Wes Anderson has done quite a few branded shorts (or long adverts if you prefer) but yet this one took me by surprise as it is for a reasonably ordinary brand (H&M is no Prada for sure). Anyway, this short is very much about his style as it flits across a train at Christmas time, giving a small boy a Christmas treat. In terms of content I found little here to like and my overwhelming impression and memory was 'meh'. It does look and sound great though, which I guess is what it is all about. The set design, the costumes, the camera movement through the period detail all gives it a pleasing look.
The festive season probably makes it work better, since one tends to forget such eye candy treats in the same way as we accept unnecessary gifts and eat unnecessary food; however it does not make the short something of more substance or something I would want to return to – it just makes it is a stylish piece which is wholly empty. It feels phoned in, which of course I guess it is; although it works for what it is, that is still not really enough to make it worth seeking out.
The festive season probably makes it work better, since one tends to forget such eye candy treats in the same way as we accept unnecessary gifts and eat unnecessary food; however it does not make the short something of more substance or something I would want to return to – it just makes it is a stylish piece which is wholly empty. It feels phoned in, which of course I guess it is; although it works for what it is, that is still not really enough to make it worth seeking out.