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BROTHERLY love is what lies at the heart of The Darjeeling Limited, a quirky comedy that is also a road movie - or should that be rail movie? - and an engaging study of what can happen when families fall apart, and what can happen when they get together again.

Francis, Peter and Jack (Wilson, Brody and Schwartzman) are three estranged brothers who, at the behest of Francis, the eldest, attempt a reunion by taking part in the trip of a lifetime - a journey through India aboard the train The Darjeeling Limited.

It's supposed to be a spiritual adventure, with a view to finding themselves, finding each other, and possibly finding their mom too.

Life hasn't been easy for Francis, Peter and Jack - their father has recently died, their mother has gone awol, and they have their own individual problems: Francis' head is elaborately bandaged after a road accident; Peter has doubts about his pending fatherhood; and Jack has just come out of a relationship.

But they are determined to make the trip work, come what may, with the punctilious Francis organising the journey to the minute - or at least his assistant does, apparently in another carriage armed with timetables, a printer and a laminator.

However, things don't quite work out all aboard The Darjeeling Limited. Events involving copious amounts of painkillers, Indian cough medicine and pepper spray sees the trio stranded in the desert with stacks of luggage and the aforementioned printer and laminator.

But the adventure goes on, and remarkably a bonding exercise eventually gets under way.

The scene is certainly set for a broad Hollywood comedy interlaced with liberal doses of sentimentality, but that's not the style of director Wes Anderson, who co-wrote The Darjeeling Limited with Schwartzman and Roman Coppola and who brought us the equally eccentric, The Royal Tenenbaums and, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.

There is plenty to laugh at, although don't expect belly laughs. The humour comes from Anderson's off-the-wall approach to characterisation and it's the carefully observed personality traits of the brothers that gives the film its comedy.

But there is much more to this film than its humour. A river rescue that turns to tragedy, and its aftermath, is a particularly moving sequence. And while you may think Francis' bandages are there for comic effect, it comes as a bit of a shock when he removes them to check on his injuries.

Like Anderson's other films, The Darjeeling Limited is a bit of an acquired taste - it won't be everyone's cup of tea, you could say - but anyone who likes their comedy a little odd and a little offbeat will be delighted.

And at the centre of it all are three fabulous performances, with Wilson, Brody and Schwartzman deadpanning all the way through, but still managing to bring depth and emotion to their characters. 8/10

THE DARJEELING LIMITED

Starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Anjelica Huston, Amara Khan

Director: Wes Anderson

15, 91 minutes

9:55am Thursday 22nd November 2007

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