Hotel Chevalier (2007)

Hotel Chevalier (2007) is a short film by writer and director Wes Anderson. Starring Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman, it follows the story of former lovers reuniting in a Paris hotel room. Running at 13 minutes, the film serves as an introduction to Anderson’s feature The Darjeeling Limited. Filmed on location with a small crew and personally funded by Anderson, it was originally intended as a standalone project. Its first screening was at the Venice Film Festival alongside The Darjeeling Limited on September 2, 2007. It later premiered at various Apple Stores across four cities in the U.S. The day after its initial release, it became available for free on the iTunes Store for one month and was downloaded over half a million times. Critics praised the film for its depth, emotional impact, and meticulous craftsmanship, comparing it favorably to The Darjeeling Limited.

In the hotel lobby, the concierge answers a phone call from one of the guests. Meanwhile, Jack lounges on a bed in his yellow bathrobe, absorbed in an old American war film called Stalag 17 and perusing the newspaper. He calls down to the concierge for room service in broken French and soon receives a call from Rhett, his ex-girlfriend. She informs him that she is heading over from the airport and requests his room number. Though he initially protests that he didn’t invite her, Jack eventually agrees. He quickly tries to tidy up his room while playing the beginning of ‘Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?’ by Peter Sarstedt on his stereo before running a bath.