You can see
Anderson's 13-minute short
Hotel Chevalier today on iTunes, where it can be
downloaded for free ! (link opens iTunes)
It's being billed as "Part One" of The Darjeeling Limited , Anderson's new film to be released here in San Diego on October 12th.
The short stars Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman as former lovers who meet in Schwartzman's Paris hotel room. There's not much dialogue, but it's composed of the kind of verbal incidentals one lingers around when uncomfortably... anxiously... meeting a former lover. Of course, they build to a one intense moment, then dissipate again.
The set design is signature Anderson -- full of treasured knick knacks and quirky touches. The soundtrack - featuring the song "Where Do You Got To (My Lovely)," by Peter Sarstedt - is an inspired choice. Here's a fantastic video of Sarstedt performing it.
I know I suffer from Anderson-worship, and will do my best to be critically minded for Darjeeling -- but Hotel Chevalier is, in a word, lovely. Check it out!