The Darjeeling Limited

[MacGuffin]

WES ANDERSON
At only 38 (he looks even younger), the director of hits such as Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums has returned to his favourite theme. But, Simon Houpt discovers, he can't say why
Source: The Globe And Mail

NEW YORK -- Want to know what Wes Anderson is like in person? Watch his films. For here he is, perched on a high floor of the chic W Hotel overlooking Union Square and seeming as nattily attired, emotionally reserved, unreflective and wholly sui generis as his five-feature body of work.

He is clad in an off-white linen suit that, per his habit, is tailored about one size too small: his pants are floods hanging a centimetre or two above light brown hush puppies, his jacket reveals shirtsleeves unbuttoned at the cuffs. With his baby smooth face and slightly overlong reddish hair, at 38 he gives the playful impression of a boy who suddenly grew into a man and has been too distracted to buy himself a new wardrobe.

Which is an intriguing fiction, because it's hard to imagine Anderson getting distracted from anything he considers important; he knows the value of appearances. Certainly his films, beginning with Bottle Rocket in 1996 and stretching through Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) seem the intricate creations of an obsessive boy-man. His new work, The Darjeeling Limited, is, like the others, a lovingly hand-turned dollhouse of quirky characters. But there's something new pushing at the edges: an awareness, however small, of a wider world out there.

The film, which opens in Toronto on Friday before rolling out across Canada over October, centres on three estranged brothers who have not seen each other since the funeral of their father one year earlier. Led by the eldest, Francis (Owen Wilson), after a motorcycle accident left him longing to reconcile his fractured family, Peter (Adrian Brody) and Jack Whitman (Jason Schwartzman) set out by train across Rajasthan on what Francis bills as a spiritual journey. To ease their way, Francis has brought along his personal assistant, who daily distributes laminated cards to the trio with their minutely planned itinerary.

Like the fictional brothers, Anderson travelled across India with his co-writers on the movie, Schwartzman and Roman Coppola. "We went over there to kind of act out what we knew of the story up to that point, to see what it was like," he explains.

"So we went on a train around India and we put ourselves in a lot of situations where normally we'd be too reluctant or too reserved to go into, but we did them because, you know, we were doing our 'research' - so we kind of were acting out the story."

While writing, Schwartzman played his own character, Coppola took on Brody's character and Anderson played Wilson's - that is, just as he does in real life, he played the ringleader, the orchestrator. And while he's loath to admit he was on his own spiritual quest - "I think it would sound silly to be talking about that in the context of promoting a movie," - Anderson agrees that he was off-balance and in need of rejuvenation after the experience of making and promoting The Life Aquatic. His first big-studio feature, with a budget of more than twice what he had had before, that project had thrown him into a manner of filmmaking that didn't suit his handmade style: trailers for the actors and endless personal assistants and a sense that there was no need to rush the process because Disney was footing the bill.

"I didn't want to spend that kind of money with Life Aquatic," he insists. "We had ships and giant sets and we had islands, and we made it for I think half of what you would normally spend for such a movie, but still it ended up being $58-million or something like that. Well, that's a lot of money." Particularly when the North American box office ends up topping out at about $24-million.

After Life Aquatic, Anderson left his home in New York and took an apartment in Paris. "Often people just have to get away from where they're from, I guess," he says. The city fed him - he once wanted to be an architect and he is in thrall to classic Parisian design - and put him that much closer to his real goal: travel through Asia and India. Inspired by Jean Renoir's The River, which had been recommended to him by Martin Scorsese, Anderson went to India and immediately fell in love with the land and its people.

"Have you been to India before?" he asks. "There's so many more people than most places you go, and they're out. People are everywhere. So any way you look, there's something funny, something that's going to make you laugh or something that might shock you, or something beautiful. The place is filled with activity, and everything is at a much more intense level, you know? You don't see a guy on a scooter, you see a family of six on a scooter, you know, and the wife is riding side-saddle in a sari, and a guy riding the other way on a bicycle has like 25 milk cans, so that it's wider than a car, and you really can't believe it."

