The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

A year after their father's funeral, three brothers travel across India by train in an attempt to bond with each other.

Director:

Wes Anderson

Writers:

Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola

Stars:

Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman

4 wins & 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 | india | journey | reconciliation | train ride | 

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Taglines:

I want us to be brothers again, like we used to be.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Searchlight [United States]

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 USA:

$134,938, 30 September 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$11,902,715, 28 February 2008

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$35,076,923, 28 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:

2.40 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Throughout the whole movie, no one smokes a full cigarette.

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Goofs

When the train attendant brings the Whitman's lemonade, Francis and Jack take two out of the three glasses she's carrying on her tray. When she leans towards Jack to apply a bindi mark on his forehead, two full glasses of lemonade are visible on the tray. Only one should be left.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

References Gaslight (1944)

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Soundtracks

Strangers
Written by Dave Davies
Performed by The Kinks
Courtesy of Abkco Music & Records, Inc. and Sanctuary Records

User Reviews

Wes doing Wes

The Darjeeling Limited is unlike the average comedy. While not being truly laugh out loud funny, the film is clever, well written, with memorable characters and one liners that grow wittier over time. The only type of movie it can be compared to are other films by Wes Anderson, the director of Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and the love it or hate film, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. All of his movies are extremely stylized, with slow motion sequences, wide lenses that slightly distort the frame, and privileged, depressed characters with family issues all thrown together in a slightly artificial, timeless, carefully detailed environment. While with The Life Aquatic he may have tried to do too much, The Darjeeling Limited shows Anderson finally perfected his style. He knows when to throw inside jokes to his most loyal of fans, while keeping his stories fresh and personal, without acknowledging the critics who blame Anderson for repeating himself.

The film is absolutely engaging from the very start with a hilarious, memorable cameo by Bill Murray, trying to catch the Darjeeling Limited train in slow motion, yet is outrun by Adrien Brody's Peter to the tune of The Kinks' This Time Tomorrow, one of the three Kinks songs in the film (all are accompanied by slow motion sequences). Brody, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson play the three Whitman brothers, Peter, Jack, and Francis. Wilson's character has organized a spiritual journey through India with his brothers who have not spoken to one other since their father's funeral a year ago. Performance-wise, the standout is Wilson, in what might be his best role yet. Owen Wilson seems to play himself in all of his other movies, with Wes Anderson being the only writer/director to truly know how to use his talents. The characters begin to realize that one cannot force a spiritual journey, no matter how many temples visited and organized rituals performed for brotherly bonding as printed on a laminated itinerary. The bender that results is a ridiculously entertaining blend of comedy and drama successfully aided by Anderson's great choice of music and colorful, dynamic cinematography.

Extremely recommended viewing (other than Anderson's previous efforts) before watching this amazing film is Hotel Chevalier, a 13 minute short film directed by Anderson and starring Jason Schwartzman, available for free download online through Itunes. In the film, Schwartzman plays the same character that he plays in The Darjeeling Limited. Also starring is Natalie Portman as Jack's ex-girlfriend, who makes a brief cameo in the feature film as well. The short film helps establish Schwartzman's character, and provides clues on certain details of The Darjeeling Limited. Also, a couple of funny moments in the feature wouldn't make much sense without seeing the short. The emotional, yet blissful experience that is The Darjeeling Limited is Wes Anderson's best film thus far, defeating Rushmore for that top spot.