Wes Anderson’s 13-minute advertisement
Jason Schwartzman in Wes Anderson’s Hotel Chavalier
Wes Anderson’s 13-minute film Hotel Chavalier was made available exsclusively though iTunes over the weekend, which I only know about because Shane linked to it. Apparently, it serves as prologue to Wes Anderson’s upcoming film, The Darjeeling Limited. It’s a free download, and, obviously, is worth a watch.
Prologue is Anderson’s word for what this is and I don’t think that’s very accurate. Insofar as the piece relates to the upcoming film, it functions more as a teaser. (More questions are raised than answered, unless you’re question is “What does Natalie Portman’s ass look like with a huge bruise on it?”). The prominent placement of familiar Apple products — sort of startling in the context of Anderson’s universe — reveals the intention of the piece: Hotel Chavalier is a clever ad for for Apple. I’m sure Apple wanted to tie themselves to Anderson’s “brand;” they’re fans probably overlap a whole lot.
This doesn’t necessarily make this any less valuable. I loved Anderson’s American Express commercial from a couple of years ago, and I think there can be significant crossover between artistic and commercial endeavors. My point: just saying this is a piece of marketing. I think that’s pretty clear.
October 1st, 2007 at 7:04 pm
I noticed this too, actually. David Lynch would not approve.
October 1st, 2007 at 7:09 pm
haha. nope.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:36 am
I wonder why they used a 3rd generation iPod… ? Looks like an older Powerbook to the left too… weird.