The Darjeeling Limited

We watched "The Darjeeling Limited", directed by Wes Anderson.

The film follows three male protagonists (brothers), each dealing with their own form of dislocation as a result of their childhood and upbringing. Francis is the most controlling, ordering for his brothers and retaining their passports. Francis's dislocation is his accident, which is later revealed to be a suicide attempt. Peter keeps and uses many of his dead father's items and seems convinced his relationship with his wife does not have a long expectancy date.
Jack is dislocated due to the breakup with his girlfriend, and he "deals" with this by hacking into her answerphone and by having sex with the train's stewardess. He is also in denial about his stories being about his own life. The brother's relationship with each other is disconnected and dislocated, so much so that I didn't realise straight away that they were brothers, assuming them to be friends who had not seen each other in a while.
Each of them are quite selfish, and they do not trust one another; they are all hiding things, which are revealed throughout the course of the film.

The majority of the film is set on a train, which means that they are in some sort of limbo and distached from reality, because they are trapped within the confines of the train, and neither really in one place or the other.
Throughout the film, the brothers lug around an impressive convey of luggage, which is metaphorically symbolic of all the emotional baggage they are carrying around. At the end of the film they finally part with this luggage, showing that they have worked through their problems and have grown as individuals and as brothers.

There is a clear theme of physical dislocation when the train gets lost, and the river scene with the three boys, help to reflect the three brothers. The death of the young boy, and the grief that comes with it is also a very clear representation of dislocation.

I really enjoyed this film, because the journey through India is very interesting. Anderson uses compelling camera techniques- when he pans from one room to the next, looking in at the action for a short while. This means that the audience feels as though they are seeing a private snapshot of the characters' lives. I liked the rich, vibrant colours used in the film, and liked the pace of the film. I think it explores the theme of dislocation well and has given me a better idea of how to proceed in this project.