Wes Anderson films are frequently quite white (in more ways than one), and when they aren’t, the consequences have, um, been a little contentious. “Isle of Dogs,” an Anderson stop-motion movie released in 2018, came under fire from critics of colour for using stereotypical depictions of Japan. The pick of India as the setting for his 2007 film “The Darjeeling Limited,” which stars Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman as three estranged brothers embarking on what they believe will be a journey of spiritual healing, is similarly questionable. Is Anderson making fun of real-life white Americans who act in this manner while travelling to unfamiliar locations? I might disagree and agree.
The Darjeeling Limited has its ardent supporters as with each Anderson movie, of course, and provides all the aesthetic pleasures we’ve come to anticipate from his work (strikinglysymmetrical compositions, impeccable production design). Additionally, regular Anderson collaborators Bill Murray, Angelica Huston, and Waris Ahluwalia, as well as the late, renowned Indian actor Irrfan Khan and Oscar-winner Natalie Portman, make brief appearances or cameos in it. The first time you viewed the movie, you were probably perplexed by Portman’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it wordless appearance unless you had seen its short companion film, “Hotel Chevalier.”
Where do you go to (my lovely)?
In the brief (13-minute) film “Hotel Chevalier,” Schwarzman’s character Jack from “The Darjeeling Limited” is staying at a hotel in Paris before travelling to India when his ex-girlfriend Rhett pays him an unexpected visit (Portman). From Jack’s difficulties ordering a grilled cheese sandwich in French to the visual joke at the conclusion where he shows Rhett the “beautiful” view of Paris from his hotel room, the short film is filled with the kind of odd details and situations frequently seen in Anderson’s feature-length movies. Peter Sarstedt’s 1969 faux-waltz “Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?” (which Jack plays on his stereo system) sets the mood for a large portion of the film’s length.
Anderson claimed that “Hotel Chevalier” was filmed at the Hotel Raphael in Paris in just two days during an interview with the Los Angeles Times in late September 2007 (just before “The Darjeeling Limited” started showing in a few select theatres in North America). He clarified:
“I was financing it myself, so there was no money to raise. We got a little crew together 15 people and shot quickly. We dressed it with stuff from my apartment. It was like making a student film.”
Portman was contacted by Anderson via producer Scott Rudin, and she agreed to star in “Hotel Chevalier” right away despite knowing it wouldn’t pay and would call for her to be completely naked at one point in the plot. In reality, Anderson claimed that her request for just one alteration to his script was, “Smoking. She was opposed to smoking.” As a result, the short film closes with Jack giving Rhett a toothpick rather than the cigarette Anderson had originally intended. Anderson continued, “I believe it’s better.
Hotel Chevalier played in theaters (eventually)
Curiously, the “Hotel Chevalier” short wasn’t screened alongside the film during its initial limited North American theatrical distribution, despite its importance to “The Darjeeling Limited.” Instead, it was made freely accessible on Apple’s iTunes Store just prior to “DarjeelingSeptember “‘s 28th screening at the New York Film Festival. The movie “Hotel Chevalier” wasn’t associated with “Darjeeling” in theatres until four weeks after it entered a semi-wide release.
When asked why he didn’t just release “Hotel Chevalier” together with “Darjeeling” in theatres right away, Anderson told The Hollywood Reporter at the time, “Ideally, I wanted someone to watch the short, take a break, think about it for a week, and then watch the feature.” That would be challenging to plan at a multiplex.
It’s worthwhile to see “Hotel Chevalier,” which is embedded above, especially if you’ve previously seen “The Darjeeling Limited” but missed its “prologue” (for whatever reason) and were confused by Natalie Portman making what may have appeared like a very strange cameo in the movie. Even people who haven’t watched “Darjeeling” and/or aren’t huge fans of Anderson’s films in general could prefer “Hotel Chevalier’s” Anderson-lite aesthetic. It can even bring back bad romantic memories for you.
