Monsoon Wedding
|
List Price: Our Price: $1.99 You Save: $12.99 (87%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.66 (click here) Category: VHS Video See more movie releases |
|---|
Buy this VHS video movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
VHS Movie Reviews of Monsoon Wedding
Movie Review: Visually Beautiful but Thematically Flawed.
Summary: 3 Stars
"Monsoon Wedding" is a movie which deeply flatters current sensibilities, and it was a big success with US independent film loving audiences. I saw it in the theatre back in 2002, and it concerns a successful Indian-American man who returns to his homeland for an arranged marriage with a "virgin." The production is visually stunning, but a single absurd moment in the plot kept me from enjoying it. We discover that the pure bride-to-be is decidedly not a virgin, but, in fact, a woman in the midst of an illicit affair with a married television producer. Their relationship continues until the night before the wedding. Out of guilt, she confesses this to the groom who is predictably appalled. He responds with outrage and barks (something to the effect of), "Well, now at least we know you'll fit in just fine in America!" I howled and clapped frenetically, but nobody in the audience, including my date, joined in my appreciation of his retort, however.
Yet, from here we descend into fantasy as modern movies about the sexes are forbidden to end with plots in keeping with the edicts of logic or evolutionary psychology. The young man--rich, good looking, undoubtedly prized by 50 million Indian women who would kill to line up for his passported persona--decides to go ahead and get married anyway. He thereby becomes the "perfect feminist groom." It was such an improbable turn that I could suspend my disbelief no longer and mentally shut down on the images before me. For nearly every man, regardless of quirks or preference, a minimal requirement for potential spouses is that they do not sleep with another man the night before. That a filmmaker so brazenly pretends otherwise, and that an audience so lustily approves such an irrational outcome, illustrates just how much western women prefer fantasies of male alteration to the act of studying how men actually are.
Movie Review: Nicely done
Summary: 3 Stars
Director Mira Nair did an incredible job of completing this film with 30 days of actual shooting time, and having so many people perform who had never acted before, yet who handled their roles with great aplomb--often requiring only one take. The only thing confusing at all about the multi-tiered subplots, at least for English-speaking audiences outside of India, may be the constant switching back and forth between three languages: English, Punjabi, and Hindi.
At times, the changes happen so quickly that the viewer is in the process of trying to read the English subtitles, just as English is spoken again (and slurred), and then it is gone. While such changes are apparently part of the Punjabi culture, they can be confusing, especially when watching the film on DVD where the subtitles are sometimes difficult to read, much less quickly.
Nair set out to capture the life and vitality of an upper-middle-class Punjabi family living in Delhi, and an arranged wedding of a daughter, and she has done so exquisitely. The movie demonstrates what a talented director with severe time and budgetary constraints can do, and it ought to be shown in film schools around the world to convey the art of the possible. Nair brought out the best from skilled actors as well as those who had never acted before, and blended their performances into a whole that does not convey amateurism at all, which is quite an accomplishment unto itself.
The loving subplot involving "Dubey" and "Alice" is the highlight of an enjoyable film; and Nair also handles the issue of familial incest many years before with great taste and sensitivity, yet firmly and definitively.
It is a delightful film, with multiple messages and lots of fun, and Nair and her cast are to be congratulated. Nicely done.
Movie Review: Not your typical all american flik
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is so sweet and whimsical. The cultural aspects depicted in the film are what amused me the most. The two love stories intertwined into one main plot is very well put together. This has been my favorite film for several years now and just watching it again made me remember just how much I love it. I highly recommend this international film for those who like to venture into other cultures for entertainment. This is a must see! Love some of the music as well!!Movie Review: A good recipe of Indian food is neither bland nor too spicy like Mulangtany Soup, a perfect blend
Summary: 5 Stars
Monsoon Wedding was perhaps one of the most brilliant films I have ever seen. I had seen this film number of times and I really love it. As the movie progressed I quickly formed a bond with the characters and felt they were all my close friends and I was somehow involved in the story. I truly got caught up in the emotion and the evolution of the story. Although the wedding was the climax of the film, it was not what the film is about.
The colors are exquisite, the music and dancing delightful and the people gorgeous. The acting was superb. If there was anything negative to say, I did have some trouble understanding some of the dialogue but I pick it up it really fast during the first part of the film. I was amazed how easy it was to keep tabs on no less than 5 separate subplots without getting the characters mixed up or losing interest.
