Director Wes Anderson (Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore) does it again in this quirky, offbeat comedy about three brothers. Anderson teams up with repeat favorites Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman and added on the Academy Award winning Adrian Brody as the Whitman brothers. These three brothers who had not seen each other in a year set off on a "spiritual" quest for India to rediscover the relationship with each other they had lost. Things veer quickly off course when cough syrup, pepper spray and over the counter pain killers are involved. No matter their original intentions, eventually they end up lost, in the the middle of nowhere with eleven suitcases embarking on a brand new adventure. This is very much a Wes Anderson movie, if you are already a fan, then it is right up your alley. If you have never seen a Wes Anderson movie then I don't expect he will gain any new fans from this film. There seems to be a little more depth then some of his prior films because I actually cared about the relationships between the brothers. I wanted them to reconnect emotionally and found it quite uplifting at the climax of the film. Wes Anderson films always have a lot of heart and he never sugar coats the emotions, what you see is what you get. Watch for fun cameos by Bill Murray and Natalie Portman. Ultimatly, it's the moral message in the end that makes this eccentric film worth watching.

Image and Sound:

Visually, this film is stunning. Set mostly in India, the colors are vibrant and beautiful. A lot of the film takes place aboard a train, and everything about the train seemed authentic and old fashioned. The movie is set to a killer soundtrack that features a lot of obscure, random songs that seem to fit exactally with the movie. At times it seems that the cinemotography is a bit self-indulgent, but it is still nice to look at.

Not too much in the way of special features on this disc. There is a short behind the scenes featurette with some tell all about the train, the minds behind the artistry of the scenes, and a little insight inside the director's mind. There is a lot of information in the short time that this feature allows, but nothing mind blowing. Really the only thing worthwhile is the Hotel Chevalier which is the movie within the movie starring Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman. This is a short prologue that tells of the heartbreaking history of love and the prologue to the travel.

Final Words: