The Darjeeling Limited

Wes Anderson was only twenty-seven years old when he wrote and directed “Bottle Rocket” (1996). What followed was a stream of movies created by a mature thinker and filmmaker, who attained critical success early on in his filmmaking career. Even though “Bottle Rocket” and his sophomore effort “Rushmore” (1998) failed at the box office, studios still persisted with him. Teaming up with Owen Wilson writing the screenplay (as he as done in the last two movies), Anderson’s third movie, “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001), was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Screenplay category while also tasting a moderate box-office success. However, in terms of the budget and the revenue generated at the box office, “The Darjeeling Limited” is Anderson’s most successful film.

Some have called Anderson an auteur; he is closely involved in all the facets of filmmaking:  writing, directing, cinematography, aesthetics, and he carries his trademark personal vision in his films, which some critics have described as an infusion of modernism and the New Wave. “The Darjeeling Limited” is one such film in his filmography that is inherently modernistic, yet it is his most personal and expressive film.

“The Darjeeling Limited” is a story of three brothers:  Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody), and Jack (Jason Schwartzman), who are meeting one year after their father’s funeral. During the last year, they haven’t spoken to each other. In spite of injuries to the head he sustained in a road accident, Francis arranges for a vacation with his two brothers that would take them on a train journey through India. But Francis has other ideas about this journey and reveals to his brothers that the real purpose of this trip is spiritual discovery.

Meanwhile, Jack hooks up with a girl on the train, and they share a few emotional moments together. The train conductor is unhappy with Jack’s flirting with the girl and Peter buying a snake from the local market and bringing it aboard the train. Soon, the three brothers are thrown out of the train along with their eleven suitcases. Stranded in a remote village, the three brothers begin the second leg of their journey. Along the way, they rescue three boys and later attend a funeral in a local village. Finally, they are also able to trace the whereabouts of their mother, who has apparently disappeared after their father’s death.

Anderson’s “The Darjeeling Limited” follows a theme to those of his previous efforts like “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” (2004); the characters are from a dysfunctional family belonging to the upper class and are emotionally distant from each other. They are disengaged from the outside world, and as brothers, their degree of closeness has shrunk over the years; therefore, they keep their emotional feelings unshared and hidden. Francis believes that while this journey will provide for spiritual enlightenment, it will also bring the three brothers emotionally closer. Francis tries to find something symbolic in things around him, and in a scene where the train has lost its way, he utters a hilarious line: “We haven’t located us,” while trying to persuade Peter and Jack that things happen for a reason.

Owen Wilson’s performance is funny, since he carries the entire movie with a bandaged head. But his character is hardly convincing considering that he is the oldest brother among the three brothers. When you look at the matured faces of Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman, it makes you wonder if Owen Wilson should be playing the character of the youngest sibling. Nonetheless, as a ringleader, Francis brings in some hilarious moments to the movie. Peter is ambivalent at the prospect of becoming a father and fears that his marriage might end in a divorce. Unfortunately, apart from this concern, Brody’s character is underdeveloped, and his character tends to drift away in the shadows of Francis and Jack. Finally, Jack’s character is having trust issues with his girlfriend, and he firmly believes that she is seeing someone else in his absence. Soon, Jack is back to his old quaint ways when he strikes an emotional chord with the girl on the train. Jason Schwartzman adds quirkiness to Jack’s character and his performance has its entertaining moments.

Through the stylization of the three characters, Anderson injects modernism into the film. The characters belong to the upper echelon and are incredibly rich; in one scene, Francis is seen screaming, after a local boy steals one of his shoes that cost him $3,000 a pair. Francis’s idea of a spiritual journey represents Anderson’s vision of leaving the materialistic world behind in search of a deeper meaning in life.

The journey is also symbolic in nature in that it does not originate in a metropolitan city. Instead, the journey takes Francis, Peter, and Jack through India’s deep rural areas, where they acclimatize to the local underground economy, the tough weather conditions, and local customs. Dressed in western outfits, their interaction with the local community, especially in a funeral segment, highlights the rich class reaching out to the lower class, all in a learning and embracing way. There is one more aspect about the modernism that works in this film: All three characters are emotionally dislocated in their domestic spaces--whether it is their relationship to each other or to their partners or to their other family members. In spite of being rich, their personal relationships are somewhat hollow. Hence, their voyage only exemplifies the fact that even if they are leading dislocated and possibly lonely lives, they can still empower themselves at the spiritual level by traveling through India’s mystical mainland.

