The Million Dollar Hotel (2000)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

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 film's story was conceived by and the film produced by Bono, the lead singer of U2. (U2 have contributed songs to all Wim Wenders' films since _Until the End of the World (1991)_). The band makes a brief cameo appearance in the hotel's lobby. The hotel is an actual hotel in L.A. and Bono was inspired to come up with the idea for the film after the group shot the video for the song "Where the Streets Have No Name" there in the mid-1980s. In the video the band gave a live performance on the roof from where Tom-Tom jumps.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Tom Tom: Dixie was in a music band called The Beatles. Only they didn't know.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Land of Plenty (2004)

Soundtrack:

Ground beneath Her Feet

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.