Mira Nair is brilliant director I mean who makes a film 30 days!! Couldn't believe it. Fantastic production values, mind, not like many other Indian movies I've seen. And down-to-earth realistic, not like Bollywood. Yes, there is singing and dancing, but in context, not every five minutes! I have nothing against Bollywood, but I'm glad to see that there is a higher standard of Indian film-making out there.
Having seen most of her films, I await eagerly for more of her view of her home land. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in customs and traditions of cultures other than one's own. This movie addresses marriage, family, falling in love and the hurts and joys which make it all worth while.
Movie Review: A Joyous Celebration (despite the secrets)
Summary: 5 Stars
Mira Nair produced a film which is very entertaining, magical, and realistic in how it portrays the stresses and experiences associated with planning a modern wedding in India. The bride is a college educated beauty who has some liberated ideas and behaviors ... but she is also the the only daughter of her parents, a child of her culture. She agrees to an arranged marriage to the handsome son of a friend of the family... after a failed love affair (first secret in the film) from which she is not yet fully recovered. Aditi feels ready for marriage, so she tells her unmarried female cousin Ria who has some doubts about the matter. The unique traditions of the past are combined with modern touches - the past and present intertwine in unexpected ways to produce a beautiful and creative collage of whacky entertainment. The street scenes filmed in New Delhi symbolically represent the chaotic atmosphere, tensions and pressures of the preparations for a wedding. The plans are to create a joyous celebration ... to be remembered by both families ...and cherished for a lifetime. Family arrived from America, Dubai, and Australia ... to celebrate the blessed union of two young people in marriage.
Lalit Verma, father of the bride takes his role seriously, his personality, character, and approach provide many of the comic and serious touches in the film. He displays extraordinairy sensitivity to a family tragedy that is unexpectedly revealed (the second secret) and takes courageous action to deal with the problem directly. He proves to be a caring, loving father whose integrity ensures the wedding preparations continue as planned, allowing nothing to mar the perfection of the moment. He even asks for a temporary loan from business associates to meet mmediate "cash flow" problems as the costs keep mounting upwards. The casting for all the roles are superb. The music was incorporated into the story of the film, enhancing and emphasizing the emotions in many scenes. There was spontaneous singing during the "mehndi" ceremony when the women paint henna designs on the hands of the bride. There was a haunting solo sung about the bride leaving the loving palace of her father ... to become a stranger to his house forever after marriage. Several enjoyable modern Indian techno sounds exploded throughout the film making the scenes more lively and enjoyable.
Along with the wedding, there are several stories interwoven within the fabric of the film ... The first and most important one is how the wedding plans for Aditi and Hermant could have unravelled after Aditit confessed her secret affair to him. While the two large tents are built in the backyard, garlands of marigolds {"the flower of love") are woven, and the cost of water-proofing the tents is being negotiated - P.K. Dubey, the cell-phone carrying, dot.com business entrepeneur wedding event manager, and *bachelor* falls in love with Alice, the young maid and housekeeper for the Verma family. Meanwhile, Varun, Aditi's brother practices a dance he will perform at the 'sangeet' (engagement party?) with Ayesha, a very attractive cousin from Dubai. However, just before the party he clashes with his parents over his future educational plans. They decided he will be sent to a boarding school. Ayesha has been flirting with Rahul, a handsome young relative of the Verma's from Australia. They have even exchanged kisses in the dark. He had witnessed her dance sessions with Varun who now refuses to do the performance. When Rahul will not take Varun's place, one of the older ladies overhears and quotes poetry to him about his failure to rescue a lady in distress. She tells him straight up to get off his @ss ... Some of the most sensitive scenes include Ria, when she clues in on certain behaviors between Uncle Tej and Aleja, a young girl of about 6 or 7. Ria exposes Uncle Tej and at the same time reveals her own shame at having suffered a similar fate as a child. Lalit wrestles with how to handle this delicate situation. He couragously banishes Uncle Tej and his wife from his house. The wedding ceremony is a blessed and dignified event. It turns out to be perfect, a celebration of pure joy ... exactly as planned.
Erika Borsos [pepper flower]