The Darjeeling Limited - Heidi's Favorite Road Film
My favorite road film is The Darjeeling Limited, released in late 2007.
The film stars Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody, three estranged brothers who are reuniting one year after the death of their father. At first, it is clear to the audience that they have not spoken or gotten along for a while, and their relationships are very obviously strained and awkward. They have embarked on a life-changing journey across India on a train called The Darjeeling Limited. The three share a cramped sleeping cabin and very quickly begin to get on one another's nerves with their individual habits and quirks. The oldest (Owen Wilson) assumes the role of Leader; he writes very detailed daily itineraries and he orders everyone's meals during dinner without allowing them the freedom to do so. The middle child, Adrien Brody, is the quiet and moody one who opens up to his younger brother but makes him promise not to tell their older brother, creating another awkward dynamic between the three. The youngest (Jason Schwartzman) is quiet and eccentric, and is having regular trysts with a beautiful Indian woman who serves tea on the train.
The film is aesthetically beautiful, but even more beautiful and heart-wrenching is the emotional journey these three brothers experience. They begin the film, as I said, estranged and awkward, keeping secrets from one another. They begin to unravel their individual emotional intricacies as the story of their lives in the year following their father's death is revealed to the audience and to each other. By the end of the film, they have grown close again and have changed the way they looked at life - no longer grieving their father's death, all three have a renewed sense of hope and exhilaration for the future.