Hotel Chevalier (2007)

A prologue of one heart-breaking history of love and the prologue of the travel told in The Darjeeling Limited (2007).

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?

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Plot Keywords:

room service | bed | bath | balcony | hotel | 

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Genres:

Short | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

It is not revealed why Jack broke up with Ex Girlfriend.

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Quotes

Ex-girlfriend: I love you. I never hurt you on purpose.
Jack: I don't care.

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Connections

Features Stalag 17 (1953)

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Soundtracks

Les Champs-Élysées
Music by Mike Wilsh and Mike Deighan
English lyrics by Mike Wilsh and Mike Deighan
French lyrics by Pierre Delanoë

User Reviews

He would not be going to Italy

Designed as a semi-independent prelude to "The Darjeeling Limited", "Hotel Chevalier" proves that ten minutes of Wes Anderson's wizardry are worth more than many another big-budget director's feature-length film. It's a study in the pain and the lust only love can bring, as well as a variation of Anderson's trademark motif, control. Where "The Darjeeling Limited" bubbles over with substance abuse, poisonous snakes, restroom romps, brotherly affection and fatal accidents, "Hotel Chevalier" is a quiet and slightly eerie two-character mini drama set in a lavish Merchant-Ivory style suite. The suite's sole resident is a reclusive control-freak writer in a long-distance relationship (Jason Schwartzman). We watch as he half enjoys, half endures a surprise visit by his control-freak girlfriend (Natalie Portman). Is she a woman of flesh and blood, or is she just an imaginary incarnation of the jet-setting girl from "Where do you go to my lovely", the song Peter keeps playing on his portable stereo? There's no knowing what's real and what isn't in Anderson's paper moon world. But the importance of fact and fiction fades as she reclines on the bed and has Peter take off her spike-heeled boots. It's the most emotionally and sexually loaded scene I have seen in a long time, like a 20-second tango. It seems some of Natalie Portman's best work is done in shorts set in Paris. Remember Tom Tykwer's "True"?

Details

Country:

USA France

Language:

English French

Release Date:

26 October 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Part 1 of 'The Darjeeling Limited'

Filming Locations:

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