HOTEL
Year: 2001
USA: Innovation Films
UK: Moonstone Entertainment / ICA
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Lucy Liu, David Schwimmer, Rhys Ifans, Salma Hayek, Saffron Burrows, John Malkovich, Chiara Mastroianni, Max Beesley, Julian Sands, Heathcote Williams, George DiCenzo, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Brian Bovell, Elisabetta Cavallotti, Valentina Cervi, Andrea Di Stefano, Nicola Farron, Christopher Fulford, Valeria Golino, Jeremy Hardy, Danny Huston, Jason Isaacs, Paco Jarana, Mark Long, Mia Maestro, Laura Morante, Ornella Muti, Stefania Rocca, Danny Sapani, Alexandra Staden, Mark Strong, Eva La Yerba Buena
Director: Mike Figgis
Countries: UK / Italy
USA: 93 mins
UK: 115 mins
USA Release Date: 25 July 2003 (Limited Release - Los Angeles and New York)
UK Release Date: 5 April 2002 (Limited Release - London)
Synopsis
Figgis' split screen DV experimentations continue to striking effect in this fabulously complex film within a film within a film ... Largely improvised by a stellar cast that includes Burt Reynolds, Lucy Liu, David Schwimmer, Rhys Ifans, Salma Hayek, Saffron Burrows, John Malkovich and Chiara Mastroianni, the Hotel of the title is the fabulous Hungarian Palace in Venice. Within this setting several stories are cut together, combining Eastern European political sleaze with a mysterious murder, an uptight English tour guide and a film crew shooting a Dogme-style version of The Duchess of Malfi as scripted by Heathcote Wiliams. HOTEL proves that Figgis is one of the few film makers who will experiment to discover the new possibilities of the medium.