Hotel is a 2001 British-Italian comedy horror-thriller film co-written and directed by Mike Figgis. It stars Salma Hayek, Rhys Ifans, David Schwimmer, Lucy Liu, Burt Reynolds, and John Malkovich.

Plot

While a British film crew are shooting a version of The Duchess of Malfi in Venice, they in turn are being filmed by a sleazy documentary primadonna while the strange hotel staff share meals which consist of human meat. The story expands to involve a hit man, a call girl and the Hollywood producer. The film itself makes several mentions of the Dogme 95 style of film-making, and has been described as a "Dogme film-within-a-film."

Reception

The film was not a financial success and received mixed reviews. Roger Ebert noted this and pointed out the complex nature of the film: "Many critics have agreed that Hotel is not successful, but I would ask: Not successful at what? Before you conclude that a movie doesn't work, you have to determine what it intends to do. This is not a horror movie, a behind-the-scenes movie, a sexual intrigue or a travelogue, but all four at once, elbowing one another for screen time. It reminds me above all of a competitive series of jazz improvisations, in which the musicians quote from many sources and the joy comes in the way they're able to keep their many styles alive in the same song.... The movie has to be pointless in order to make any sense."

Cast