Hotel Chevalier

So in lieu of The Darjeeling Limited itself, yesterday I downloaded Hotel Chevalier, the thirteen minute prologue to it, of sorts. It's free on iTunes.

Obviously, it's not much of a film on its own- I thought of it sort of like an appetizer, a digital precursor to keep us going until the film reaches our respective towns.

And for what it is, it works- Wes Anderson is better at tortured father-son dynamics and family issues in general than tortured relationships, as the awkwardness between Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman indicates. But the colors in room 403 of the eponymous hotel are well coordinated, and there's as ever a cool song: "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)," by Peter Sarstedt.

But even if this were crappy, I still think it's an innovative way to generate interest- The best trailers, in my opinion, are the ones that just show part of the film (like this one for The Devil Wears Prada), so a short film that accompanies the movie is even better.

And if you're not familiar with Wes Anderson movies at all, it would be a great litmus test for you, since it contains the sort of artificial detachment that people tend to find insufferable, as well as the music and artfully framed shots that people like.