motel

His films like 'The Apartment' and 'Sunset Boulevard' explore the seediness, morality, and human drama lurking behind closed doors in transient urban spaces.

He frequently depicts motels as liminal spaces where marginalized characters confront loneliness, addiction, and fleeting human connection in films like 'My Own Private Idaho'.

His road movies and works like 'Paris, Texas' use motels as melancholic backdrops for existential reflection, displacement, and the American landscape's emotional emptiness.