"I love you too, but I'm gonna mace you in the face!"
I watched Wes Anderson's Darjeeling Limited a few nights ago. It's one of those rare movies that sank its teeth in me and won't let go; I'm still thinking about it now. I've enjoyed Anderson's other movies too. Rushmore was my favorite until now because it was such an embodiment of how awkward and comically tragic high school can be. I have minor quibbles with his other films, much as I've enjoyed them all: Royal Tenenbaums was a touch too quirky, the cartoonish whimsy in Life Aquatic was almost too distracting from the human drama, and Bottle Rocket was a bit rambling.
I think Darjeeling hit home for me for several reasons: because of the quirky relationship the brothers have, their (failed) journey of self-discovery and redemption, and their (failed) foray into spirituality. I also adored that it was set in India and yet didn't do the typical Travel Channel shots of temples and pagodas or the Ganges or Delhi. They were there, and it was beautiful, but even the aesthetic of the country and its people is skewed through their overly sheltered, self-absorbed perspective.
I think this is where Anderson's genius and vision shines through, in that all of his movies are great in their own right, and everyone has their own favorite. The visual style is pretty much the same throughout all of them, common themes of relationship dysfunctions, and the music is always superb. But there is such a humanity to them underneath the surface that they are all successful in different levels.
I found this list that I thought summarized Wes Anderson pretty well.
Enjoy!
I think Darjeeling hit home for me for several reasons: because of the quirky relationship the brothers have, their (failed) journey of self-discovery and redemption, and their (failed) foray into spirituality. I also adored that it was set in India and yet didn't do the typical Travel Channel shots of temples and pagodas or the Ganges or Delhi. They were there, and it was beautiful, but even the aesthetic of the country and its people is skewed through their overly sheltered, self-absorbed perspective.
I think this is where Anderson's genius and vision shines through, in that all of his movies are great in their own right, and everyone has their own favorite. The visual style is pretty much the same throughout all of them, common themes of relationship dysfunctions, and the music is always superb. But there is such a humanity to them underneath the surface that they are all successful in different levels.
I found this list that I thought summarized Wes Anderson pretty well.
Enjoy!