Darjeeling Limited: Short-Changed Release?

If you're a fan of director Wes Anderson, you probably already know about the short film "Hotel Chevalier" that serves as a 12-minute prequel to the full-length feature "The Darjeeling Limited." But unless you are in the know, chances are you will miss out on many of the feature's more satisfying subtleties. Bizarrely, the 2005 short will not be released with the film in theaters—and while the prequel will make for a meaty DVD extra, it seems a shame that it won't be available to theatergoers trying out Anderson's oeuvre for the first time (although it is available through iTunes). Anderson's ability to tie in the most minute details throughout both works will largely go unnoticed—and the character development of Jason Schwartzman's Jack may just fall flat without the back story.

Unlike the feature film, which takes place on location in India, the prequel is set in a Paris hotel room, and the tone for the film is vewy Fwench, not least because of the wistful bistro ballad "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" by Peter Sarstedt, which plays prominently throughout the film (it also recurs in the feature). In the film, Jason Schwartzman's character (presumably the same Jack from the feature, although he is unnamed) receives an unexpected visit from his toothpick-toting ex (Natalie Portman). There's not a lot of dialogue, but obviously a lot of unfinished business. After taking inventory of the hotel room—achieved through Anderson's signature wide-angle close-ups on a quirky collection of props from a numbered piece of luggage to a stuck butterfly beside the gizzards of three music boxes—things take a turn for the extwemewy Fwench, and it is not long before Natalie is in the nude.

Despite Schwartzman's unfortunate tendency to make the act of kissing sound like he is slurping gazpacho, this scene between them is tender, and you can see why Jack will still be obsessed with his ex in the feature film despite the obvious but unspecified hurt she has caused him (Portman makes the briefest of cameos in the feature itself, but her character is a point of discussion between Jack and his two brothers [Adrian Brody and Owen Wilson] as they make their way by train throughout India). The dialogue here is sharp and skillful—the should we/shouldn't we at it's most brutal, honest, and funny.

Schwartzman's character then invites Portman's to see his view of Paris, and there is a lovely slo-mo scene where he carries his robe to her and helps her into it. As he ushers her through the vewy Fwench doors to the balcony, he takes a long look behind him before following after her. Anderson has a wonderful knack for using slow motion to highlight moments like these—and in it, we see their whole relationship.

In Anderson's production design, no item is random. Every quirky prop, color, and set piece usually has a specific character insight or plot point to communicate. In this one, the numbered suitcase with the initials JLW features prominently in one shot, when Portman slips something into it that will reappear in the feature. Several other threads also pick up in the feature, including Schwartzman's barefoot look, which Anderson decided to carry over from the short, despite the drastic change in terrain from hotel carpet to Indian desert.

On its own, the short is tender, intriguing, but a little odd. It doesn't quite tell a whole story. It really needs the greater feature to contextualize it, despite the fairly drastic difference in tone and style between the two films. At the same time, the feature requires the short to complete its meaning as well. It's all the more confusing that they will not be shown together. If you can, see both of them. While neither compares to the taut genius of "Rushmore" (1998) and "The Royal Tenenbaums" (2001), they are certainly good examples of Anderson's talent in their own right. His abilities to mix whimsy and melancholy, and to both entertain and enlighten, are rare delights—and "The Darjeeling Limited" and its sister short "Hotel Chevalier" deliver the delight if not the overall satisfaction of the two previous films.

"Hotel Chevalier": ***