So I'm rewatching the Darjeeling limited and feel like vomiting out some words on it:
While some people identify it as their top choice, it definitely seems like The Darjeeling Limited is not the typical "favorite Wes Anderson movie". Taste is subjective, of course. However, one common critique of the movie -- and of Wes Anderson films in general -- has to do with a sort of Orientalism (exotifying and/or objectifying Asian peoples while the Whites remain the focus of the action). I think there's some validity to this critique of Wes Anderson's work generally (see: Pagoda character from the Royal Tenenbaums) but, ironically, think it's least applicable to Darjeeling Limited, which in many ways features the most overt Orientalist tropes.
/u/mirigrams sums it up nicely in their post in a related thread a while back. (Thanks mirigrams!)
"i'm an indian, born and brought up mumbai so let me share what i thought of the film!
...
india is a beautiful country and i can understand why directors would want to make films here with the backdrop being india. but that's all india was, a backdrop. the indian characters had no dialogue whatsoever, it was disheartening to see that. forget the common man, anderson casted irrfan khan!! (the father of the boy who died) he's a very popular, brilliant and well-respected actor in india and he got one dialogue!! ONE!! i think this proves that india was only and only an aesthetic, a backdrop, a prop to entertain the supposed spiritual awakening of white men who didn't want to be there in the first place.
rita, the stewardess, was literally the only one who had a role and that too was reduced to the exotic, brown woman who was hyper-sexualized. the movie also completely adhered to stereotypes of india. snakes, turbans, deserts, cattle in the middle of the road. i'm not saying that these don't exist in india but this country is more than cobras swaying to the snake charmer's flute.
...
tldr - the darjeeling limited was a classic example of orientalism."
Ultimately I think /u/mirigrams is on-point here: India and Indians are used primarily as a backdrop in this movie; as an audience, we're stuck in the perspective of the brothers for whom India may as well be "Exotic-stan". The brothers know nothing at all about the country; for Owen Wilson's character especially (the "leader" of this trip), all he can be really sure of is that India is "spiritual", and that simply by merit of being there it will somehow purify the brothers, end their strife, and result in their being true and honest with one another.
... And of course that's absurd! As the movie makes clear, the dynamic between the brothers, and their discontent with one another, is deep-rooted. (E.g. Adrian Brody's frustration with Owen Wilson choosing his meal/dessert for him... but begrudgingly accepting that it's the right choice for him). In a general sense, the tension between them is the accumulation of all the things they haven't said to one another (or don't know how to express).
In spite of everything, Owen Wilson thinks this can be resolved by a trip to India (lol). His over-optimism is expressed in "agreements" he gets his brothers to sign onto e.g. "to be totally honest with one another" (for the most part they just continue to lie to each other and themselves). The attitude peaks in the first attempt of their "feather ceremony"; surely they just need to perform some exotic ritual and everything is cleansed.
Throughout the movie the brothers prove the foolishness of their (especially Owen Wilson's) Orientalist-tinged hopes, that some spiritual treasures will just wash over them because they're physically there. Jason Schwartzman fucks "Sweet-Lime" with the same warped emotional hyper-intensity x emotional detachment that we see in that Natalie Portman side-film, literally playing the same soundtrack at one point. The "alluring native woman" is a common Orientalist trope, but the audience recognizes immediately that this "conquest" of Jason Schwartzman's doesn't actually catalyze any sort of growth in him, bring any real personal victory. (And for Sweet-Lime's part, we see enough glimpses of her life to understand how much bigger it is in ways the audience will never learn; in some ways she even flips the trope, where we see that Jason Schwartzman is disposable to her).
Another example: Owen "it's so beautiful here!" Wilson decides that the brothers will go to the Temple of 1,000 Bulls (?) which he asserts is perhaps one of the "most spiritual places in the world". But spiritual to who? To you, Owen? At this point in the movie the boys have essentially no cultural knowledge of India or its religions (see the smirks of novelty as they ring the temple bell upon entry) -- which is whatever in and of itself, but becomes outrageous when you put on airs of being engaged in something very spiritually meaningful for you. Consider that when the brothers make their way to the temple, their first stop, the one that takes precedence over the temple, is a market where Owen Wilson tries to find (in English of course) a power adapter.
Anyways, this rant is too long as it is, but my point is just that I think the audience is supposed to very much tune into the Orientalism of the brothers' attitudes; it is a big part of what makes the trio appear so clownish. Yet, it's their love for each other amidst all their flaws, and eventually their humility / selflessness that leads to their one sequence of genuine cultural exchange / connection (attempting to save the boy in the river, attending the funeral ceremonies -- still just standing around, but actually being open to others and to themselves, perhaps because of how they're able to connect it to their father's funeral) that leads, somehow, to a genuine spiritual catharsis despite everything.
Plus, come on, that opening shot with Brody / Murray... I'd say it beats out Margot Tenenbaum and Nico.
[link] [comments]
source https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/t0kk0v/darjeeling_limited_the_orientalism_is_the_point/
Comments
Post a Comment