The Darjeeling Limited

The Darjeeling Limitedis a 2007 Americancomedy-dramafilm directed byWes Anderson,which he co-produced withScott Rudin,Roman Coppola,andLydia Dean Pilcher,and co-wrote with Coppola andJason Schwartzman.The film starsOwen Wilson,Adrien Brody,and Schwartzman as three estranged brothers who agree to meet inIndiaa year after their father's funeral for a "spiritual journey" aboard aluxury train.The cast also includesWaris Ahluwalia,Amara Karan,Wallace Wolodarsky,Barbet Schroeder,andAnjelica Huston,withNatalie Portman,Camilla Rutherford,Irrfan Khan,andBill Murrayincameo roles.

The Darjeeling Limited
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Wes Anderson
Written by	Wes Anderson Roman Coppola Jason Schwartzman
Produced by	Wes Anderson Scott Rudin Roman Coppola Lydia Dean Pilcher
Starring	Owen Wilson Adrien Brody Jason Schwartzman
Cinematography	Robert Yeoman
Edited by	Andrew Weisblum
Production companies	Collage Cinemagraphique American Empirical Pictures Dune Entertainment Cine Mosaic Indian Paintbrush Scott Rudin Productions
Distributed by	Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release dates	September 3, 2007(2007-09-03)(Venice) September 29, 2007(2007-09-29)(United States)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$17.5 million
Box office	$35.1 million

The film was released on September 29, 2007, byFox Searchlight Pictures.The film received generally favorable reviews from critics and earned $35 million on a $17.5 million budget.The film premiered at the64th Venice International Film Festivalin competition for theGolden Lionand was named among the Top Films of the Year at the 2007NYFCO Awards.

Anderson'sHotel Chevalier,starring Schwartzman and Portman, acts as aprologueto the film.

Plot

InIndia,a businessman fails to catch his train, "TheDarjeelingLimited,"as it pulls out of a station; he is beaten to it by a younger man, Peter Whitman. Peter reunites with his brothers Francis and Jack on board, the three having not seen each other since their father's funeral a year earlier.

Francis, the oldest, has recently survived a near-fatal motorcycle accident, leaving his face and head covered in bandages, and wishes to reconcile with his brothers on a journey of spiritualself-discovery.He is also discreetly searching for their mother Patricia, whom the brothers have not seen in many years. With the help of his assistant, Brendan, Francis draws up a strict itinerary for the trip and confiscates his brothers' passports to prevent them from getting off the train too early. The brothers also continue to grieve over their father's death: all three carry many items of luggage marked with his initials, along with other personal items that belonged to him.

The train takes the brothers through the countryside and to variousHinduandSikhtemples though tension builds as Peter and Jack become angered with Francis' controlling behavior. Francis eventually reveals that they will be meeting with their mother, who has become anunliving at aChristianconventin theHimalayas.Peter and Jack are furious; Francis knows they would not have come if they had been told this earlier. The atmosphere finally comes to a head, and the brothers have a physical altercation on the train, upsetting the other passengers. The Chief Steward, whom the brothers have repeatedly annoyed throughout the journey, has them ejected with all their luggage. Brendan subsequently quits and returns to the train after giving the brothers a letter from their mother; its contents imply that she does not want to see them. The brothers decide to leave India, go their separate ways, and never return.

After hiking through the wilderness, the brothers see three young boys fall into a river while attempting to pull a raft across it. Jack and Francis rescue two of the boys, but Peter fails to save the third, who dies. They carry the body back to the boys' village, where they spend the night and are cared for. They attend the funeral the next day and experience aflashbackdetailing the day of their father’s funeral. Along with Alice, Peter's wife, the brothers stop to pick up their father'sPorschefrom a repair shop on their way to the funeral. When the mechanic tells them it is missing a part and the battery is dead, Peter frantically tries to get it moving, though Francis and Jack are against this. After an argument with a truck driver, Peter agrees to give up, and the three drive to the funeral in the car they arrived in. It is revealed that their father died from being hit by a taxi, and that their mother did not attend the funeral.

Back in the present, the brothers arrive at the airport, but they suddenly decide to rip up their tickets and go visit their mother. They reach the convent, where their mother Patricia is surprised but overjoyed to see them, and Francis coyly admits that his accident was actually asuicide attempt.That night, after the brothers confront Patricia for abandoning them, the family gathers together in silence and reconnect in love. The brothers awake the next morning to find their mother gone, leaving them their breakfast. They decide not to wait for her to return and leave.

At the train station, the brothers run for another train, the "Bengal Lancer,"and gleefully discard all their father's suitcases and bags to catch it. On board, Francis offers to return Peter and Jack their passports, but is told instead to hold onto them. Francis says," Let's go get a drink, and smoke a cigarette, "and the brothers leave their compartment.

Cast

• Owen Wilsonas Francis
• Adrien Brodyas Peter
• Jason Schwartzmanas Jack
• Amara Karanas Rita
• Wally Wolodarskyas Brendan
• Waris Ahluwaliaas The Chief Steward
• Irrfan Khanas The Father
• Barbet Schroederas The Mechanic
• Camilla Rutherfordas Alice
• Bill Murrayas The Businessman
• Anjelica Hustonas Patricia
• Natalie Portmanas Rhett
• Kumar Pallanaas The Old Man
• Gurdeep Singhas The Chief Steward on the Bengal Lancer

Locations

Much of the film was shot inJodhpur,Rajasthan.The Himalaya scenes were shot inUdaipur,and the opening scene of the film was also shot on the streets of Jodhpur. The International Airport shown near the end is the old terminal building ofUdaipur Airport.The hill featured at the end of the movie is Elephant Hill,Narlai.The scenes set in New York were filmed inLong Island City.

