DARJEELING LIMITED (4 STARS)

Darjeeling Limited is named after a train that 3 brothers take across India on the quest for brotherly closeness, to see their mother, and for a spiritual awakening. These three eccentric, medicated, selfish, rich, snobs, are forced to slightly deal with they're own consequences, and forced to deal with they're new slight venerability. They go threw a few hardships and maybe gain a ounce of integrity to them in the end... still, however, remaining total douches.

I give this movie 4 stars with room to grow. I saw it in the theater opening night a few months back as a die hard Wes Anderson fan. I had been looking forward to it for 3 years. Heard a lot about it, I heard it was better than anything he's done. I saw it at the arts theater in Indy. First of all, there was no short film. There's supposed to be a short film before it with Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman. Second, it was completely packed with Wes Anderson snobs who will laugh at anything if it's in a Wes Anderson film. And third and most annoying, it was out of focus. Threw the opening credits it was all over the place focusing in and out, in and out. It wasn't the first showing, so i don't know what the last showings were like but it was bad. About 10 minutes in, I stormed out of the theater to talk to the ticket lady because they hadn't gotten it right yet and we were 10 minutes in. I asked if i could get my money back if it didn't get fixed soon. She said yes. That helped a little. I went back in, and after 15 more minutes of it being out of focus i asked Haley if we could just leave and come back another day because i was pissed and couldn't enjoy the film at that point. As far as i was concerned, it was ruined. She said she didn't want to leave, so i had no choice but to sit there with the images on the screen being nearly unrecognizable (no exaggeration). About half way threw, it stopped pulling in and out and just stayed fixed on an out of focus setting. After the movie i stomped out of there before anyone else and went straight to the counter. No one was there. I went to the ticket booth... no one. I asked a janitor where the manager was... he muttered something about around the corner... nothing was there. I asked him again he muttered something about an office across the way... it was locked. EVERY SINGLE PERSON HAD LEFT. THEY JUST GAVE UP AND WENT HOME! I COULDN'T GET MY MONEY BACK. No one else seemed to care. People from the theater that i knew asked me what i thought of it and i just cussing up a storm talking about how it was so out of focus. Am i crazy? Is it not a big deal that you can't read signs or see any facial expressions, or enjoy the scenery. IT'S A WES ANDERSON MOVIE FOR PETE'S SAKE!!!

I was in no hurry to revisit this movie. I didn't laugh at a single moment during the worst theater experience of my life. The sight of the cover of Darjeeling Limited makes me mad. And after hearing douche bag interview after douche bag interview of Wes Anderson, my prospective of the guy had completely changed. But i rented it. And I really really liked it. I laughed the whole time. Just about every 10 seconds. And the short! It has everything to do with the movie. Jack's story seems completely random without the short, it explains everything about him. The only reason it's separate from the film is the pace. It wouldn't fit in the middle or end like the funeral clip in the end that's actually the beginning. It's perfect as a pre-feature short. Every other theater was playing the short before the film... why not ours. Who the hell is running Indianapolis' art theater? I need to speak to him. He is an idiot.

[overhead view of vintage suitcase being opened]
A critical thought. Wes Anderson, in interviews that I've heard, does not own up to his "Wes Anderson style". He claims he doesn't have a "style". He claims that no one is making movies that resemble his, and that he is not an "auture" film maker.

That's dumb.

Another thought is that Wes Anderson likes making movies about rich people, or successful people that have everything they want, but are miserable. Possibly all going back to Harold and Maud and the Graduate. But recently i believe he himself has become one of his characters. He can make any movie he wants and he's got a whole lot of money. I think this changes his movies. His angle is different. In Rushmore, you're rooting for Max, the underdog. Now we have no choice but to root for these 3 worthless human beings. The Life Aquatic is about a rich film maker who is spoiled and is sort of a hack. Royal Tenenbaum is the underdog with his upper class highly skilled but deeply troubled family. Maybe I'm off on that thought... What do you think about it?

This is a movie that will probably get better the more times i watch it.