To illustrate his point, he borrows a pen and a piece of paper and draws a picture of a flatbed truck with an almost dome-like load of cotton that makes the conveyance look like a package of Jiffy-Pop, comically topped off with a tiny Indian man balanced precariously on the load.

Anderson wanted to capture some of that chaos. So he stripped away the normal Hollywood perks, instructed his actors to do their own hair and makeup, and used real locations. Production ended up costing about $17-million.

"My approach with India was, we didn't go to India to build India," he says. "I feel like there's very little in the movie that we invented." Except, of course, for the central story, which brings Anderson back to his familiar themes of failure, nostalgia and fractured families.

In The Darjeeling Limited, he toys with those who believe all fiction is autobiographical: Jack, a writer, is frequently protesting that his stories - which the audience knows to be taken directly from his life - are pure fiction.

"I don't think I'd want to write about three brothers if it weren't for the fact that I have two brothers and there were three of us growing up and that comes from my own experience," Anderson says.

So does he understand why he keeps gnawing at the theme of fractured families?

He pauses as if he's never been asked the question. "I guess, maybe - well, you know what? It's very hard for me to answer," he says. "I certainly, you know, couldn't help but be aware that that's something that's always in these movies, but umm, I don't know why I feel that drawn to that material."

He pauses again. "Umm. I'll think about it." He laughs quietly, to himself: Nothing more is forthcoming.

[©brad]

i love wes. i love the movie. but i really can't read another article or promo about either for sometime.

[Stefen]

Wes Anderson went from nerdy film school savior to pretensious pompous auteur overnight.

I'll wait for the video.

[ElPandaRoyal]

Wes Anderson went from nerdy film school savior to pretensious pompous auteur overnight.

I'll wait for the video.

Are you really sure you don't wanna see a gorgeous cinemascope Wes Anderson movie on the big screen?

By the way, how much does an average viewer pay in the US to see a movie in theaters? In Portugal is about 5-fucking-€, which is just too much, but I heard some of you guys pay even more, right?

[Stefen]

Wes Anderson went from nerdy film school savior to pretensious pompous auteur overnight.

I'll wait for the video.

Are you really sure you don't wanna see a gorgeous cinemascope Wes Anderson movie on the big screen?

By the way, how much does an average viewer pay in the US to see a movie in theaters? In Portugal is about 5-fucking-€, which is just too much, but I heard some of you guys pay even more, right?

I probably will see it, but I'm just saying, it doesn't seem like Wes is really making any progress.

Wes and PTA have been in an unspoken war the past 10 years whether people want to admit it or not. Sure, you can like them both, but you can't like them both the same amount. You have to like one more than the other.

I think PTA has passed Wes by. He's making movies that are stretching his filmmaking talents while Wes is still making buddy movies with his friends.

My allegiance lies with PTA. Because I'm an adult, and I need an adult filmmaker (HAHA)

Last movie I saw in the theater was Cocoon II and I paid $2.50 and it came with a free shoe shining in the lobby.

[tpfkabi]

any word on how much this is expanding this week (number of theaters)?

[ElPandaRoyal]

Wes Anderson went from nerdy film school savior to pretensious pompous auteur overnight.

I'll wait for the video.

Are you really sure you don't wanna see a gorgeous cinemascope Wes Anderson movie on the big screen?

By the way, how much does an average viewer pay in the US to see a movie in theaters? In Portugal is about 5-fucking-€, which is just too much, but I heard some of you guys pay even more, right?

I probably will see it, but I'm just saying, it doesn't seem like Wes is really making any progress.

Wes and PTA have been in an unspoken war the past 10 years whether people want to admit it or not. Sure, you can like them both, but you can't like them both the same amount. You have to like one more than the other.

I think PTA has passed Wes by. He's making movies that are stretching his filmmaking talents while Wes is still making buddy movies with his friends.

My allegiance lies with PTA. Because I'm an adult, and I need an adult filmmaker (HAHA)

Last movie I saw in the theater was Cocoon II and I paid $2.50 and it came with a free shoe shining in the lobby.

As for the price you paid, I really thought it was a lot more than that. Do people still shine shoes? I think I never did...

