The Darjeeling Ltd

The Darjeeling Ltd
Starring: Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson.
Director: Wes Anderson
Written by: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman.


The Darjeeling Ltd is a Wes Anderson production starring Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson as three brothers brought together on a trip across India. Designed by Francis (Owen Wilson) as a ‘spiritual journey’ to bring the brothers together and to find out why they don’t trust each other any more, the trip . The three brothers haven’t seen each other since the funeral of their father a year before. Unbeknownst to Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman), Francis has an ulterior motive for this trip. He wants to find their mother who moved to the Himalayas and became a nun without telling her sons.

As the brothers meet again for the first time in a year, there is confusion and resistance to the trip from Jack and Peter, and a domineering attitude from Francis. Slipping easily back into the role of the elder brother, Francis orders food for his younger siblings and tells them where to sleep. Obviously this behaviour rankles the other two, and is just one of the many issues explored during the trip. The relationship between the three slips back into the realms of childhood, with petty jealousies springing up, and each of the brothers ganging up against one another.

Each brother has his own issues to deal with. Francis has just survived a terrible motorcycle accident and spends the duration of the film with his head bruised and bandaged and walking with a limp and a cane. Peter’s wife is pregnant, and he has come on this trip without telling her, convinced he will get divorced from her at some point, although not knowing why. Jack has recently left a relationship, which is explored in the short film, ‘Hotel Chevalier’, which precedes ‘The Darjeeling Ltd’, and adds a bittersweet twist to the ending.

Most of the action takes place in the cramped cabin of ‘The Darjeeling Ltd’, the train the brothers are taking across India on their epic journey. The tight physical conditions reflect and heighten the stress and pressure between the brothers. They are carrying physical baggage - the 12 or so pieces of monogrammed luggage belonging to their late father, which reflects their heavy metaphorical baggage and the way they resolve these issues reflects the brothers mental resolutions.

Typically in Anderson’s films, the message is subtle and filled with comedic moments. An exploration of relationships, patterns of behaviour and roles between the brothers, ‘The Darjeeling Ltd’ is a slow paced, thinker’s film, interspersed with moments of great hilarity and poignancy. With cameos by Bill Murray and Angelica Hueston, it’s a classic Wes Anderson film line up, and follows similar lines of exploration as in other films by this auteur. Well worth a viewing if you like his work, and an easy introduction to his world if you don’t.