The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

A businessman in India fails to catch his train—called “The Darjeeling Limited”—as it pulls out of a station; he is beaten to it by a younger man, Peter Whitman. Peter reunites with brothers Francis and Jack on board, the three having not seen each other since their father’s funeral a year earlier. Francis, the oldest, has recently survived a near-fatal motorcycle accident (leaving his face and head covered in bandages), and thus wishes to reconcile with his brothers on a journey of spiritual self-discovery. He is also covertly searching for their mother, whom the brothers have not seen in many years. With the help of his assistant Brendan, Francis draws up a strict itinerary for the trip and confiscates his brothers’ passports to prevent them from getting off the train too early. The three also continue to grieve over their father’s death: all three carry many items of luggage marked with his initials, along with other personal items that belonged to him.

The train takes the brothers through the countryside and to various Hindu temples, though tension builds as Jack, the youngest, and Peter become infuriated with Francis’ controlling behavior. Francis eventually reveals that they will be meeting with their mother, who has become a nun living at a Christian convent in the Himalayas. Peter and Jack are angry, knowing they wouldn’t have come if they had been told this earlier. The atmosphere finally comes to a head, and the three have a physical altercation on the train, distressing the other passengers. The Chief Steward, whom the brothers have repeatedly wronged, has them thrown off with all their luggage. Brendan subsequently quits and returns to the train after giving the boys a letter from their mother; its contents imply that she doesn’t want to see them. The brothers thus decide to leave India, go their separate ways, and never return.