Archive for October, 2010
Movie Review: Walkaway (2010)
3 Stars (out of 4)
Walkaway — an independent American film (primarily in English, but with some Tamil and French dialogue) — is an enjoyable exploration of marriage through the relationships of four Indian-American men. Apparently, the meddling mother-in-law stereotype is an international one.
While Walkaway is marketed as a “South-Asian male version of Sex and the City,” the friendship between the four male leads only holds the plot together; the movie is really about the men’s romantic relationships. The female characters get as much screentime as the men and get most of the best dialogue. The four relationships are between:
- Soham & Nidhi — a couple struggling to connect, two years into their arranged marriage
- Shridhar & Genevieve — an engaged couple trying to integrate Genevieve’s French family into Shridhar’s Tamil Brahmin family
- Vinay & Sia — a newly-dating pair set up by their parents in India
- Darius & Anu — roommates of Vinay & Sia having a casual fling
The story’s timeline follows Vinay & Sia’s relationship, from both of them debating whether to go through with their arranged blind date, through budding romance, to their eventual engagement. The wedding preparations cause headaches that are old news to Soham & Nidhi and Shridhar & Genevieve.
Soham & Nidhi are more like roommates, due to an awkward start to their marriage. Soham’s mother doesn’t hide her disdain for Nidhi, and Soham doesn’t defend his wife against his mother’s abuse. Nidhi summarizes her unhappy life in one line: “There’s a reason why fairy tales always end with the wedding.”
As Shridhar & Genevieve’s wedding date approaches, Shridhar’s mother’s gets more demanding. Having already agreed to a mostly traditional Tamil Brahmin wedding involving certain ceremonies her family isn’t thrilled about, Genevieve puts her foot down when Shridhar’s mother insists on a particular ritual that Genevieve finds demeaning.
I’m not clear on all the details of the ritual (one of Walkaway‘s faults is that it doesn’t explain certain cultural traditions clearly enough for those outside the tradition), but it’s supposed to save Shridhar from the bad luck evidently present in Genevieve’s horoscope. Genevieve shrewdly observes that the ritual itself isn’t the problem, it’s the superstition behind it. Even if she participates in the ritual, she’s been identified as cursed, and any future problems for the couple will be her fault, at least in the eyes of Shridhar’s mother (and possibly in Shridhar’s eyes, too).
The trouble in all of the relationships — apart from that of Darius & Anu, who aren’t serious about one another and, consequently, seem the happiest — is that the men won’t stand up to their overbearing mothers. It’s a challenge that should be made easier by the fact that the mothers live on a different continent.
Though the movie highlights the particular elements of Indian marriage traditions that clash with the American lifestyles of the characters, the generational differences that spur the conflict are universal. While watching the movie, I was reminded of how nervous I was to tell my parents that I wanted a tiny wedding with fewer than 20 guests, rather than the typical catered dinner with hundreds of attendees (turned out my folks were fine with it). The struggles of the characters will resonate with anyone who’s ever been in a serious romantic relationship.
That said, Walkaway is less accessible than it could be. English subtitles consistently accompany Genevieve’s French-accented English, yet they sometimes disappear when non-English dialogue is spoken. There are mentions of cultural traditions, like Genevieve’s wedding ritual, that needed more explanation. A couple of lines of dialogue could sufficiently explain things to a general audience, without ruining the flow of the movie.
Still, the problems didn’t hamper my overall comprehension of the movie’s universal themes. Walkaway is a promising first effort by filmmaker Shailja Gupta.
Links
- Walkaway Official Website
- Walkaway at IMDb
Movie Review: Jhootha Hi Sahi (2010)
3 Stars (out of 4)
First-time screenwriter Pakhi succeeds with Jhootha Hi Sahi, thanks to its instantly likable lead character.
The movie opens with bookish Sid (John Abraham) sleeping peacefully on his couch, as the National Geographic Channel flickers in the background. A stranger calls in the middle of the night, asking Sid to talk him out of committing suicide. Two subsequent suicide calls (Bollywood fans may recognize the celebrity voice cameos) convince Sid that he’s the victim of a prank, but he still talks all three callers out of killing themselves.
In the morning, a counselor for a suicide hotline catering to Indians living in London informs Sid that they mistakenly printed his home phone number on their fliers. He agrees to serve as a temporary counselor, referring callers to the correct number for additional help.
