Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave 3.5 out of 4, calling the film's Indian context as one of its main highlights. Ebert singled out Anderson's script, which, according to Ebert, "uses India not in a touristy way, but as a backdrop that is very, very there." Chris Cabin of Filmcritic.com gave the film 4 stars out of 5 and described Anderson's film as "the auteur's best work to date." "Entertainment Weekly" film critic Lisa Schwarzbaum gave the film a "B+" and said "This is psychological as well as stylistic familiar territory for Anderson after "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums". But there's a startling new maturity in "Darjeeling", a compassion for the larger world that busts the confines of the filmmaker's miniaturist instincts." A.O. Scott of "The New York Times" said that the film "is unstintingly fussy, vain and self-regarding. But it is also a treasure: an odd, flawed, but nonetheless beautifully handmade object as apt to win affection as to provoke annoyance. You might say that it has sentimental value."