Anderson should be credited for picking hard-to-go locations in India and not taking an easy route by choosing the filming locations in the metros. Throughout the filming process, he maintains utmost respect for local communities; he never sensationalizes the tough Indian life, nor do his characters scoff at difficult living conditions in remote villages. But this is Anderson’s film, and he impresses with his trademark directorial style. In a funeral scene, the father who has lost his son is relatively calm, along with his other family  members. Further, the entire village is mourning the loss of a young boy in an emotional peaceful way. Apparently, if Anderson is realistically depicting an Indian funeral, then I guess he fails at it; Indian funerals are emotionally animated, and this one is serene to a point of being scary.  However, on a closer inspection that is not the case. In fact, Anderson presents the reaction of Indian villagers as a metaphor for the three brothers, who would have possibly grieved at the loss of their father in the same manner as the villagers. For a moment, the Indian villagers are emotionally westernized in Anderson’s world.

The film showcases a number of beautifully choreographed scenes and one such scene is an opening segment. Here, we see a speeding Sikh driver jig-jagging his way through traffic on his way to a local railway station. Not only do we see the tension on the faces of the driver and the passenger, but we also get the taste of India’s maddening traffic. In addition, the film features Robert D. Yeoman’s stunning cinematography in which he accurately captures the Indian landscape, its people, and culture; you feel as if you have been teleported to India.

Ultimately, enjoying “The Darjeeling Limited” boils down to how well you connect with its characters and their interactions during the course of the journey. I felt the characters were hollow at times, and even though their quirkiness brings in some interesting moments, overall it left me cold. More so, the pace at which the story unfolds under the wraps of spiritual discovery is hardly rewarding. Still, the film succeeds in its technical aspects and in capturing the picturesque Indian landscape that eventually makes for a pleasurable experience.

Video:
Criterion presents this movie in a marvelous-looking 1080p transfer, encoded in a VC-1 codec and presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Anderson likes to work with primary colors, namely red, green, and blue, and it shows in the train’s interior design, eleven red suitcases, and dusty Indian villages. The colors are deep and vibrant, especially the blues seen on train bogies. The Indian dresses, and later, the village interiors are rendered with remarkable detail, both during close-ups and long shots.

In a scene when the train crew is trying to figure out why they are headed in the wrong direction, you can see the blue train in the backdrop against the outstretched landscape of a desert with a clear blue sky. It is one of the many beautiful scenes in the movie and is presented with exquisite detail and sharpness. As the characters navigate through village interiors, the clay houses and colorful interiors comprising different colors like orange, yellow, red, and magenta, are beautiful and soothing to look at. Indeed, the biggest beneficiary in this hi-def edition is the presence of bold and intense colors. There is grain present in the opening scene and later on as well that provides a film-like appearance. Likewise, the skin tones retain their true, lifelike form and never look digitally modified. Overall, this is one of the crisp-looking transfers coming from the reliable, Criterion collection.

Audio:
“The Darjeeling Limited” is mostly a dialogue-driven film, and Criterion presents the soundtrack in a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. As expected, the dialogue is crisp and clear. The movie has a lot of quite moments where you either hear the rumbling of the train or background noises like the wind blowing through the desert. The movie’s soundtrack kicks in the beginning and in the climax thereby triggering the surround channels. But the film is driven by the front speakers.

Extras:
The new Criterion release includes a handful of extras.

Starting off the extras, we have an audio commentary track featuring Anderson and cowriters, Jason Schwartzman, and Roman Coppola. The trio talk about filming locations in India and challenges associated. At various points, we hear them discuss their aesthetic choices and the ideas behind the train journey.

Following this, we have a behind-the-scenes featurette by Barry Braverman. Here, we see the crew shooting at various locations. There are no interviews, just crew shooting various scenes. Up next, we have a discussion segment in which Anderson and filmmaker, James Ivory discuss the music in the movie.

Next, we have a short hilarious American Express commercial with Anderson. After this, there is a short featurette shot by Copolla and actor Waris Ahluwalia. Then, we have an audition footage followed by deleted and alternate scenes.
Also, an original theatrical trailer is included on the disc followed by a still gallery. Finally, Criterion has included a fascinating essay by critic Richard Brody.

Parting Thoughts:
I have never quite fully warmed to Wes Anderson’s movies, but I appreciate his artistic choices and talent behind the camera that makes me watch his movies with interest. “The Darjeeling Limited” features striking cinematography, but with its unemotional characters and paper-thin plot, the film is a mixed bag. However, if you tone down your expectations and understand Anderson’s motives, then you might experience this movie differently.
This Criterion Blu-ray edition features a sharp-looking 1080p transfer that beautifully captures India. In addition, the disc includes a number of insightful extras. This release is a definite recommendation for the fans of the film.