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The Darjeeling Limited


I'm not even going to bother with writing any sort of review for The Darjeeling Limited, because it will invariably end up sounding like a rehashed amalgamation of all the reviews I've read so far and, most importantly, just sound bad. (Oh, and where the hell was Bill Murray!? Talk about a tease.)

I liked the film okay, I thought it was gorgeous, I liked the film.

One thing that surprised me was the soundtrack. I usually love Wes Anderson for his soundtracks. They're always really cool collections of old rock, blues, and "easy" classics with these bizarre, out of left field folk tracks, world music tunes, and all that weird stuff. I love it. The most awesome mixtapes!

Anyway, the soundtrack for The Darjeeeling Limited is sort of not as fulfilling as I'd hoped it'd be. The first tune, "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" by Peter Sarstedt was featured in Hotel Chavalier, the freebie thirteen-minute short that Anderson wound up sticking to the beginning of the feature. It's fine, it's a Wes song, and I like how it pops up throughout the entire film.

After that, I lose interest pretty quick (that's not to say that I lost) interest during the film) just because 90% of the songs are Indian folk pieces, and -- sorry -- I don't really care to have a compilation of all Satyajit Ray's hits. I do like the Kinks songs, I love how there's a Debussy song (could care less about Beethoven's Seventh again), and yeah, I dig the Rolling Stones. Grab my favorites below.








the Kinks - Powerman







the Kinks - This Time Tomorrow







Peter Sarstedt - Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)







Claude Debussy - Suite Bergamasque: 3. Clair De Lune
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Anonymous said…
I can't imagine anyone listening to this soundtrack, especially one who presumes to like music enough to devote a blog to it, not being transported by the santur, sitar and tablas, and not even commenting on the voluminous history of Indian art that informed not just this film, but also satyajit ray's films. Maybe someone more literate in film and music would better appreciate Anderson's choice, and use, of music; like the conflation of Charu's Theme, (from Ray's resplendent Charulata), to an Indian woman who engages in extramarital affairs. That simple choice speaks volumes about this small character, a sort of artistic shorthand that reveals a deep well of personal history by musical reference to the Indian film's character. This truly short-sighted and bafflingly inept dismissal of an entire soundtrack without any serious contemplation of it's meaning or purpose in the film, merely breeds distrust in your taste, intuitive ability to think, and thus your capabilities as a writer and commentator. Poorly done.
15:31
zimmy said…
where's Strangers?? yea, i made a mixtape of Wes's mixtape myself: the songs you posted + Strangers. MAGNIFICENTLY done. :)
22:35
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