Rail Whimsy

Wes Anderson's brand of whimsy takes another shot in his latest film packaged as a road movie through India.The premise is simple, three brothers reunite in India on the behest of the eldest sibling, a mummy faced Francis (Owen Wilson), to discover themselves through spiritual enlightenment. The other two brothers, Peter (Adrian Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman), reluctantly agree for the trip maybe because they don't have anything else to do and in part because of both are running away from obligations of a demanding world. Peter can't cope with the fact that he is soon going to be a father and Jack has just broken off with his girlfriend.

They board a luxury train, the self titled Darjeeling Limited, catch up on the recent events in their respective lives, visit shrines along the way, bicker and squabble and even get to have fleeting romance and let a poisonous snake loose in the train. They manage to get themselves kicked out of the train, are held up in a village and are almost about to board a plane out of India when they decide to visit their mother up in the Himalayas. And by the end of the film the three mistrusting siblings start to understand and respect each other.

The basic premise of the film complies to the conventions of a regular road movie, whereby along the journey the characters discover new places, experiences and themselves. Sibling rivalry and emotional distance from parents have always been a recurring theme in the films of Wes Anderson and in Darjeeling Limited he finds an appropriate template to retell his familiar concerns. In itself Wes Anderson doesn't provide anything new in his film. It's just his patented brand of whimsy that render this and his previous films something close to the proximity of the word sweet, coupled with a soundtrack littered with obscure British rock songs from the 60s, a horde of familiar actors, colorful appetizing mise-en-scene and the closing shot in obligatory slow-motion.

What gives Darjeeling Limited it's novel identity is the Indian landscape, sights and sound. Wes Anderson is too intelligent a filmmaker to make a picture perfect portrait of a mythical exotic east. He is wise to show an India that is devoid of any glamorous or mystical bearing. Given that the fictional train and its decor is made up and doesn't resemble any real railway service in India and the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment does form the core of the film, these tropes are handled with thankful restraint. I also admired the observational quality of the film as testament in a particular scene where watching some kids playing by Peter wonders why the kids are playing cricket with a tennis ball. Or similarly and in a subtle manner the presence of regular people on the streets, in the shops and the train.

Additionally and more importantly the soundtrack of the film redeems it beyond considerable measures. It includes vinatge Indian music as opposed to a pleasing Bollywood ditty, which evokes the urban grounded romanticism of the place.

All in all this film, aside from giving a more ambient portrayal of India from the eyes of Americans, doesn't break any new ground. But unlike his semi namesake Paul Thomas Anderson, I am partly thankful he hasn't made a film that is a departure from the rest of his oeuvre. For all its shortcomings and deficiencies when one would look back at the film two adjectives would come instantly to the mind: sweet and warm. Not necessarily bad for a film.