Dear IF readers,

I am the eternal moviegoer. I guess I would have been the child who played hookie from school to watch the all day movies at the theatre had I lived in that time period. Although movies were quite inexpensive when I was a child, I think $3.00 a movie in the ’70s, this was still too much money for more than once a month or so. But in my adulthood, I take in at least one movie a week.

If a movie impresses me enough to see it in the theatre for US$10.00 and then purchase it for US$20.00, it has moved me deeply. That is true of The Darjeeling Limited, written and directed by Wes Anderson. I adore that there is an international cast of Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Amara Karan, Waris Ahluwalia, and more. But it is also a movie of siblings, three brothers. And the dynamics of those relationships are so real to me, the bossy big brother, the sulking baby brother, the contradictory middle child. My favorite scene is one in which Owen Wilson’s character has organized the trip’s itinerary but he has even tried to organize a certain spiritual experience for his brothers. Of course, this goes awry because spirituality does not come with a map. The two brothers disappoint their older brother for not following directions, and have had a divine awakening based on error or accident. That moment of accidental and chaotic harmony is what I remember most about my dearest moments with my own sister and brother. My sister and I used to love to listen and dance to “Tainted Love”. We each had different interpretations and dance moves but in all the crazy wild difference we were connecting in a space of joy that was heavenly. Ahhhhh…… The Darjheeling Limited took me back to that place for a moment. Here is review on IMD and then go buy it!

Source: IMD, Internet Movie Database
www.imdb.com/title/tt0838221/

Three American brothers who have not spoken to each other in a year set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find themselves and bond with each other — to become brothers again like they used to be. Their “spiritual quest”, however, veers rapidly off-course (due to events involving over-the-counter pain killers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray), and they eventually find themselves stranded alone in the middle of the desert with eleven suitcases, a printer, and a laminating machine. At this moment, a new, unplanned journey suddenly begins healing. A year after the accidental death of their father, three brothers - each suffering from depression - meet for a train trip across India. Francis, the eldest, has organized it. The brothers argue, sulk, resent each other, and fight. The youngest, Jack, estranged from his girlfriend, is attracted to one of the train’s attendants. Peter has left his pregnant wife at home; he buys a venomous snake. After a few days, Francis discloses their surprising and disconcerting destination. Amidst foreign surroundings, can the brothers sort out their differences? A funeral, a meditation, a hilltop ritual, and the Bengal Lancer figure in the reconciliation. Written by jhailey@hotmail.com

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