Following a troika of greats with "Rushmore", "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou", Wes Anderson extended it with "The Darjeeling Limited". This one has brothers Peter (Adrien Brody),Jack (Jason Schwartzman) and Francis (Owen Wilson) traveling together on a train through India for a "spiritual journey". The dysfunctional family is clearly Wes Anderson's specialty, and he doesn't disappoint. Especially impressive is the scene showing the brothers before the trip to India (I liked how the scene throws the audience off).

Are dysfunctional families becoming a cliché in Anderson's movies? Well, suspense was a cliché in Alfred Hitchcock's films, and Hitch made great use of it. Wes Anderson has made another good film here, and I recommend it. Part of the point is that, despite these people's problems, they're well-meaning. I can see the brothers as a branch of the brood in "The Royal Tenenbaums", with the luggage representing the emotional baggage with which the father left them (and then what they do to the luggage at the end).

Anyway, a really good one. Anderson so far hasn't made a bad movie, and so I hope that he doesn't disappoint with "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (currently in production). Also starring Waris Ahluwalia, Amara Karan, Barbet Schroeder, Wallace Wolodarsky, Anjelica Huston, Natalie Portman, Irfan Khan and Bill Murray.

Three brothers (Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson) are on a LONG trip through India, though for about half the film you have no idea why they are there. In fact, they spend their time snipping at each other and seem to have nothing in common. They seem disconnected and rather self-absorbed. Only late in the film do you learn that they have come to the country to search for their mother--a mother who abandoned the family some time ago to 'serve God' and help others. Along the journey, they mostly reveal that they are rather soulless jerks--though there are some positive aspects to the journey (such as when one nearly dies trying to save a child). My assumption about the men is that are supposed to be soulless, mixed up and disconnected as a result of their mother abandoning them....or not.

Like most Wes Anderson films I have seen, this one does NOT appear to have been written with any intention of making any money at all. Instead, his quirky films seem designed to please Anderson and his friends (who appear in his films again and again) as well as to impress many of the critics and lovers of artsy films. However, I can guarantee that the average person would NOT like "The Darjeeling Limited", as it seems to meander too much, has little in the way of conventional plot AND because it seems like a comedy with no punchlines. In recent years, Anderson as well as Sophia Coppola ("Lost in Translation") and Jim Jarmusch ("Broken Flowers") have produced very similar films (ones, incidentally that have Bill Murray in them)--films that have practically no commercial appeal and which seem to just meander. Some adore these films and some hate them (read through the reader reviews--you'll rarely see such divergent reviews on a film than these). Me, I like SOME (such as Anderson's recent "Moonrise Kingdom"),but can't see the point to many of them. And, as for "The Darjeeling Limited", I see glimpses of something I like but that is all--such as a scene here or a scene there. In fact, the film is super-frustrating as just when I think I'm starting to like it I realize, no, I do NOT!

It's been a year since the funeral of their father. The three Whitman brothers haven't spoken with each other since then and meet up on the train "The Darjeeling Limited" in India. Francis (Owen Wilson) is heavily bandaged and organizing the trip. Both Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) have personal relationship problems. The brothers don't trust each other and have complicated relationships.

I'm a good but not fanatical Wes Anderson admirer. I love his quirky unique style. Firstly, I love the Bill Murray cameo. It's a fun misdirect and shows Wes is playing with us. My problem with this movie is that I don't enjoy spending time with the three brothers. I have a real difficulty connecting with any one of them. I feel exactly like Rita when she asks "What's wrong with you?" They are an infuriating bunch. Like Rita, I want to like them but they make it extremely difficult.