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Wes Anderson's THE DARJEELING LIMITED has three brothers meeting up for a train journey through India after a year of not talking. Most memorable was a commentary on the trend well-known to travelers that, no matter how much it looks like you'll have a bus to yourself in the Third World, it will always been crammed full by the time it leaves. It's an entertaining film to an extent, but Anderson is stuck in a rut.
The three have been separated since the death of their father, and Francis wants them to rediscover their brotherly solidarity. The train journey the brothers take is a fantasy, and the Indians the movie among are stereotypes with none given much of a personality (the two actors playing Indian train employees are in fact Westerners). The youngest Jack (Jason Schwartzman) is a budding writer and womanizer, Peter (Adrien Brody) is a married man intimidated by the prospect of children, and the eldest Francis (Owen Wilson) is a rich business recovering from a motorcycle accident.
The treatment of India in the film sits uneasy with me. THE DARJEELING LIMITED, for all its "exotic" setting, is pretty similar to Anderson's previous films THE LIFE AQUATIC and THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS with its story of a family that has long squabbled but which, after many trials and tribulations over the film, finds peace together in the end. Having seen all of Wilson's earlier output, I found THE DARJEELING LIMITED basically repeating a formula.
At one point a village child dies, and it's almost appalling how Anderson uses this to advance the plot of the three brothers as if it were a mechanical action, with no sympathy to how the villagers around them would feel.The cinematography is fairly elegant, and a few slapstick scenes drew a chuckle. Still, I find RUSHMORE or THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS to still be, almost a decade on, Wilson's strongest achievements.
I'm not a big owen wilson fan, but this is amazing. I love it. Great Photography too.
They set off in India on a train ride to find their inner spirits. The latest from Wes Anderson, using a lot of the same troupe as usual (Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, etc). Light but fun movie about three estranged brothers who are called together by the oldest after he has a bike accident (and the an epiphany). These comedies are more chuckles than belly laughs, but they come often and are nicely quirky. If you like Wes's previous movies ('Royal Tannenbaums', 'Life Aquatic', etc)., then this is right up your alley.
I found the characters really interesting. This movie may not be humorous for everyone. I personally love the dry humor in the movie. Just returning from the Middle East, I felt more connected to the movie. The sound track has a lot of good music.
The plot moves along at a good pace although I suppose they could have cut a couple of minutes here or there; but that is a minor issue. Nevertheless, they all meet just as Francis tells them to and they begin their journey across India on a train called The Darjeeling Limited. And what about their own issues of sibling rivalry--how will those feelings be dealt with when the brothers are together on this long journey. She might not want to see them. The character quirks make them so human, too. On their way, they find three boys drowning; and sadly they can only save two of the three young boys.
Whitman (Adrian Brody) and Jack L. But there's still more. Francis is the control freak who even hires an assistant, Brendan (Wallace Wolodarsky) to make laminated daily "itineraries" so that every moment is structured. Whitman (Owen Wilson), says is a spiritual journey so that they can connect again. Then the REAL adventure begins--they continue their journey.
Francis and his two brothers Peter L. The cinematography and the choreography were brilliantly done; and the acting was very convincing. Do they get to see their mother--and, if they do, how will that go. There's lots of action, drama, comedy and suspense in this film--it grabbed my attention and it never let go until the very end. The funeral for the dead youth immediately brings back memories of their father's funeral one year earlier. Whitman (Jason Schwartzman) all have unresolved issues. Watch and find out.The DVD has a featurette on the making of the film entitled The Darjeeling Limited: Walking Tour; and the music is very pretty. Jack can't get her off his mind; we see that in the introduction to the movie when Jack and his ex (Natalie Portman) are alone together and later on in the actual film when he keeps checking her answering machine to monitor her incoming messages.
The Darjeeling Limited packs a punch. Their mother, Patricia Whitman (Anjelica Huston), has run off to be a nun. When Francis finally tells his brothers that the real reason they're in India is to find their mother and ask her why she wasn't at their father's funeral Peter and Jack feel very uncertain about things. There's also a man-eating tiger about; will that cause these three men any danger. Unfortunately, however, the brothers pick up a snake and when the snake gets loose the train conductor isn't exactly happy about having a snake onboard the train. The Darjeeling Limited is an outstanding film that hits home with spot on performances by great actors. When the action starts, three estranged brothers who haven't even spoken for a year get together in India for what one of them, Francis L. The people in this film could be taking this type of trip just about anywhere and at just about any point in time; it's truly about emotions, sibling relationships, relationships between adult children and their parents and the realities of life and death.
Peter is having a baby with his wife Alice from whom he simply "expects" to divorce someday; and Jack is estranged from his former girlfriend. The brothers alienate themselves even further from the train conductor when one of them accidentally breaks a glass window--the brothers go from being confined to their cabins to getting kicked off the train. Will there be a problem when Jack has some romantic time alone with Rita (Amara Karan), the stewardess on The Darjeeling Limited. I highly recommend this film.
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