Family

I'm writing about Wes Anderson. In class we talked briefly about his work but not too much. However, after watching Bottle Rocket I knew I would be writing about Wes Anderson and thought of some ideas. After finishing Rushmore today, I came to the conclusion that there is a special connection between the characters and how they relate to each other. It seems that Anderson makes movies about family and how people relate to each other. Anderson basically says that family is important and that through one's family, they can get through the tough times.

So The Darjeeling Limited is what I watched. Right off the bat I noticed a strong tie between family in all three movies, Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and this one. Even Sean Axmaker noticed the connections of family. Owen Wilson is in Bottle Rocket and The Darjeeling Limited so let's start off with him. In both of these movies we see him as the authority figure. He is the older sibling and takes charge. We see him make itineraries to map their journey in both movies. He is seen as the leader and is the one with the plans. This does get him in trouble with his brothers and friends though. In this clip in Bottle Rocket, Owen Wilson's character just dumped "Bob" from the team. This splits the "family" or team up. Later he realizes that he needs bob and needs his family in order to succeed or even operate.

The Darjeeling Limited, like stated, is similar in respect to family to Bottle Rocket. Owen's character again "takes over." This movie is about three brothers that try to come together again and take a spiritual journey to see their mother living in the Himalayas. Since they haven't seen each other in so long, they fight in the beginning but then start to be a family again. However, like I said, things don't start so smooth. In this clip, the brothers fight. But Wes shows us that family is important and that families need to love in order to survive. This clip shows the family bonding after a long train ride that they got kicked off of because they fought and brought a snake on the train.

In Rushmore, Max the main character, isn't really tied together with family but is more friends with other characters. However we do meet his father once in a while. Max is a loner and cherishes his relationship with Dirk. Family in Rushmore is important because that's what Max needs. He is close with his father but longs for that special relationship with that special someone else. In Max's world freinds are important and he needs them to survive. We see this when Max asks Magnus if he can be in his play. They didn't get along well before but later seem to be enjoying each others presence.

In conclusion, we see family represented by Wes Anderson in Rushmore, Bottle Rocket, and The Darjeeling Limited. Owen's character is a good example of the way the characters relate and interact. Wes shows us that in his movies, families fight, they hate each other, and they brake up, but there's always room for making-up and love. Wes shows us examples of family "works" that the audience can relate to in real life...