For this new wrinkle in our weekly series, director Wes Anderson (" Rushmore") took a specific approach: " Five is a short list, so I am going to choose [films] that have been on my mind lately. " Each pick is about the twilight of life, he says, and " helped to inspire " his new film, " The Darjeeling Limited, " about three American brothers on a train journey through India.

MY FIVE MOST IMPORTANT MOVIES (RIGHT NOW)

1 "The River."Jean Renoir's beautiful adaptation of Rumer Godden's autobiographical novel about a season in the life of an English girl raised in Bengal. Perfect for the hospital bedroom.

2 "Saint Jack."Peter Bogdanovich's elegiac film of Paul Theroux's novel. Set in Singapore, with Ben Gazzara. Might save this for the very end.

3 "Husbands." One of the best of John Cassavetes's movies. Not very hopeful.

4 "The Last Detail."Hal Ashby, Robert Towne, Jack Nicholson. Bleak, sad, funny. Even less hopeful.