I finally went to see Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited last week. After looking forward to the film for months, I at last gave up hope of seeing it with friends (who all slowly saw it on their own) and just went. While it didn't match my favorite movie of his (The Royal Tenenbaums), I really enjoyed it and his trademark intricate style was thankfully not absent, nor did every element get overblown as in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. One of the reasons he is among my favorite directors is the care he takes in selecting the music for his films, something he has in common with my other favorite Quentin Tarantino. The original soundtracks for his past few films have been truly remarkable. He tends to favor classic British pop alongside original or more traditional classical pieces. His last two films each also had a unique twist to their musical backing. The Life Aquatic featured Seu Jorge reinterpreting several David Bowie songs in Portuguese with thrilling results. Likewise, The Darjeeling Limited also features countless snippets of music taken from Indian film scores to complement the film's setting. While some selections are more exciting than others, they blend well with several songs by The Kinks and others to make another eclectic, satisfying soundtrack that greatly enhances the film experience. (I excluded the best Kinks song from the soundtrack here, "This Time Tomorrow," since I didn't think it stood out very much in the movie and was more typical of Wes Anderson's soundtrack picks. Sorry if you missed it!)
Peter Sarstedt, "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" - the song Jason Schwartzman's character plays repeatedly anytime his various lovers make an appearance
Alexis Weissenberg, "Suite Bergamasque 3. 'Claire De Lune'" - a beautiful (and well-known) classical piece that fits the film's underlying tone of sadness perfectly
Shankar/Jaikishan, "Typewriter Tip, Tip, Tip from Merchant Ivory's film Bombay Talkie (sung by Kishore Kumar & Asha Bhosle)" - my favorite Indian music selection from the film (though I can't remember where it showed up, it's a cool Bollywood piece regardless)
Check out the full soundtrack if you liked the film. I'd recommend the soundtracks for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The Royal Tenenbaums more strongly, though, especially if you aren't as into Wes Anderson and his more adventurous choices.
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