Century Hotel

I also really liked Century Hotel. I only heard about it, because I am a huge OLP fan and I just wanted to see Raine Maida. But it was good! I haven't heard anything about it other than one article before it even came out. I watched it last night and I can't stop thinking about it. I wasn't disappointed in the movie, or Raine. And to the person who was looking for the song, it's called Can't Make It Good, but unfortunately I can't find it anywhere. I've been looking all day.

This all takes place in the very same room of a hotel at different times (old & modern). Although it starts off rather indifferently, it slowly unfolds into small really interesting stories which finally end up delivering the "goods" and being satisfying, at least to me. Unpredictable, with intense use of colour filters, it succeeds in its goal and in spite of dealing with -not-so-original- subject matters, it still remains authentic in story, technic & style and leaves you with a smile. Not for everyone...

A score of seven might seem a bit high for a "decent" movie, but I so rarely enjoy movies these days that this one deserves it.

Basically, it's seven stories that happen in this one hotel room at different points in the twentieth century. Some of the stories are good, some are only mediocre, but overall it's a nice effect. The distinct atmosphere of each story gives you a good feel for the changing time periods. The transitions take a bit of getting used to at first, but I've seen worse. The ending isn't anything spectacular, but it fits in all right with the rest of the movie.

This is the kind of movie that you can walk away from without feeling that you've wasted an hour and a half of your life. As a rule, I like that in entertainment. It's an interesting film that never slows down so much as to lose your attention. It's not a heavy film by any means; it's even got it's amusing moments. Watch it some evening when you've got nothing better to do.

Anyone who reads the back of the movie sleeve will have some idea of what Century Hotel is about. ONE ROOM, SEVEN STORIES, etc. For the most part, every major event in the film takes place in room 720, as if the room (or a ghost who inhabits the room) is telling us each of these tales.

Since all seven stories are being told from the ROOM'S perspective, we can only expect to know what goes on in that room and nothing more. Not all the stories are completely wrapped up in room 720 and we shouldn't expect them to be. Just as we don't see everyone check in, we shouldn't be surprised that we don't see everyone check out.

What Century Hotel provides for viewers are glimpses into different people's lives from different time periods. Each of these stories is about a different form of LOVE and it is interesting to see these sides of love, even if each story only occupies about 15 minutes of film.

To quote the great Roger Ebert, "I prefer to evaluate a film on the basis of what it intends to do, not on what I think it should have done." On this basis, Century Hotel succeeds for what it is: Seven glimpses into different forms of love, complimented with good acting, great cinematography and beyond.

These multiple vignettes all taking place in the same hotel room during the course of the last century are brief and engaging enough to keep you interested, but generally don't come together in any meaningful way. They all make a point, but ultimately only one works in bringing the overall framework of the picture to a satisfactory close. Amateurish writing nicely filmed.