Movie Review- THE DARJEELING LIMITED

HEADLINE: ** Fractured Soul Searching in India**
TITLE: THE DARJEELING LIMITED
Quality: * * * Acceptability: -3
SUBTITLES: None
WARNING CODES:
Language: LL
Violence: V
Sex: S
Nudity: NN

RATING: R
RELEASE: September 29, 2007
TIME: 91 minutes
STARRING: Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Amara Karan, Anjelica Huston, and Bill Murray
DIRECTOR: Wes Anderson
PRODUCERS: Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Roman Coppola, and Lydia Dean Pilcher
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Steven M. Rales
WRITERS: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
BASED ON THE NOVEL/PLAY BY: N/A
DISTRIBUTOR: Fox Searchlight Pictures

CONTENT: (PaPa, C, FR, B, LL, V, S, N, A, DD, M) Subjective mixed pagan worldview as protagonists seek spirituality in India with slight Christian elements as portrayed by the protagonists' mother in the role of a Catholic nun plus Hindu elements and New Age elements and some moral qualities about compassion and helping others; 20 obscenities, one strong profanity and two light profanities; fist fighting, hitting, wrestling, and accidental drowning when boat tips over; implied sexual intercourse and some sexual comments; graphic depiction of a female's buttocks; drinking in a social setting; smoking and using cough medicine to get high; and, narcissism and hedonism rebuked.

GENRE: Comedy
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Adults

Please address your comments to:

Peter Rice, President
Fox Searchlight Pictures
(Fox Atomic)
20th Century Fox Film Corp.
A division of Fox, Inc. and News Corp.
10201 West Pico Blvd., Bldg. 38
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Phone: (310) 369-1000
Fax: (310) 369-2359
Website: www.foxsearchlight.com

SUMMARY: THE DARJEELING LIMITED brings together three angst ridden brothers who, after losing their father, embark on a spiritual journey through India to their long-lost mother, who is now a Catholic nun working at the foot of the Himalayas. This movie has its charms, but is sadly marred by extramarital sex, obscene language, drug abuse, and a subjective pagan worldview that's mixed and ultimately empty.

IN BRIEF:

THE DARJEELING LIMITED brings together three angst-ridden brothers. The brothers lost their father in a traffic accident a year earlier and have not been able to find peace within themselves, nor with each other, since then. Francis Whitman has arranged for his two brothers, Jack and Peter, to meet him. Together they embark on a spiritual journey through the heart of India, which hopefully will put them all on an even keel again. Their final goal is their long-lost mother, who now is a Catholic nun working at the foot of the Himalayas.

The photography is beautiful in THE DARJEELING LIMITED, and the many characters engaging. The problem at the core, regrettably, is that the spiritual journey the brothers undertake is a journey without a spirit, much less the Spirit of Truth, who is Jesus Christ. The answers they come up with along the way, though based on common sense, are not lasting, nor meaningful. To make matters worse, the movie is sadly marred by extramarital sex, obscene language, and abuse of prescription drugs. Though the movie extols kindness and compassion, its pagan worldview is mixed, subjective and ultimately empty.