His friends Omar (Raghu Ram) and Amit (Omar Khan), who co-own an Indian bookstore with Sid, are supportive of Sid’s good deed. Sid’s girlfriend, an intense flight attendant named Krutika (Manasi Scott), is not.
Sid becomes heavily invested in his humanitarian duties when a weeping woman calls but refuses to talk. He stays on the phone with her all night so she won’t be alone. She calls back the next day to apologize and opens up to Sid. The woman, Mishka (Pakhi, the film’s writer), begins calling every night to talk about her problems, nicknaming Sid “Fidato” since hotline rules prevent him from sharing his identity with her.
Mishka shows up in Sid’s bookstore one day, and he recognizes her when she asks for a book he’d mentioned on the phone. Mishka’s good looks reduce Sid to a stammering klutz, the opposite of the confident persona he adopts on the phone with her. He abuses his power as Fidato to steer Mishka into a relationship with Sid until she inevitably learns the truth.
Movies about dual-identities are tricky to pull off, as accidental meetings between characters often seem implausible and identities are revealed in absurd ways. Not so in Jhootha Hi Sahi. The circumstances of Sid & Mishka’s physical meeting are logical. Sid’s eventual reveal comes in a moment of self-sacrifice and not because Mishka finds out the truth on her own.
Further establishing Sid’s “good guy” credentials are his buddies, Omar and Amit. The three guys look out for each other’s best interests, even when it means revealing harsh truths (such as the fact that Sid doesn’t really love Kruthika). Ram is funny and authentic in his first film role as Omar.
Rounding out the group of pals is Omar’s pregnant, unwed sister, Aliya (Alishka Varde), and the father of her child, Nick (George Young). Aliya’s fine when acting as a mother figure to the guys, but she’s snippy to the unreasonably devoted Nick. The tension in their relationship is uncomfortable and adds nothing to the film.
But, aside from one awkward subplot, Jhootha Hi Sahi is a fun, comfortable movie. The secret identity plot convention is familiar but not tired. Sid and Mishka are nice people who deserve happiness. London looks beautiful, and there are books everywhere. I’m smiling just thinking about it.
Links
- Buy Jhootha Hi Sahi on DVD
at Amazon
- Jhootha Hi Sahi Official Website
- Jhootha Hi Sahi at Wikipedia
- Jhootha Hi Sahi at IMDb
Movie Review: It’s a Wonderful Afterlife (2010)
1.5 Stars (out of 4)
Many American comedies of the 1980s were characterized by amusing situations, rather than genuinely humorous dialog (think Mannequin or Soul Man). The decades haven’t been kind to films of this style, because they simply aren’t funny. The British comedy It’s a Wonderful Afterlife relies on this ’80s style of humor, and as such, already feels dated.
The movie opens with a man — having been force-fed too much spicy curry in by a faceless villain — receiving treatment in a hospital room, only to have his stomach explode, spraying its contents all over the room. There’s no context for the gag, so it’s not at all humorous, just disgusting. Not a good way to start a movie.
The exploding man is explained to be the latest victim of a serial killer targeting members of the Indian community in the London suburb of Southall. The police, led by inspector Smythe (Mark Addy), enlist the help of a detective of Indian descent named Raj (Sendhil Ramamurthy) to search for clues within the community.
Raj is the childhood friend of Roopi (Goldy Notay), an overweight young woman still recovering from being dumped by her fiance. Roopi’s mother, Mrs. Sethi (Shabana Azmi), is desperate to see her daughter married — so desperate that she’s been killing prospective husbands that have rejected Roopi, as well as their family members, using her culinary skills.
Mrs. Sethi is haunted by the ghosts of her victims, who can’t move on until Mrs. Sethi is dead. The only other person who can sense the ghosts is Roopi’s best friend, Linda (Golden Globe winner Sally Hawkins), who’s renamed herself Geetali after a spiritual awakening on a trip to India. Mrs. Sethi promises to kill herself after Roopi is married, provided the ghosts help her accomplish her mission.
It’s a Wonderful Afterlife is full of missed opportunities. The ghosts, who should be a goldmine of humor, instead offer bland observations and little in the way of assistance to Mrs. Sethi, as they have no supernatural powers. Their decaying visages are pointlessly gross.
