The Darjeeling Limited (2007, USA)

These are not the reasons I intended to write about The Darjeeling Limited, but I have to say up front that I am very tired of two aspects of Wes Anderson's work - the myriad little-boy-lost complexes, and the studied bohemian wealth.

That being said, the real reason I intended to write about Darjeeling was because I was interested to see how Anderson treats India as both a locale and a subject. I was disappointed on both fronts - I'm not sure how much the story is supposed to be a comment on the Ugly American, but what with Anderson's usual smug irony and navel gazing, any intentions in that direction don't come off well at all. There's nothing but sentimentality and introversion here, making Anderson's India little more than a stereotyped backdrop for a trio of really annoying characters to drive one another crazy (and me, to boot).