The first image of Wes Anderson’s “The Darjeeling Limited“s prequel – the 13 minute short, “Hotel Chevalier” has appeared online from the folks at Natalieportman.com.
The pic features Jason Schwartman (as Jack Whitman) and Natalie Portman (credited simply as “Jack’s X-Girlfriend” according to the leaked press notes) staring off into the distance on the balcony of said Hotel.
As was written on the CastleRock Italian site (in broken English), ‘Chevalier’ is “Acclimatized in one room of hotel in France, [‘Hotel Chevalier’ is] the short epilogue of one heartbreaking history of love and the prologue of the travel told in ‘The Darjeeling Limited.’ “
Which translated means: The entire short takes place in one hotel room and is essentially the break-up that leads Jack to meet his brothers Francis (Owen Wilson) and Peter (Adrien Brody) in India for the “Darjeeling’ spiritual journey and adventure. Apparently Portman briefly appears in ‘Darjeeling.’
An interview with the filmmakers at film critic Emmanuel Levy’s site confirms these plot speculations as much. “Jack, the baby of the family and a writer who bases his “fictional” characters on everything that happens to him, comes to India still so obsessed with the ex-girlfriend he left behind in Paris, he can’t stop eavesdropping on her answering machine, for which he still has the code.”
The short will be played before the main course Indian-set feature at the Venice Film Festival (which is happening right now and means it will screen on September 3rd) and the New York Film Festival in mid-September. It looks like the short will also play independently in L.A. on September 14-16 at the Laemmle’s Sunset 5 theater in West Hollywood.
The Coiffed Clues
There was speculation about when “Hotel Chevalier” was actually shot; given that Natalie Portman’s hair is still short (it’s grown in since) and given that the location is Paris, this proves to many that “Hotel Chevalier” was shot almost a year prior to when ‘Darjeeling’ was shot last year (follow? NataliePortman.com fans can apparently DNA date every existing photo of hers in accordance to her current or dated coifs). Also: the yellow bathrobe that Portman wears in the ‘Chevalier’ photo appears to be the same one Schwartzman wears in ‘Darjeeling.’