Mrs. Sethi should be a source of comedy herself, but she’s dull as well. She never exhibits a hint of the kind of rage one would need to feel in order to commit murder (all but one of the murders happen off-screen). Her conversations with the ghosts are just boring exposition.
Part of the movie’s problem is that the Roopi and her mother get overshadowed by the ghosts, the cops, and especially Linda. Much screen time is spent on Linda’s psychic abilities, scenes in which Roopi, the heroine, acts as a passive observer. Roopi’s budding romance with Raj is shown in a short musical montage, yet a multiple scenes are devoted to Linda’s engagement to Dev (Jimi Mistry). Linda’s even the star of the film’s climax, a revolting homage to the movie Carrie.
Sally Hawkins is good as Linda, and newcomer Goldy Notay gives a strong performance as Roopi as well. I’d have preferred that she be given more to do, as the movie is all about Roopi’s want of a husband, after all. Still, there’s not much that could have saved It’s a Wonderful Afterlife — not even a pandering shot of Sendhil Ramamurthy shirtless — since the alleged comedy just isn’t funny.
Links
- It’s a Wonderful Afterlife Official Website
- It’s a Wonderful Afterlife at Wikipedia
- It’s a Wonderful Afterlife at IMDb
Movie Review: Anjaana Anjaani (2010)
3.5 Stars (out of 4)
Thanks to its complex characters, Anjaana Anjaani showcases how a romantic comedy can be something more than the typical pair of shallow caricatures cavorting toward an inevitable happy ending.
Anjaana Anjaani starts on a grim note that makes the movie best-suited for adults. After single-handedly destroying his small Wall Street firm, Akash (Ranbir Kapoor) climbs a bridge in New York City, planning to kill himself. He is interrupted by Kiara (Priyanka Chopra), a drunk who also wants to die, though she’s too nervous to do it alone.
Their discussion on the bridge railing is broken up by the Coast Guard. Minutes later, they both injure themselves while attempting suicide and wind up in the hospital. The pair sneak out of the hospital to Kiara’s messy apartment, where they again fail to successfully end their lives. They decide to give themselves a 20-day cooling off period before jumping off the same bridge together on New Year’s Eve.
Kiara and Akash, who have no one else to turn to, make a bucket list of things they’d like to do before they die. Top on Akash’s list is losing his virginity. He says he hasn’t found the right woman yet. She says he sounds like a 15-year-old girl, before correcting herself: 15-year-old girls aren’t so corny.
As they cross items off their list (swimming in the Atlantic and taking a cross-country road trip), it becomes clear that Kiara isn’t the flaky party girl she appears to be. A break-up left her with scars — emotional and physical — that make her even more fragile than Akash. Their friendship strengthens as he recognizes in her a chance to finally consider someone’s feelings before his own.
Writer-director Siddharth Anand is fond of telling stories showcasing character growth, as he did in 2008′s terrific Bachna Ae Haseeno (which also starred Ranbir Kapoor). In both movies, Anand uses Kapoor to depict the critical point in a young man’s life when he finally sees a world outside of himself and wishes to connect with it. It’s a time fraught with emotional turmoil, and Kapoor shows that, without being maudlin.
Chopra, an ambitious actress with a diverse body of work, makes Kiara more than just the agent for Akash’s change. Kiara experiences dramatic highs and lows herself, and Chopra portrays them in a way that makes them consistent within the complex character of a woman whose free-spirited facade masks inner insecurity.
What saves Anjaana Anjaani from being too melancholy is the acknowledgement that there is joy even in hard times. Akash and Kiara find happiness in each other, or at least insulation from loneliness. Their “to-do” list is a fun distraction for both them and the audience, accompanied by a peppy rock soundtrack.
The movie is also a wonderful American travelogue, as the pair road trip west. New York and Las Vegas are vibrant, and the Nevada desert looks ripe for exploration. Anjaana Anjaani is the rare movie about living each day as though it were your last that might actually inspire people to do so.
Links
- Buy Anjaana Anjaani on DVD
at Amazon
- Anjaana Anjaani Official Website
- Anjaana Anjaani at Wikipedia
- Anjaana Anjaani at IMDb
- My Review of Bachna Ae Haseeno
Movie Review: Enthiran (2010)
2 Stars (out of 4)
This review covers the version of Enthiran dubbed into Hindi and retitled Robot (not that the original language matters to me, since I have to read the English subtitles, anyway).