Music and soundtrack

Main article:The Darjeeling Limited (soundtrack)

The soundtrack features three songs byThe Kinks,"Powerman," "Strangers,"and"This Time Tomorrow,"all from the 1970 album,Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One,as well as "Play With Fire"byThe Rolling Stones."Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)"byPeter Sarstedtis prominently featured as well, being played within the film more than once. Most of the album, however, featuresfilm scoremusic composed byBengalifilmmakerSatyajit Ray,Merchant Ivoryfilms, and other artists fromIndian cinema.Director Wes Anderson has said that it was Satyajit Ray's movies that made him want to come to India.The works include "Charu's Theme," from Ray's 1964 filmCharulata,film-score cues byShankar Jaikishanand classic works byDebussyandBeethoven.The film ends with the 1969 song "Les Champs-Élysées"by French singerJoe Dassin,who was the son of blacklisted American directorJules Dassin.

Release

The Darjeeling Limitedmade its world premiere on 3 September 2007 at theVenice Film Festival,where it was in competition for theGolden Lionand won the Little Golden Lion. The film's North American premiere was on 28 September 2007 at the 45th annualNew York Film Festival,where it was the opening film.It then opened in a limited commercial release in North America on 5 October 2007. The film opened acrossNorth Americaon 26 October 2007 and in theUKon 23 November 2007, in both territories preceded in showings byHotel Chevalier.The film grossed $134,938 in two theaters in its opening weekend, for an average of $67,469 for each theater.

The film was released on DVD on 26 February 2008, and re-released by theCriterion Collectionon 12 October 2010 on bothDVDandBlu-ray.

Reception

The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. As of September 2021,on the review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes,69% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 193 reviews, with aweighted averageof 6.70/10. The site's consensus reads: "With the requisite combination of humor, sorrow, and outstanding visuals,The Darjeeling Limitedwill satisfy Wes Anderson fans. "OnMetacritic,the film had an average score of 67 out of 100, based on 35 reviews.The film has a rating of 7.2 out of 10 on theInternet Movie Database.

Roger Ebertof theChicago Sun-Timesgave 3.5 out of 4, calling the film's Indian context as one of its main highlights. Ebert singled out Anderson's script, which, according to Ebert, "uses India not in a touristy way, but as a backdrop that is very, very there."Chris Cabin of Filmcritic gave the film 4 stars out of 5 and described Anderson's film as "the auteur's best work to date."Entertainment Weeklyfilm critic Lisa Schwarzbaum gave the film a "B+" and said "this is psychological as well as stylistic familiar territory for Anderson afterRushmoreandThe Royal Tenenbaums.But there's a startling new maturity inDarjeeling,a compassion for the larger world that busts the confines of the filmmaker's miniaturist instincts. "A.O. Scott ofThe New York Timessaid that the film "is unstintingly fussy, vain and self-regarding. But it is also a treasure: an odd, flawed, but nonetheless beautifully handmade object as apt to win affection as to provoke annoyance. You might say that it has sentimental value."

Timothy Knight of Reel gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and said "AlthoughThe Darjeeling Limitedpales in comparison to Anderson's best film,Rushmore(1998), it's still a vast improvement over his last, and worst film,The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou(2004). "Nathan Lee ofThe Village Voicewrote "A companion piece toTenenbaumsmore than a step in new directions,Darjeelingis a movie about people trapped in themselves and what it takes to get a movie, quite literally, about letting go of your baggage. "The Christian Science Monitorcritic Peter Rainer said "Wes Anderson doesn't make movies like anybody else, which is sometimes a good thing and sometimes not. His latest,The Darjeeling Limited,combines what's best and worst about him. "New York Magazinecritic David Edelstein said that the film is "hit and miss, but its tone of lyric melancholy is remarkably sustained."

Nick Schager ofSlant Magazinegave the film 2 stars out of 4 and said "the ingredients that have increasingly defined Wes Anderson's films...seem, withThe Darjeeling Limited,to have become something like limitations. "Emanuel Levygave the film a "C" and said "Going to India and collaborating with two new writers do little to invigorate or reenergize director Wes Anderson inThe Darjeeling Limited,because he imposes the same themes, self-conscious approach, and serio-comic sensibility of his previous films on the new one, confining his three lost brothers not only within his limited world, but also within a limited space, a train compartment. "Levy also said" after reaching a nadir with his last feature, the $50 million follyThe Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,which was an artistic and commercial flop, Anderson could only go upward. "Dana StevensofSlatemagazinewrote, "Maybe Anderson needs to shoot someone else's screenplay, to get outside his own head for a while and into another's sensibility. It's telling that his funniest and liveliest recent work was a commercial forAmerican Express."

Glenn Kenny ofPremierenamed it the fifth best film of 2007,and Mike Russell ofThe Oregoniannamed it the eighth best film of 2007.

Awards and nominations

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
AARP Movies for Grownups Awards	February 4, 2008	Best Comedy	The Darjeeling Limited	Won
Bodil Awards	February 24, 2008	Best American Film	Wes Anderson	Nominated
New York Film Critics Online	December 9, 2007	Top Films of the Year	The Darjeeling Limited	Won
		Best Screenplay	Wes Anderson,Jason Schwartzman,andRoman Coppola	Won
Venice Film Festival	September 8, 2007	Golden Lion	Wes Anderson	Nominated

External links

• The Darjeeling LimitedatIMDb
• The Darjeeling LimitedatBox Office Mojo
• The Darjeeling LimitedatRotten Tomatoes
• The Darjeeling Limited: Voyage to Indiaan essay byRichard BrodyatThe Criterion Collection