The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I had very low hopes for this movie. I thought Hotel Chevalier was an exercise in Wes Andersonry, the meticulous detail that honestly isn't that important, the soundtrack, the overly self-conscious dialogue, etc. The trailer too made this seem like it was WES ANDERSON: BUT MORE SO!!! There is a huge problem in the marketing for this in that it is unlike anything else Wes Anderson has done.

Wes Anderson steps aside for the most part, letting his presence illuminate his surroundings rather than outshine them. Though the bits on the train itself are very rooted in his style, the characters and even the crew of the movie itself become swallowed up by the vibrant/busy culture of India. The dialogue is extremely natural (it's said that a lot was improvised) but there was a definite structure to the whole thing. Even the soundtrack shows a certain reverence, it is mostly compiled from old Indian movie scores.

The cast is great, Jason Schwartzman plays outside his usual nervous type, Owen Wilson turns in an incredibly rich character that moves far past his usual clueless goofiness, and Adrien Brody threatens to steal every laugh and "aww" moment in the movie. And the opening cameo (I won't say who) is awesome.

We saw this last night and I really enjoyed it. I didn't like "The Life Aquatic" very much, so I had low hopes for this. Also I watched "Hotel Chevalier" this morning and thought it was pointless. But TDL had enough emotion to keep me interested in how the characters developed and enough plot to keep me interested in what was going to happen next. I thought it was well paced, if a touch long, and I guess at the end I started to feel like it really wasn't going anywhere, but up until that point I hadn't noticed. I've got two brothers, and though we're nothing like the characters (we're slightly less crazy, but only slightly), I could identify with the idea of going on a road trip/spiritual journey with them, which probably helped me enjoy the film.

I really liked this. I felt unsure about Hoteal Chavelier, but I think I liked that too. It helped to understand Schwartzman's character.

Adrien Brody was great. Lots of fun. Nothing too deep but beautifully shot and great sound track. Owen Wilson doesn't really pass as a brother, but hey, he holds his own.

I just watched this last night, really enjoyed it... haven't seen any other movies except Rushmore, tho I have the Life Aquatic on my list...

A+

Beautiful, haunting, satisfying way deep down.

Loved it! Wes Anderson can be a taste that one needs to acquire. But I liked The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic and Rushmore, so I was pretty much anticipating a serio-comic flick. Three great actors that really pulled me into their quirks well.

I've not seen it yet, doesn't appeal much, but my mum thought it was adorable, and she's got quite good taste. They should have on the poster 'Johnny Cashpoint's mum liked it' - think of the hoardes queueing as a result ....


[/yes, I am a little tipsy]

j$ wrote: [/yes, I am a little tipsy]

Good time to write us some lyrics!
-bill

This movie messed up my Wes Anderson pattern. Before seeing it I had enjoyed each subsequent Anderson movie less than the previous one I had seen.