The release of Enthiran, the most expensive Indian movie ever made, comes at an interesting point in India’s relationship with the Western world. Just a week ago, organizers of the Commonwealth Games — which are being held in New Delhi this year — responded to complaints from international athletes about the filthy, unsafe conditions of their accommodations by saying that perhaps the athletes’ standards were too high. And now, Enthiran proves to be more culturally charged than one would expect from an action comedy about a robot.
At its core, Enthiran is a shallow and conventional sci-fi story. A professor, Vaseegaran (Rajinikanth) creates a humanoid robot that he hopes to sell to the army. When the robot, Chitti (also played by Rajinikanth), proves too dangerous, Vasee programs the robot with human emotions.
Chitti falls for Vasee’s girlfriend, Sana (Aishwarya Rai), damaging his relationship with his creator. Chitti seeks guidance from Vasee’s mentor, Bora (Danny Denzongpa), who reprograms Chitti for evil.
Overall, the movie is just average. Rai overacts her role, though her performances in the dance numbers are up to her usual high standards. The soundtrack is surprisingly corny and unpolished, given that Oscar-winner A. R. Rahman composed the music. Most of the special effects look cheap, especially the cartoonish depiction of a fetus when Chitti performs a “high-def” ultrasound. Also, there are talking mosquitoes and robot lions.
The majority of the film’s large budget went into the final action sequence, and it shows. It’s an impressive battle, clearly inspired by the Hollywood blockbuster Transformers in terms of scale and destruction. Sure, it’s kind of silly, but it’s an incredibly fun sequence that’s worth experiencing on the big screen.
But Enthiran contains some cultural views on race and gender that are out of step with most of the Western world. American audiences will appreciate the campy value of the story and final action sequence, but will likely be turned off by values that seem racist and sexist.
Enthiran fetishizes violence against women. Sana is threatened with rape on three occasions, and one instance is particularly graphic (especially in a movie which only allows its lead couple to kiss on the cheek). Sana is trapped in a train car with a group of armed men seeking revenge against her and Chitti, pinned to the floor of the car by her arms and legs. As the lead goon leans over her, a dozen men behind him aim their cell phone cameras to capture Sana’s violation. A shot of Sana cowering in fear before Chitti inevitably rescues her would have sufficed without making the potential rape seem titillating.
Even more shocking is a sequence in which Chitti saves a teenage girl from a burning building. The girl, who’s taking a bath, protests being rescued naked, but Chitti deems saving her life more important than her potential embarrassment. When Chitti deposits the girl safely in front of her mother, there is an audible gasp from the throng of onlookers and reporters. The girl’s mother looks at her daughter with disgust, and Vasee, covering the girl with his jacket, berates Chitti for bringing the girl out in such an immodest state. The girl then runs in front of a truck, killing herself.
The scene is disgusting because the human characters react as though, under the circumstances, the girl’s suicide is expected — that she should have been left to die, rather than rescued naked. It reminded me of the deplorable actions of Saudi Arabian religious police in 2002, when they refused to let girls flee a burning school because they weren’t dressed appropriately, resulting in fifteen deaths. Valuing a girl’s perceived dignity as more important that her life is an unacceptable attitude in 2010.
Enthiran is also problematic in the way it equates dark skin with a propensity for evil. When Bora reprograms Chitti, he gives the robot a new external appearance, including dark-colored skin. The skin darkening is an unnecessary symbol of transformation, since Chitti’s also given a distinctive pompadour wig. Also, all three of the characters who threaten to rape Sana during the movie have notably darker complexions than the film’s heroes.
Given how goofy and fun Enthiran is as times, it has the potential to become a cult hit in the United States. But I’m not sure that American audiences will be able to overlook the outmoded ideas toward race and gender. I wish the film’s creator, Shankar, would’ve considered how these issues would be perceived internationally, especially since neither the nude girl’s rescue or evil Chitti’s dark skin are critical plot elements.
Links
- Buy Enthiran on DVD
at Amazon
- Official Robot Website
- Enthiran at Wikipedia
- Enthiran at IMDb
- Saudi Arabian Girls’ School Fire
