Aux Champs-Elysées, aux Champs-ElyséesYou can tell from the song that we watched The Darjeeling Limited this evening. I have a "thing" for closing credits songs.2
Au soleil, sous la pluie, à midi ou à minuit
Il y a tout ce que vous voulez aux Champs-Elysées1
Parts of the film I liked. Some small parts of it seemed stupid.
Jeff got to see his girlfriend in the 13-minute short. He saw a lot of her, too. I could have done without the short but, if you're going to film a movie on location in India, you owe your cast a few days filming in Paris, right?
I spent the film waiting for the brothers to get "ok" with each other. The casual interplay of respectful participation in Indian religious ceremonies with whatever strains of Catholicism surfaced reminded me of Salinger. The three desperate pilgrims, who may have largely given up on Western religious practice, are trying to find their own way at a time when their mother goes off to do her thing. It'd be nice if they were on the same page ...
I'd say they found the most in the hospitality of the bereaved community.3
Wasn't it tedious that, in contrast to the red bindis / tilakas, those at the convent wore ashes?
I've liked Brody ever since The Pianist. As much as I like Owen Wilson, his personality didn't fit with his brothers, 'though he was like the mother - as I suspected. Obviously Wilson was cast due to his personal relationship with the director.
1 Michel Rivard's version of this song was overwhelmingly popular my summer in Quebec 20 years ago. I bought the LP (CD's were just becoming 'GA') and memorized every song. I have caught myself singing the chorus to this one occasionally over the years.
Lyrics and video.
Anyway, Jeff nearly flipped as I started to sing along tonight ...
2 Other closing credits favorites: "Greenback Dollar" - Thank You for Smoking, "Cheer Down" - Lethal Weapon [0|1|2|3|?], and "Dream Away" - Time Bandits.
3 Not unlike Henry Thomas's character in Misunderstood.
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