The Darjeeling Limited (2007)－女神殿

allmovie 影評

This creates something of a conundrum for the critic, because while meandering in a film is usually considered a textbook flaw, here it was the director's very intent.

This creates another conundrum for critics: does Anderson play it too safe by continuing to pursue the same precise style, or would he be selling out if he abandoned it just for the sake of his cred?

Fans of Wes Anderson love him for his own unique take on filmmaking, and despite many imitators, he's still the only one who does it -- let alone does it well.

我比較好奇的是，有哪些電影被視為模仿 Wes 風格。

cynic in us all may scowl at sweetness for the sake of sweetness, but is that really a valuable criticism when, in the end, it still makes us smile?

Roger Ebert 影評

Of that peculiar film I wrote: "My rational mind informs me that this movie doesn't work. Yet I hear a subversive whisper: Since it does so many other things, does it have to work, too? Can't it just exist? 'Terminal whimsy,' I called it on the TV show. Yes, but isn't that better than no whimsy at all?"

After a struggle with my inner whisper, I rated the movie at 2½ stars, which means, "not quite."

這老頭很哭爸！每次都說感性上愛死 Wes 電影，身為權威基於理智又不能推薦，然後給低分，示範口是心非相當拿手。

It avoids obvious temptations to exoticism by surprising us; the stewardess on the train, for example, speaks standard English and seems American. This is Rita (Amara Karan)

Anderson uses India not in a touristy way, but as a backdrop that is very, very there. Consider a lengthy scene where the three brothers share a table in the diner with an Indian man who is a stranger. Observe the performance of the stranger.

老頭以女服務生和餐桌第四者說明 Wes 如何賦予電影裡的印度人新形象。

女服務生麗塔說一口標準美語，隨即奉上印度味十足的檸檬汁 (sweet lime)。傑森麗塔兩人隨即在洗衣間 (沒記錯的話) 燕好，又非傳統印度婦女行事作風。

更有趣的是和主角同桌的印度人！

有錢坐頭等艙的印度人有很大可能會說英文，他卻選擇對其他三人表示沉默。印度人不以明顯的方式和主角們互動，他的存在本身就是一種互動：三兄弟知道印度人聽懂他們在鬼扯什麼，印度人也知道三兄弟知道。印度人一言不發看著報紙，將這場景的深度提升到另一個層次。

But Anderson doesn't have them discover one another, which would be a cliche; instead, they burrow more deeply inside their essential natures.

Anderson is like Dave Brubeck, who I'm listening to right now. He knows every note of the original song, but the fun and genius come in the way he noodles around.

老頭提出言之有物且有趣的觀點，務必點閱！可惡我就知道看完影評會想重看，可是白鹿洞新片只能出借一天一夜。

Wes Anderson 獨白

I want to try not to repeat myself. But then I seem to do it continuously in my films.

It's not something I make any effort to do. I just want to make films that are personal, but interesting to an audience. I feel I get criticized for style over substance, and for details that get in the way of the characters.

But every decision I make is how to bring those characters forward.

　The River (1951) 本片靈感來自 Marty 特別放映給 Wes 看的尚雷諾電影。

小吉嶺有限公司 The Darjeeling Limited
91 min. 2007

Owen Wilson ... Francis L. Whitman
Adrien Brody ... Peter L. Whitman
Jason Schwartzman ... Jack L. Whitman
Amara Karan ... Rita
Wallace Wolodarsky ... Brendan
Waris Ahluwalia ... The Chief Steward
Irfan Khan ... The Father (as Irrfan Khan)
Barbet Schroeder ... The Mechanic
Bill Murray ... The Businessman
Anjelica Huston ... Sister Patricia Whitman