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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #542 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-04-07
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 88 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Family tension again provides dramatic comedy in Wes Anderson's new film, The Darjeeling Limited, about three American brothers travelling by train to find their reclusive mother in rural India. Like The Royal Tenenbaums, this film succeeds because of its smart, funny script in addition to the visual beauty of India and its luxurious locomotive transportation. In Darjeeling, the oldest brother, Francis (Owen Wilson), blackmails his two younger siblings, Peter (Adrien Brody), and Jack (Jason Schwartzman), into travelling to a monastery where their mother, Patricia (Anjelica Huston), has been in hiding as a nun. Supposedly embarking on a spiritual quest, the three men reminisce about the recent death of their father, and the family's irreconcilable problems previous to their reunification. Though they do find Patricia, Francis, Peter, and Jack grow immensely from another brush with death, this time an Indian boy they try to rescue, giving the film an added conceptual depth that Anderson's previous films have been accused of lacking.

Co-written by Roman Coppola, The Darjeeling Limited is a finely-tuned critique of American materialism, emotional vacuity, and lack of spiritualism, presented in ironic twists and gorgeous cinematography and lighting recalling Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller. A lovely, poignant sequence occurs while the three brothers attend a traditional Indian funeral, and flash back to their father's one year prior. Moreover, the film's soundtrack culled from Satyajit Ray's films and vintage Kinks gives the film a timeless feel, removing it from the predictable indie rock scoring of independent releases. By far Anderson's best film thus far, The Darjeeling Limited offers a much-needed dose of cultural self-reflection, pillared against India's ever-evolving yet ancient religious backbone. --Trinie Dalton, Amazon.com

Synopsis
Wes Anderson, the creator of RUSHMORE and THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, offers another quirky, melancholic riff on familial ties and father issues in THE DARJEELING LIMITED. Francis (Owen Wilson) has invited his brothers, Jack (Jason Schwartzman) and Peter (Adrien Brody), to join him on a train trip for a spiritual quest through India. The brothers have been estranged since their father's sudden death, and each is now embroiled in his own personal drama. Jack is being toyed with by his two-timing girlfriend, Peter's wife is about to give birth, and Francis recently survived a car crash that nearly killed him. As the train chugs its way across India, the brothers try to reconnect, but mainly end up arguing and sharing pharmaceuticals. Francis admits that the real reason he lured them there is because he wants them to visit their mother (Anjelica Huston), who is living in a convent in the Himalayas. Peter and Jack are none too pleased with this plan, and immediately want to go home. The trip hits another snag when they are kicked off the train for a series of offences. Stranded with their mountain of matching luggage, Peter and Jack are now insistent upon leaving. However, they suddenly find themselves brought together by a deadly accident involving some Indian children.
The film bears all of Anderson's trademark touches--stilted comedic dialogue, blunted emotions, and bizarre set pieces that pay subtle homage to the 1970s. Though the film is a bit quieter and less madcap than his previous work, it is still sure to delight his many fans.

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Customer Reviews

No thanks
It seems that Rolling Stone magazine thought that this one of the best films of 2007. If I had known that that was their view, I would not have bought it! Pretentious rubbish, virtually no real plot, no interesting dialogue, quite interesting locations. Amusing here and there and really nicely filmed in terms of photography but overall a pretty complete waste of time for all concerned.

THe story: three brothers, after father's death in New York City and on a journey of ? self discovery in India suffer a few changes of plan. The mother has become a kind of Christian abbess in the same country. We are not told why (about anything, in fact). Why why why (make a film like this)???

Familiar style
If you've seen Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic" and "Royal Tennenbaums", you will be very familiar with his style of movie making. I certainly enjoyed this film. For me it doesn't quite match the wit, charm and humanity of Royal Tennenbaums, but it's very close. The use of visual metaphors and the skilled use of music to heighten key points of the story, is very effective in Darjeeling Limited. I really like the characters of the three brothers and was very moved by the section of the film when they stay in the village (I won't say too much because I want to avoid spoilers). The acting is superb and natural throughout, by all the cast.

Anderson can probably make films, he can't write scripts
I keep getting caught out. I like the sound of a film. I get it. Then I realise it's Wes Anderson and I think, this one's got to be good. And then the boredom sets in. No hook, no jokes, no action, no sympathetic characters and no story - just pretty pictures and a very distinctive style. Owen Wilson has a great presence and whatever he says should be funny, but in this film he's going nowhere. The train is cool, the brothers look as if they could be intriguing, but they just are. The rhythm of the film is all wrong.

I didn't know what Hotel Chevalier was all about - and having watched it, I think it belonged with Paris Je t'aime.

Aware of the sunk-cost trap when my DVD stalled about 2/3rds of the way through, I started looking it up on Wikipedia and IMDB and realised it wasn't worth finishing. Somebody please tell me why people like Wes Anderson films...