As for the evolution of the filmmakers, I agree with some of what you have said. Yes, Paul Thomas Anderson seems like the best overrall between the two, but that's not really an issue for me. Wes is still entertaining me, and I really thought that TLA wasn't really a step forward, but that was the only time when I felt that about him. Rushmore was an improvement on Bottle Rocket, and The Royal Tenenbaums was an improvement over Rushmore and still is, for me anyway, the best movie of the decade. The Life Aquatic seemed less amazing, but not at all bad.

As for Paul, yes, he's exploring his filmmaking to the limit, and that is making me really excited. He's the best that came from the nieties post-Tarantino period. No doubt about it.

[Stefen]

Movies here in New Mexico (Southeast United States) run an average of $10 a ticket.

[MacGuffin]

any word on how much this is expanding this week (number of theaters)?

Playing only two days in a pair of Manhattan theaters, the AMC-Loews Lincoln Square and the Regal Cinemas Union Square, director Wes Anderson's latest comedy, "The Darjeeling Limited," starring Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman as three estranged brothers traveling through India, earned $134,938. "Darjeeling Limited's" $67,469 per-screen averageranked just below Michael Moore's healthcare documentary "Sicko" as the top exclusive debut of 2007, although the Wes Anderson comedy only played two days in theaters after opening the New York Film Festival Sept. 28. "We sold out all shows by noon at Lincoln Square and at Union Square we experienced sell-outs all day long," said Sheila Deloach, Senior Vice President Distribution at Fox Searchlight Pictures. "People were lining up at both theaters and it was very exciting to watch them come out in droves and embrace Wes Anderson's new film." "Darjeeling Limited" expands Friday to six additional cities [Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Toronto] and continues to expand throughout October, reaching its widest release Oct. 25.

[Sunrise]

Movies here in New Mexico (Southeast United States) run an average of $10 a ticket.

Geography was clearly not your strongest subject in school, eh?

And I'd love to respond to the theme you hinted at--PTA is an adult filmmaker, and by the negative, Wes is not--but there wasn't much to go on and I am at a loss as to what reasons there may be. Let us know...from an adult's perspective.

[tpfkabi]

talk about a slow burn...not even Dallas or Austin. i know they are doing the free screenings around more cities though. i guess they're hoping for word of mouth to spread.

[Stefen]

Movies here in New Mexico (Southeast United States) run an average of $10 a ticket.

Geography was clearly not your strongest subject in school, eh?

haha, oops. I meant Southwest. I live here. It was a mistake.

[MacGuffin]

Owen Wilson returns to public eye

Owen Wilson returned to the public eye Thursday night, making an appearance at the Los Angeles premiere of "The Darjeeling Limited."

Sporting a shaggy blond beard and a dark jacket, it was among Wilson's first public appearances since a suicide attempt in late August.

Wilson was joined by fellow cast mates Adrien Brody, Anjelica Huston, Jason Schwartzman and filmmaker Wes Anderson.

Before the movie started, Anderson introduced Wilson, his longtime friend and collaborator, saying, "I've never made a movie without him and I hope I never have to."

The two have worked together on several films, including "Bottle Rocket," "Rushmore," and "The Royal Tenenbaums," for which they were nominated for a best screenplay Oscar.

Wilson stars in "The Darjeeling Limited," in which three brothers journey by train through India.

The premiere was held at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences headquarters.

[squints]

PTA is an adult filmmaker, and by the negative, Wes is not

That's great. Wes is older but Paul is more of an adult. i guess

[w/o horse]

Hotel Chevalier went first.  I wasn't expecting this but how much better it was on the big screen is amazing.  There was some sound design I'd missed from my home viewing, and the colors, that never felt right on either my computer or television, were gorgeous.  If you've been for some reason holding off on watching Hotel Chevalier, don't, because there are a lot of in-jokes in Darjeeling about it and you'll miss out.

There's a lot I want to talk about, but it's early, so I'm going to signal for spoilers.  The spoilers are at the bottom of the post.

