Can I Help You With Your Baggage, Sir?

We sat down to watch the artistic short Hotel Chevalier which had strong elements of dislocation (which is the theme for our end of year short). Written and directed by Wes Anderson; it stars Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman as former lovers who reunite in a Paris hotel room.

As an American in a hotel room in France it has that geological sense of dislocation which is backed up by the fact that the first piece of dialog coming from the character is French even though he speaks English. We also learn he has been living in that hotel room for quite some time.

There is also a lot of silent moments within the short, it seems to rely on action to progress the story, I feel as if this silence highlights his loneliness, his dislocation, he doesn't have anyone to talk to. Then there's that shot of him lying down alone on a double bed which amplifies his loneliness to the audience.

When Natalie Portman's character first enters there is a lot of space between the two, they each had their own domain in the room and this could be because the couple don't know where they stand with each other. The camera follows the girl around the room almost like she is taking in the new scenery where she is now a stranger, which is another hint of dislocation. Even the scenes they're together there is a lot of space between them.

I feel the film, like the characters, isolates the audience as we aren't aware or told what has happened between the pair. And I know that it's not always what you say or what you show but sometimes what you don't share or show, however I found it hard to invest into the movie or characters despite it being beautifuly shot and aesthetically pleasing.