Hotel Crap-alier

For inspiration in making my final film I watched Wes Anderson's 13 minute short, 'Hotel Chevalier'.

"Hotel Chevalier is a short film written and directed by Wes Anderson and released in 2007. Starring Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman as former lovers who reunite in a Paris hotel room"

I found watching this film to be very worthwhile indeed.  It was worthwhile in the sense that I have now solidified my thinking that this is exactly the kind of film I do not want to make.

Arty, holier than thou and quite frankly boring sum up films like these for me quite well.  If the words on the tip of your tongue right now are, "You just don't get it.", then not only would the description I gave the short apply to you, you would also be right.  I didn't get it.  At all.

Give me a lens worth a few grand and a few shots of Paris and I could probably make a beautiful looking short film where nothing actually happens too.

When I say I didn't get it, I don't mean I didn't understand it.  To truly dislike something I believe you first have to understand it.  I understand that Natlie Portman's character has some sort of psycho-sexual hold on Jack that he either refuses to acknowledge or refuses to accept.  I understand that the bruises on her body tell the story (that the director can't be bothered to tell with words) of the abusive lover she's running away from to reoccupy her preferred role as the dominating partner.  I just don't get why I am supposed to enjoy a film not having any sort of plot or ending.


To bring this short back to my theme, 'Dislocation', I think it mainly comes down to the colour scheme speaking on the actors behalf.  Throughout the short the colour pallet is all yellows which makes for very nice (arty) looking shots.  Jack is comfortable in the yellow and this to me sets the basis for 'normality'.  When he knows Natalie is coming to his hotel he changes into a dark suit which was inharmonious to say the least.  The contrast in colours here represents his discomfort for the situation and dislocation from his previously subdued evening.

Finally, I am a firm believer that you can't try to be pretentious with your work and still use product placement throughout it.  Being set in a beautiful timeless looking French hotel room allows the film to really be set anytime that the audience's mind allows.  Then the Apple infected source of the emotion dispensing music is unnecessarily revealed like dropping a Lamborghini into Ben-Hur.

I don't know if Wes Anderson made this short for himself, for Apple or simply to plug his upcoming feature length film continuation, but he certainly didn't make it for the audience.