Movie Review:The Darjeeling Limited

As a former student of poetry and, more tragically, as a person who insists on sharing poems with poetry-haters, I'm used to hearing four little words: I don't get it. Upon this common refrain, I immediately jump into action--I try to explain the brilliance of some tiny (possibly unintentional) symbol, the serenity of the cadence, clues in the word choice. And it is for this reason that I appreciated The Darjeeling Limited. It's more a puzzle than a movie, but I suppose that makes sense because Wes Anderson is beginning to seem more like a lyric poet than a director.

As the movie unfolds, we meet three brothers played by Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman (both Anderson fixtures) and Adrien Brody. They have met on a train in India, with matching leather monogrammed luggage, at Wilson's urging to try to reconnect. You see, the three haven't spoken in the year since their father's funeral. And thus the story unfolds in, with one exception, the present tense. The audience is privy to cryptic discussions of what happened in the past and, aided by one flashback, is tasked with piecing it all together. Of course, symbols abound, and I constantly found myself asking questions like: what does the peacock feather mean? The pile of rocks? The sunglasses?

And without asking myself these questions, I have to say that the movie would have felt a bit empty. Atypically, Anderson threw in a pivotal and tragic event. Yet, I felt less saddened by this one tragedy than by the constant sorrow in Brody's eyes. So although more actually happened in this movie than Anderson's others, I felt less affected by any of the action, which I doubt was his intention. Then again, when you know so little of a character's past, it's hard to identify with their hardships.

Of course, as with Rushmore, Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic, the screen was mesmerizing--I keep picturing the light blue train against the stark desert. But are beautiful images enough? I think it would take me at least a couple more viewings to feel like I understood the actions and words of each character. And even then, I might just give up and say those words I dread so much: I don't get it.










What does it all mean??