So I was understandably daunted by the prospect of finding a fresh angle on for this new series, which journeys through the director's filmography in chronological order. I wanted to think that Wes Anderson's films are inexhaustible, but clearly "Darjeeling" would test that theory!
I ultimately settled on the approach you see here. This video essay with Steven Santos isn't about "The Darjeeling Limited" specifically, but a look at themes of death and loss via "Darjeeling," or through the lens of "Darjeeling," if that makes any sense. It's about how Wes Anderson's most dynamic and troubled characters try to manipulate important aspects of their lives to achieve a desired outcome, but ultimately get smacked in the face by the world, which won't even acknowledge what they want, much less bend to accommodate it.
I suspect the director's opinion on all this is represented by that John Lennon line about how life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. That's my read on it, anyway.
Chapter 5 is, unsurprisingly, the only video in this series with a script written almost entirely from scratch. There are phrases taken from earlier "Darjeeling" pieces (linked above) and brief sections from the "Darjeeling" essay in "The Wes Anderson Collection," plus a few observations cribbed from the interview I did with Wes for the book, including a famous "Barry Lyndon" quote that came up in our conversation. It's a bit of a Frankenstein's monster, this piece, stitched together from disparate parts.
The midsection, however, is drawn directly from my own life, and quotes from one of the most important things anyone has ever said to me. You'll recognize it when you get to it.
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