The Million Dollar Hotel (2000)

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Bono (story)
Nicholas Klein (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 February 2000 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Everyone has something to hide.

Plot:

Tragi-comic, romantic whodunnit set in a run down hotel which plays host to mentally ill people too poor to afford medical insurance.

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Murder | Painting | Suicide | Love

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Davies	...	Tom Tom
Milla Jovovich	...	Eloise
Mel Gibson	...	Detective Skinner
Jimmy Smits	...	Geronimo
Peter Stormare	...	Dixie
Amanda Plummer	...	Vivien
Gloria Stuart	...	Jessica
Tom Bower	...	Hector
Donal Logue	...	Charley Best
Bud Cort	...	Shorty
Julian Sands	...	Terence Scopey
Conrad Roberts	...	Stix
Harris Yulin	...	Stanley Goldkiss
Charlayne Woodard	...	Jean Swift
Ellen Cleghorne	...	Marlene

Also Known As:

The Billion Dollar Hotel (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

Germany | UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:18PL (uncut) | Malaysia:U (cut) | South Korea:15 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:18 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Icon Entertainment International

Trivia:

The book that Eloise carries around early in the movie is One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.

Goofs:

Continuity: The positions of the pool balls change during the voting scene.

Quotes:

Detective Skinner: You'll do, take me to his room
Tom Tom: who... who... who...?
Detective Skinner: What are you an owl? The dead guy, Israel Goldstein
Tom Tom: Izzy
Detective Skinner: Is he what?
Tom Tom: Izzy was he
Detective Skinner: Right, Izzy, let's go
Tom Tom: [pointing upwards] Geronimo
Detective Skinner: Geronimo, Hi-Ho, let's go
Tom Tom: [smirks] Hi-Ho
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Land of Plenty (2004)

Soundtrack:

Satellite of Love

The film version of a literary style known as Magical Realism

It's a screwball tragedy, a term made up by someone else to describe this film. There are no others of this type. It's a love story without "They lived happily ever after"; it's a mystery (the essence of real) in a subtly surreal world. Not only is the story unique, but so are most of the characters, which seems to be a problem for some viewers. I don't want to paint this movie as too weird, but its differences are some of the best things about it.

Cinematography is classic, sharp, lots of deep focus. Exteriors, interiors, non-traditional lighting, a dawn scene shot before the magic hour, it all looks great. I can't recall a scene with foreground in focus while background is out, or vice versa.

U2 contributed a tune or two to the soundtrack, as they have for all Wim Wenders films since the 80s. The rest of the soundtrack is jazzy. It supports the film beautifully, and is available on CD.

If you've liked any of Wim Wenders films, I think you'll love this one.