The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Director:

Wes Anderson

Writers (WGA):

Wes Anderson (written by) &
Roman Coppola (written by) ...

Release Date:

26 October 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Three American brothers who have not spoken to each other in a year set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find themselves and bond with each other -- to become brothers again like they used to be. Their "spiritual quest", however, veers rapidly off-course (due to events involving over-the-counter pain killers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray), and they eventually find themselves stranded alone in the middle of the desert with eleven suitcases, a printer, and a laminating machine. At this moment, a new, unplanned journey suddenly begins.

Plot Keywords:

Train | India | Journey | Funeral | Snake

Awards:

1 win & 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)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Hindi | Sanskrit

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Ireland:15A | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-11 | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | USA:R (certificate #43707) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:14 | Germany:6 | Sweden:11 | Hong Kong:IIB | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:12 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Argentina:13 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | New Zealand:M | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

India

Company:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Trivia:

The character of Vladimir Wolodarsky in Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), was named after Wallace Wolodarsky, who played Brendan.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the dining car scene, Peter is reading Jack's short story, Luftwaffe Automotive. The story is written on stationary from the Hotel Chevalier, in Paris. The logo of the French flag on the stationary is incorrect; from right to left, the colors are red, white, and blue. The French flag is blue, white, and red.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-09-29)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Play with Fire

Second only to "Rushmore"

I admit that arrogance is in the atmosphere of all of Wes Anderson's films and his style will probably never change, but I LOVE every single one of them (even the overblown "The Life Aquatic" gets me giddy). He knows how to push my emotional buttons and entertain the hell out of me, something that I find rare in most movies I watch. Usually if I want to be entertained, I feel the movie has to compromise the emotional value and vice versa. With Wes, I'm laughing, being entertained by the characters AND caring for them. The second that Adrien Brody ran past Bill Murray in slow motion running toward the train as The Kinks' "This Time Tomorrow" kicked in, my heart started racing at the idea that I was about to watch a new film by Wes, which I look at as something special that comes every few years. Wes' detractors complain that he is a pretentious one-trick pony, a true statement, but to me, not a negative one because I love his universe and I love being invited into it in every one of his films. While I love both of them, I occasionally wish that Tim Burton would make a film that wasn't some kind of Gothic fairy tale, or that Paul Thomas Anderson would make a film that didn't star his own ego. With Wes, I want him to just continue what he's been doing: keep using his same awesome style while taking baby steps of progress. The writing, acting, directing, soundtrack, production design and cinematography (okay, EVERYTHING) are top-notch in "The Darjeeling Limited". Hell, if "Rushmore" wasn't such a damn masterpiece, I'd say Wes has made his best film yet.