Twee Straights and Gorgeous Baggage

It's pretty rare these days that a "gay" movie has any appeal to me. I can barely remember the last time I went into a bookstore that has a rainbow flag in front of it, and I am often baffled that as late as 1993 or 1994 I would gobble up a volume on queer culture or read tripe such Out and Genre. And Brokeback Mountain had less relevance to me than a film about an elderly woman running a tea stall in Cambodia.

These thoughts went through my head as I headed to watch with considerable anticipation Wes Anderson's new Darjeeling Limited. Knowing that he had returned to topic of a dysfunctional family set in a country I have visited several times and simultaneously adore and abhor. After the great disappointment of The Life Aquatic, I was preparing myself for another great let down and mumbled under my breath "please don't be crappy, please don't be crappy". The few reviews I read warned that it was no where equal to The Royal Tenebaums but mostly pretty good with some considerable flaws. I'd pretty much agree with that, and while there is a moving segment during what I will only reveal as the river sequence, it certainly didn't enrapture me into a foreign but terribly familiar world the way Tenenbaums did but came close a few times. And again visually and aurally it provided a trip that could make you forgive whatever weaknesses there are in the script.

An interesting article on Anderson in the last issue of New York outlined a lot of the characteristics that make me relate to his work before any Brokeback tales or RuPaul or porn star tales. Anderson is a Texan with a European sensibility and though critiqued for being a tad too twee and precious (how dare people criticize the Dalmatian mice!), makes me feel very much home with his dysfunctional, privileged but not necessarily wealthy families with their eccentric bohemian formality.

It was Tenenbaums that introduced me to Emmitt Rhodes, and no movie can have too much Nico. The soundtrack was wonderful and diverse again this time, with at least four Merchant Ivory films referenced. I felt like an absolute indie movie nerd when the brothers got onto a bus and I not only recognized the tune Typewriter Tip Tip sung by Asha Bhonsie and Kishore Kumar but was quietly singing along in Hindi until I saw a head in the row in front of me about to turn in disapproval.

While Anderson's post-metrosexual heterosexuality has never been in question, he has far more of a omni-queer vibe than many film makers working today. And unlike Brokeback Mountain, the three male leads are saying "I love you" every five minutes, albeit as three decidedly straight brothers.

It's impossible to watch Owen Wilson's physically and emotionally damaged character without holding it up against his recent suicide attempt. I've never been much of a fan of his, but I found him very touching with his often inept attempts to become the new patriarch of the family.
Though it won't hold up in my heart the way Tenenbaums did, especially coming so shortly after 9/11, it is a film I know that I will want to come back to in the future, retracing routes on a luxury rail car of the imagination in the very real Rahjistan.

And, of course, I would love to have that full set of Marc Jacobs bags designed for Louis Vuitton. I'm glad they got screen credit since they deserve supporting actor nominations.