"The Darjeeling Limited" (2007) Directed by Wes Anderson #india #train #wesanderson

Another from my "Wes Anderson Series" that goes ever so slightly off the rails, but it's a Wes Anderson film so hopefully fitting and one which may raise a titter and a chuckle!

“I gotta get off this train”.

The Darjeeling Limited (a luxury train on which our protagonists traverse India) is perhaps Wes Anderson’s most understated and introspective film hence far and also the first film to introduce a real left field narrative change that shocks on first viewing and continues to be an effective plot twist every time to an intriguing tale of brotherly love, despair, dislocation and tragi comedy shot through the prism of Anderson’s loving cinematic lens. The twist and indeed the majority of the plot will not be revealed here but rather a simple premise set up and a brief dissection of the three brothers travelling India in search of themselves for sure but more importantly for the brotherly love they once shared. Written by Director Anderson, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman (star of Anderson’s second film Rushmore) they jointly created a vast set of characters of whom nine or ten are in main or cameo roles but it’s nominally the brothers journey on whom we depend, but these will be dissected later. In supporting roles are many returning actors from previous Anderson films with Bill Murray returning in a short cameo role as “The Businessman”, Anjelica Huston returns as “Patricia”, Kumar Pallana returns in a wordless role as an “Old Man” on board the train and Waris Ahluwalia has a larger role than the one he played in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou as the train’s under pressure “Chief Steward”. Keep an eye out for a brief cameo from Natalie Portman as “ex girlfriend”, Irrfan Khan (Slumdog Millionaire and Life of Pi) may break your heart as “The Father”, Wallace Wolodarsky will certainly make you smile as put upon “Brendan” but it’s Amara Karan who excels in her role as “Rita” assistant to the Chief Steward on the train. I’ve kept this brief as ever as I wish to prevent from plot spoilers but each of these characters, no matter how brief they may be on screen, are key to this understated gem from Anderson.

The premise of this 91 minute film is a simple one: Following the death of their Father the three brothers have been estranged from each other for over a year and agree to reunite on a somewhat luxurious train journey across India. Together with the death of the family patriarch each brother has suffered a trying year and all of this is evidenced in the film’s opening minutes, despite their ludicrous and comical attempts to keep their secrets from each other. The double crossing and in fighting soon becomes prevalent in a twisted and black comedy tinged screenplay as the three brothers are introduced.

The above paragraphs are taken from my spoiler free review of "The Darjeeling Limited" which was originally penned and published some years ago, transferred to my Medium blog site on 25th January 2023 and which can now be read in full and for free (please also consider subscribing for free too!) via my Substack blog site and original article linked immediately below:

https://ramblingmusings666.substack.com/p/the-darjeeling-limited-2007-ce5df6464dbb

This spoiler free review is also contained within my "essential film reviews collection". Each volume and e-book is £4.99 however, should you have an Amazon Kindle "Unlimited" package, all volumes are available to read for free:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0C4HZSTTH?ref_=dbs_p_pwh_rwt_anx_a_lnk&storeType=ebooks

https://www.patreon.com/TheBlackfordBookClub
https://www.paypal.me/TheBlackfordBookClub
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/steveblackford

Thanks for watching!

Please "like", subscribe, and comment if you wish!

Thank you.