With Adrien Brody as the conductor, the short film Come Together, directed by Wes Anderson, is a classic Christmas tale about the need to make the best of a Winter train ride. And it’s a classic Wes Anderson film.
The one-point perspective usual in Wes Anderson work is present here, and the setting works great for moving the camera the way the director loves: the story takes place on a train traveling through a snowy landscape on Christmas Eve. In the film, lone passengers are traveling to join their loved ones for the Christmas holiday, but winter weather conspires to way-lay them.
What happens then is a classic Christmas tale. As the actor Adrien Brody said: “This story may resonate more than ever at a time in the world where we could all do with giving a stranger a hug.”
The short film, as H&M presents it, is both that and an advert, but one that most people will watch with pleasure. The winter train ride, under Wes Anderson’s direction, is the perfect setting for H&M’s holiday collection full of relaxed, wearable elegance. It’s about mixing the informal with a sense of occasion, capturing the holiday mood for both dressing up and getting cosy with loved ones,” says Pernilla Wohlfahrt, H&M’s Head of Design and Creative Director.
It’s difficult to not think of The Grand Budapest Hotel or Wes Anderson when you see the first images of the Come Together short film. There are touches of The Darjeeling Limited, from 2007, too. After all, The Darjeeling Limited was shot because of Wes Anderson passion for trains and the director’s interest into shooting that specific story.
If you’re familiar with the filmography of Anderson, all the ingredients of his train sequences are present in the 4 minutes film/advert now created for H&M. The presence of actor Adrien Brody, who has worked with Wes Anderson in those two films, makes the impression even stronger. Sit down and watch Come Together, I believe you’ll agree with me: this could be a segment of the film. Then compare it – some segments – from the movies mentioned.