The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

One year after their father's funeral, three brothers travel across India by train in an attempt to bond with one another.

Director:

Wes Anderson

Writers:

Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola,

Stars:

Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Owen Wilson	...	Francis
Adrien Brody	...	Peter
Jason Schwartzman	...	Jack
Amara Karan	...	Rita
Wallace Wolodarsky	...	Brendan (as Wally Wolodarsky)
Waris Ahluwalia	...	The Chief Steward
Irrfan Khan	...	The Father
Barbet Schroeder	...	The Mechanic
Camilla Rutherford	...	Alice
Bill Murray	...	The Businessman
Anjelica Huston	...	Patricia
A.P. Singh	...	Taxi Driver
Kumar Pallana	...	Old Man
Dalpat Singh	...	Waiter
Trudy Matthys	...	German Lady #1 (as Trudy Mathis)

Storyline

A year after the accidental death of their father, three brothers -- each suffering from depression - meet for a train trip across India. Francis, the eldest, has organized it. The brothers argue, sulk, resent each other, and fight. The youngest, Jack, estranged from his girlfriend, is attracted to one of the train's attendants. Peter has left his pregnant wife at home, and he buys a venomous snake. After a few days, Francis discloses their surprising and disconcerting destination. Amid foreign surroundings, can the brothers sort out their differences? A funeral, a meditation, a hilltop ritual, and the Bengal Lancer figure in the reconciliation.

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Plot Keywords:

train | journey | india | funeral | snake | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox [fr] Fox [uk]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hindi German Tibetan

Release Date:

26 October 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Darjeeling Limited

Filming Locations:

India

Box Office

Budget:

$17,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£435,198 (UK) (23 November 2007)

Gross:

$11,896,380 (USA) (22 February 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Collage Cinemagraphique, American Empirical Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In order to achieve a constant limp while filming, Owen Wilson placed a small lime in his shoe.

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Goofs

Around 27 minutes into the movie, a scene is shown from Jodhpur, as one can see "The Umed Palace", this is not possible as the train is shown leaving Jodhpur in the beginning of the movie.

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Quotes

[first lines]
The Businessman: That's my train.

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Connections

References The Music Room (1958)

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Soundtracks

"Charu's Theme"
from the Film Charulata
Original Music by Satyajit Ray
Courtesy of Saregama India Ltd.
By Arrangement with The Royalty Network, Inc.

User Reviews

A complex and beautiful film

After three viewings of "The Darjeeling Limited" I find myself quite certain that this is not Wes Anderson's best film in the sense that it's not his best-paced film and it may have some moments that are a little too heavy-handed. However, I find that these little flaws add to the charm of the film because of the way it is constructed and written. It almost feels like one is part of the journey and since no journey of this sort is perfect or fully enjoyable it's almost fitting that this film isn't

I laughed out loud more during "The Darjeeling Limited" than during any other Wes Anderson movie, although "Rushmore" is probably more of an outright comedy. This screenplay wasn't written with Owen Wilson, as Anderson instead chose to team up with Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman for this project, presumably due to Wilson being too busy to do it. The result is a slightly inconsistent (and, as mentioned before, heavy-handed) screenplay but one with loads of delicious irony, wit, and dry humor. It's great stuff, really. There is a lot of depth to be found here as well, especially with Anderson's use of recurrent imagery in the film. There is perhaps more maturity and understanding of human nature here than in any previous Wes Anderson films.

The acting is once again top-notch here from Brody, Wilson, and Schwartzman, and Anderson's use of music is again incredibly fitting and beautiful while also being perhaps less frequent and distracting than his other films, allowing less room for accusations detractors frequently make that Anderson is nothing more than a glorified music video director. Also of note while discussing music is the use of various Satyajit Ray compositions in an acknowledgment of one of his cinematic idols and main inspirations, not only for this film but in general.

"The Darjeeling Limited" demands multiple viewings. It is a rich, complex, detailed, and gorgeous film which is a unique and fascinating look at some familiar thematic material recurrent in Anderson's work. It's not a perfect film, but it's definitely one of the best films of the year.