the darjeeling limited (2007). directed by wes anderson.

the flight from houston to calgary was a drag. the plane was very small and the guy who sat next to me was very big. by the time i finished watching this movie, i thought, i can endure this flight only because i have watched a gem that makes me laugh and cry at the same time. 

the three estranged brothers played by owen wilson (eldest), adrien brody (middle child syndrome) and jason schwartzman (youngest) are on a spiritual roadtrip in india, wilson in particular hopes to bond with his younger siblings despite his controlling ways typical of an older sibling that has kept his brothers away from him all this while. far from realizing this, they bicker with each other like kids do, only they are not kids anymore but grown adults with non-unique adult issues. with a dead father and an absent mother, it seems like they are used to not having anyone to depend on, but i think they feel abandoned. the scene of the boy's cremation, they are strangers in the village where no one speaks english and yet they are made to be part of the family, which is what is missing from their own family. togetherness and being there for one another. 

it's a pleasure seeing the trio and wes anderson crafting something from his universe of broken people. the nonsensical situations that they are in, the flaws they can not help but kept doing. some people say anderson's films is an acquired taste, that they are too quirky for their own good. may be so, but i find much realism in anderson's twisted family dynamics.