the darjeeling limited (river and funeral scene)

Well, someone did the world a favor and uploaded the best scene of one of my favorite movies by my favorite director.

The first time I watched The Darjeeling Limited was in the theater in 2007 (Santa Monica, I think). The person I watched the movie with had seen more of life by the age of 20 than most people will in a fully lived lifetime. She said that the river and funeral scene was special. She also said why.

I had registered the movie in low fidelity so I did not and could not say much . I just knew that I needed to wait for the DVD release and rewatch the Darjeeling at home and alone.

And I did just that.

press “play” one more time

Describe what makes it special: not possible. It’s not a short scene, it’s 12 minutes long.

And every time I watch it, its significance changes, its tragedy and vitality expand, new subtleties revealed. And it’s because we’re alive and, as Murakami would say, if we are gifted the privilege of continuing living, we’ll be able to press “play” one more time (or two).