| The Darjeeling Limited | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Wes Anderson |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Robert Yeoman |
| Edited by | Andrew Weisblum |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $17.5 million[1] |
| Box office | $35.1 million[2] |
The Darjeeling Limited is a 2007 Americancomedy-drama film directed byWes Anderson, which he co-produced withScott Rudin,Roman Coppola, andLydia Dean Pilcher, and co-wrote with Coppola andJason Schwartzman. The film starsOwen Wilson,Adrien Brody, and Schwartzman as three estranged brothers who agree to meet inIndia a year after their father's funeral for a "spiritual journey" aboard aluxury train. The cast also includesWaris Ahluwalia,Amara Karan,Wallace Wolodarsky,Barbet Schroeder, andAnjelica Huston, withNatalie Portman,Camilla Rutherford,Irrfan Khan, andBill Murray incameo roles.
The film was released on September 29, 2007, byFox Searchlight Pictures. The film received generally favorable reviews from critics and earned $35 million on a $17.5 million budget.[1] The film premiered at the64th Venice International Film Festival in competition for theGolden Lion and was named among the Top Films of the Year at the 2007NYFCO Awards.
Anderson'sHotel Chevalier, starring Schwartzman and Portman, acts as aprologue to the film.
InIndia, a businessman fails to catch his train, "TheDarjeelingLimited", as it pulls out of a station; he is beaten to it by a younger man, Peter Whitman. Peter reunites with his brothers Francis and Jack on board, the three having not seen each other since their father's funeral a year earlier.
Francis, the eldest, has recently survived a near-fatal motorcycle accident, leaving his face and head covered in bandages, and wishes to reconcile with his brothers on a journey of spiritualself-discovery. He is also discreetly searching for their mother Patricia, whom the brothers have not seen in many years. With the help of his assistant, Brendan, Francis draws up a strict itinerary for the trip and confiscates his brothers' passports to prevent them from getting off the train too early. The brothers also continue to grieve over their father's death: all three carry many items of luggage marked with his initials, along with other personal items that belonged to him.
The train takes the brothers through the countryside and to variousHindu andSikh temples though tension builds as Peter and Jack become angered with Francis' controlling behavior. Francis eventually reveals that they will be meeting with their mother, who has become anun living at aChristianconvent in theHimalayas. Peter and Jack are furious; Francis knows they would not have come if they had been told this earlier. The atmosphere finally comes to a head, and the brothers have a physical altercation on the train, upsetting the other passengers. The Chief Steward, whom the brothers have repeatedly annoyed throughout the journey, has them ejected with all their luggage. Brendan subsequently quits and returns to the train after giving the brothers a letter from their mother; its contents imply that she does not want to see them. The brothers decide to leave India, go their separate ways, and never return.
After hiking through the wilderness, the brothers see three young boys fall into a river while attempting to pull a raft across it. Jack and Francis rescue two of the boys, but Peter fails to save the third, who dies. They carry the body back to the boys' village, where they spend the night and are cared for. They attend the funeral the next day and experience aflashback detailing the day of their father's funeral. Along with Alice, Peter's wife, the brothers stop to pick up their father'sPorsche from a repair shop on their way to the funeral. When the mechanic tells them it is missing a part and the battery is dead, Peter frantically tries to get it moving, though Francis and Jack are against this. After an argument with a truck driver, Peter agrees to give up, and the three drive to the funeral in the car they arrived in. It is revealed that their father died from being hit by a taxi, and that their mother did not attend the funeral.
Back in the present, the brothers arrive at the airport, but they suddenly decide to rip up their tickets and go visit their mother. They reach the convent, where their mother Patricia is surprised but overjoyed to see them, and Francis coyly admits that his accident was actually asuicide attempt. That night, after the brothers confront Patricia for abandoning them, the family gathers together in silence and reconnect in love. The brothers awake the next morning to find their mother gone, leaving them their breakfast. They decide not to wait for her to return and leave.
At the train station, the brothers run for another train, the "Bengal Lancer", and gleefully discard all their father's suitcases and bags to catch it. On board, Francis offers to return Peter and Jack their passports, but is told instead to hold onto them. Francis says, "Let's go get a drink, and smoke a cigarette," and the brothers leave their compartment.
Much of the film was shot inJodhpur,Rajasthan. Scenes representing the Himalayas were filmed inUdaipur, including the opening sequence, which was shot on the streets of Jodhpur. The airport terminal seen near the end of the film is the old terminal building ofUdaipur Airport. The hill featured in the final scenes is Elephant Hill, located inNarlai. The scenes set in New York were filmed inLong Island City.[3]
The soundtrack features three songs byThe Kinks, "Powerman", "Strangers", and "This Time Tomorrow", all from the 1970 album,Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, as well as "Play With Fire" byThe Rolling Stones. "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" byPeter Sarstedt is prominently featured as well, being played within the film more than once. Most of the album, however, featuresfilm score music composed byBengali filmmakerSatyajit Ray,Merchant Ivory films, and other artists fromIndian cinema. Director Wes Anderson has said that it was Satyajit Ray's movies that made him want to come to India.[4] The works include "Charu's Theme", from Ray's 1964 filmCharulata, film-score cues byShankar Jaikishan and classic works byDebussy andBeethoven. The film ends with the 1969 song "Les Champs-Élysées" by French singerJoe Dassin, who was the son of blacklisted American directorJules Dassin.
The Darjeeling Limited made its world premiere on 3 September 2007 at theVenice Film Festival, where it was in competition for theGolden Lion and won the Little Golden Lion. The film's North American premiere was on 28 September 2007 at the 45th annualNew York Film Festival, where it was the opening film.[5] It then opened in a limited commercial release in North America on 5 October 2007.[6][7]The film opened acrossNorth America on 26 October 2007 and in theUK on 23 November 2007, in both territories preceded in showings byHotel Chevalier. The film grossed $134,938 in two theaters in its opening weekend, for an average of $67,469 for each theater.[8]
The film was released on DVD on 26 February 2008, and re-released byThe Criterion Collection on 12 October 2010 onDVD andBlu-ray. It was released onUltra HD Blu-ray by Criterion on September 30, 2025, as part of the ten film collectionThe Wes Anderson Archive: Ten Films, Twenty-Five Years.[9]
OnRotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 69% based on 193 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With the requisite combination of humor, sorrow, and outstanding visuals,The Darjeeling Limited will satisfy Wes Anderson fans."[10] OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 67 out of 100, based on 35 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times awarded the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, praising its Indian setting and noting that Anderson "uses India not in a touristy way, but as a backdrop that is very, very there."[12] Chris Cabin ofFilmcritic.com gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, calling it Anderson's "best work to date."[13]Lisa Schwarzbaum ofEntertainment Weekly gave it a "B+", describing it as a familiar psychological and stylistic journey for Anderson, but with "a startling new maturity."[14]A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times called the film "an odd, flawed, but nonetheless beautifully handmade object," and noted its sentimental value despite its self-regard.[15]
Other positive reviews came from Timothy Knight ofReel.com (3 out of 4 stars), who considered it an improvement overThe Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), and Nathan Lee ofThe Village Voice, who likened the film toThe Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and described it as a movie about emotional baggage and letting go.[16] Peter Rainer ofThe Christian Science Monitor noted that Anderson's unique filmmaking approach results in a mix of strengths and weaknesses.[17] David Edelstein ofNew York Magazine called the film "hit and miss", but praised its sustained tone of lyrical melancholy.[18]
Less favorable reviews came from Nick Schager ofSlant Magazine, who gave it 2 out of 4 stars and criticized the recurring stylistic elements of Anderson's films as limitations.[19]Emanuel Levy gave it a "C", arguing that Anderson's thematic and stylistic repetition confined the film, despite the new setting and collaborators.[20]Dana Stevens ofSlate suggested that Anderson might benefit from directing a screenplay written by someone else to refresh his perspective.[21]
Glenn Kenny ofPremière namedThe Darjeeling Limited the fifth-best film of 2007, and Mike Russell ofThe Oregonian ranked it eighth on his year-end list.[22]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AARP Movies for Grownups Awards | February 4, 2008 | Best Comedy | The Darjeeling Limited | Won | [23] |
| Bodil Awards | February 24, 2008 | Best American Film | Wes Anderson | Nominated | [24] |
| New York Film Critics Online | December 9, 2007 | Top Films of the Year | The Darjeeling Limited | Won | [25] |
| Best Screenplay | Wes Anderson,Jason Schwartzman, andRoman Coppola | Won | |||
| Venice Film Festival | September 8, 2007 | Golden Lion | Wes Anderson | Nominated | [26] |
| Little Golden Lion | Won |
Films produced byIndian Paintbrush | |
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Steven Rales (founder) | |
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