Darjeeling Limited. I don't really understand the question about it appearing in theatres as part of the main film but I think it does a nice job revealing the characters a bit. I enjoyed it and it certainly is very much like Anderson's previous work.

I know that many fans of Wes Anderson tend to be very thrown by each new film he creates and they tend to have a favorite that they won't stray from. I have never really understood this because I think his body of work is really quite consistent and he seems to improve with each film. The key to all of his films, at least to me, is that you feel that you have stepped in to each one and lived with the characters because he takes such care revealing their quirks to you. I think what causes the discord among his fans is that they feel so close to certain characters they have trouble letting go of them. So, we end up with passionate arguments about why Rushmore, Bottle Rocket, or The Royal Tenenbaums were "better" than The Life Aquatic.