Hotel Chevalier (2007)

Months ago, I watched Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited for the first time and, as I was expecting, I loved it. Thanks to Steven from Surrender to the Void I learnt about Hotel Chevalier, a short film prologue to The Darjeeling Limited. 

In this short, Jack (Jason Schwartzman), one of the Whitman brothers, is lying on a bed, wearing a robe and ordering from room service. His peace is disrupted when he gets a call from his ex-girlfriend (Natalie Portman) who informs him she'll be there in 30 minutes. He tides the room, draws a bath, changes his clothes and puts on Peter Sarstedt's Where Do You Go to My Lovely.

She arrives, looks around, brushes her teeth and exchanges some awkward words with Jack. Someone knocks on the door; it's the waiter with room service. As soon as he leaves, passion takes over. Or does it?

Hotel Chevalier certainly is an important backstory for The Darjeeling Limited, as we get to know more about the relationship between Jack and his ex-girlfriend --we don't learn much but enough to develop a bit further Jack's character and know something about the ex-girlfriend who is only mentioned in the feature-- and there are several elements in here that also appear in the feature film that you won't catch if you haven't seen the short already.

Does it work as a stand-alone film? I'm not sure about that as it is a little confusing at first even though you have seen the film, and you will feel Natalie Portman's character when she asks, what the fuck is going on. Without The Darjeeling Limited, both past and future are left to interpretation/imagination. Also, because the story Anderson tells here is very limited, the drama comes off a little cold. It's that coldness, that lack of emotion that really stuck with me about Hotel Chevalier though.

Fox Searchlight Pictures

That, and the stunning visuals. There's a combination of yellow and dark colours that fits the story and characters to perfection as they portray how they feel around each other, comfortable and yet a little awkward. The background music is a little too loud and, at times, it makes it kinda hard to understand what the characters are saying, but is really beautiful.

Rushmore (1998)

I've heard a lot of good things about Wes Anderson's Rushmore over the years but, for some reason or another (I can't recall any of those at the moment), I never checked it out. 

The film follows Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), a nerdy, precocious 15-year-old kid who earned a scholarship to the exclusive prep school Rushmore, where he is not doing very well in any of his classes as he doesn't bother to study and spends all of his time enjoying (too) many extracurricular activities. His life takes an unexpected turn as he befriends a depressed middle-aged local industrialist, Herman Blume (Bill Murray), and falls for a recently widowed teacher, Ms. Cross (Olivia Williams). 

If you like your films with a plot, you should probably stay away from Rushmore as its plot is almost non-existent. There are just a lot of events happening kind at random and it's kind of hard to understand why they are happening, but just like any other Wes Anderson movie I've seen (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Hotel Chevalier, which is a short film, are the only I haven't seen yet), a plot doesn't have to be that complex nor doesn't have to make a lot of sense to be compelling and captivating, and Rushmore is both. 

One of the many reasons for that is the characters. Once again, Anderson, with the help of his co-screenwriter Owen Wilson (fun fact, they wrote the screenplay to Rushmore way before they made their debut with Bottle Rocket, did you know that?), brought to the screen quirky, intriguing and developed characters that may not be realistic and may not be instantly likable, but you'll end up loving anyway despite their many flaws.

Buena Vista Pictures

Max, who is introduced in a very nice way with clips of him in all the many clubs he has either joined or founded at Rushmore, is beautifully delivered by Jason Schwartzman who, in his debut, brings to the character some kind of arrogant, lazy and yet charming presence that fits Max like a glove. His performance may not be Oscar worthy but it's definitely believable. Bill Murray is great as always as Max's adult friend, Herman, a disillusioned man in search of a home, doing a good job both as the good guy and the villain. Olivia Williams too does a really nice job as she probably is the only one who brings to the film a very appreciated human presence.

The humour is great as always. It's dark, witty, subtle and offbeat and Anderson finds a great balance between that and the drama, making of Rushmore a film that is both funny and touching. 

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

There's still plenty of time since Isle of Dogs hits theatres here (May 17 unless they decide to postpone it for some dumb reason) so I decided to take advantage of this time to watch the Wes Anderson movies I haven't seen yet. The Darjeeling Limited was one of them and it was also the one that had been on my watchlist for at least 10 years (I added to my list because of Natalie Portman but I'm so glad that at the end I didn't watch the movie for her because it would have been a major disappointment since she's barely in the movie). 

A year after the accidental death of their father, three brothers, Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman), meet on a train, the Darjeeling Limited, and embark on a journey across India in an attempt to bond with each other. But Francis has something else in mind, visiting their mother (Anjelica Huston) who didn't even show up at their father's funeral. 

It's the typical Wes Anderson story about a dysfunctional family. There's the estranged brothers, the daddy issues, and the shitty parents, basically, who fucked them up. And there isn't much of a plot either, just a lot of things happening that don't really make a story. Also, it unfolds slowly (I totally see why someone may not like this).

And yet, the journey both physical but mostly spiritual of these three brothers is so fascinating, it kept me glued to the screen as if I was watching a thriller. The Darjeeling Limited is about letting things go, leaving the baggage behind --and these three have a lot of them, both literal and figurative ones. 

And it's also very fun to watch. Their journey does not go as planned, of course, and the brothers are forced to cope with many difficult situations --like a poisonous cobra on the loose on the train-- and things get pretty hilarious. The humour is dry and quick, and most jokes rely on characters' traits, but they work. 

Fox Searchlight Pictures

The characters are just as fascinating as the journey. Though Peter and Jack don't have a reason to join the journey in the first place --they complain as if they were forced to do this-- they are quirky and interesting, very flawed and yet likeable, but most important they feel real. And the relationship between them --or siblings in general-- is depicted very well. 

Of course, the actors playing them are important as well. Adrien Brody was the standout for me. His character, Peter, is the one with a wider emotional range, and Brody does a great job delivering that, and some good slapstick too. He also has a beautiful chemistry with Owen Wilson which makes their scenes very enjoyable. Jason Schwartzman is a bit weak though. He just doesn't seem to be able to come out of the shadow of the other two. Anjelica Huston does good as the runaway mother and there's a nice Bill Murray cameo too at the beginning. 

At last, The Darjeeling Limited has some pretty striking visuals --fantastic cinematography, surrealistic colours, beautiful composition, gorgeous and interesting locations-- and a great soundtrack that fits the story very well.