Wes Anderson The Darjeeling Limited

Overview

Cigarettes, cigarettes, and more cigarettes! The film, The Darjeeling Limited, directed by Wes Anderson, tells the story of three brothers who go on a spiritual quest through India after the death of their father and the near death experience of one brother, Francis, played by Owen Wilson. Besides being mentally unstable following their father’s death, it seems that the three brothers had only one thing in common, smoking cigarettes.

Characterization

Wes Anderson has found a nice way to show the psychological drama hidden within each character without the use of words. For instance, Peter, played by Adrien Brody, wears his father’s prescription sunglasses, regardless of the headaches caused by them. All three brothers cling to some part of their father by carrying around his monogram luggage throughout the duration of the film.

The journey of finding themselves is accompanied by the bright colors and beautiful culture of India, as well as some awkward and unique occurrences. There is even one scene where Brody’s character buys a deadly cobra that escapes on the train, almost causing them to be kicked off. Despite being horribly depressed, each character loves India in their own way. Through the film there are many lines like, "I love the smell of this country." Or, "I love the people here."

Sounds

Strangely enough, the film’s soundtrack consists mostly of folk songs that were played constantly by Jack’s iPod. Though set in India, the American folk music fit quite well with the film. The fact that Jack (Schwartzman) provided the music made up for the lack of quirkiness that his character held. Music is very powerful and thus made his character very important.

Final Thoughts

All in all, the film made me feel great after watching it. The director takes you on a spiritual journey as well. He creates three characters that you can relate to and love. The viewer gets involved with the film, much like a mother and child relationship.

Some claim that Wes Anderson is one of the most important American directors of this generation. I do not disagree; he has a way of taking some absurd set of occurrences and making them believable. He lets the viewer adapt their own outlook on the film, forming individual conclusions from the vast amount of information presented in 91 minutes.