Darjeeling is another film, like I felt Eastern Promises was, in which the creator has very purposefully grown out into a new area that both betrays and typifies earlier work.  This contradiction incites two equally inconsistent reactions:  Wes Anderson has either repeated himself, or he has failed (or he has always failed, but I personally dismiss that possibility).  It is unfortunate that the popular opinion of Anderson's nascent career is that he suffers from a legacy frozen three films in, especially when there is no indication that he himself feels this way*.  Much criticism is a result of the conversation among film goers that says Anderson's films are obviously similarily idiosyncratic and similarily themed.  Because of this, his critics have become similarily expectant for an evolution of material equal to Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - Royal Tenenbaums.

Which I think has occured, because it is my opinion that Royal Tenenbaums - Life Aquatic - Darjeeling Limited has been a continuous progression, and in Darjeeling Anderson reaches deeper into his palette then he ever has before.  Because I see Darjeeling as having all the best elements of the previous films I
see it as the best.  Specifically, the brilliant characterization of his previous films has become more internalized, and the iconic personalization of their environments has become more integrated^.

Anderson talks a lot about the influence of seeing The River, and what The River is most notable for is its colors.  Darjeeling is an equally pleasant looking picture.  Blues, greens, and yellows against a backdrop of reds, browns, and oranges.  The colors are as memorable as anything else in the film, which is an example of how Anderson has continued to develop the craft of filmmaking.  The detail to attention has multiplied into all areas of the film.  Considerable attention is paid all the fragments constructing Darjeeling, and I'll restate some of the obvious here:  the shot composition is engaging, the music selection is energizing, the shot variety is stimulating, the dialogue is interesting, the themes are expanding, and the production design is imaginative.

The script is so important in a discussion of a Wes Anderson film.  So important because the scope of his filmmaking talents have already been proven, what is under direct scrutiny with his new films is his ability to develop new material.  The Darjeeling script is emotionally cohesive, seemlessly executed, and pretty fucking funny%.  I think it strikes out in diffrection directions and that Anderson is a filmmaker in which "Rushmore," "Life Aquatic," "Royal Tenenbaums" or the others should all be equally acceptable answers to the "Which one is your favorite" question.  Like other directors he juggles the same themes, and each film is an intepretation of ideas and questions that he finds compelling.  I embrace this aspect.  I am in the camp that doesn't find Anderson emotionally compelling, so I'm not one to have a favorite based on emphatic response.  Perhaps some have reached a deeper core (I don't think so), but I truly feel that Darjeeling is a fully functioning script that incorporates the real with the effective and the funny with the painful in a way that eliminates the criticisms of affectation or eccentricity of his previous films.  They're chiseled characters, and what I said about 2006 was that I loved the films because they had imperfect characters in imperfect situations that challenged the apparatus of scriptwriting.  This is how I feel about the Darjeeling script.  I'm lucky it's also made by such a talented filmmaker.

Spoiler section

*There were at least three conspicuously metaphorical moments in the film.  Wilson himself identifies the second in the narrative, the third is Wilson removing his bandages, and the first is Murray missing the train at the beginning of the film.

^Is the reason people are calling the film ethnocentric because it sometimes feels like Anderson has set-designed India?  If so what a compliment.  The debate on the issue of cultural ego is of little importance to me.  Anderson's characters have always been rich white people who are almost idiotically amazed by the simplest departures from normal routine.  That his characters are now venturing into new territory seems to justify this.  The characters of Darjeeling are naive to the Indian culture and sometimes respond brutishly, but it's built into the characters.  What should be judged is their response to the individual Indian.  The river scene, which begins with "What a bunch of assholes" and ends with a funeral that connects the brothers to their New York lives is the sort of cultural transcendence that makes sense, that seems real to me, rather than reservation and haughty, forced respectfulness.  Also, they seem little more out of place and condescending there than they did in New York.

%  The pepper spray set-up and pay-off is the long and most organic example of Anderson's humor.  It does not rely on cleverness of irony because it's all physical and situational comedy. Real easy stuff to follow that really livens up the film and makes it more fun.  The Porsche scene is a condensed example of Anderson's ability to generate emotion - it's a stretch of pure rage and futitily and ego.  I apologize for calling Coppola - Schwartzman - Anderson simply Anderson, it's just easier, but there's no doubt in my mind that Anderson relies on and uses the skills of his fellow writers.  Why else would he never write alone.