Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
"For Our Parents - Who Gave Us Everything", August 14, 2007
This movie deals with Bengali culture in India and families both in their native lands and abroad - and I have to say is one of the most satisfying and beautiful watches I had the pleasure of sitting down to. To an Irishman of 49 and typical multiplex type, I'd admit that most of the cast is unrecognizable to me, but that makes no odds, because all are uniformly superb. And I love the insights the film gives into a culture as fascinating as theirs.
It begins in 1977 when a young Bengali man (who has been to study in the USA since 1974) is back in his native Calcutta to meet his new bride - one that is picked out for him whether he likes her or not. He is Ashoke, an engineer with prospects - played subtly and gently by a fantastic Irrfan Khan. Ashoke gets real lucky - his bride is the quietly beautiful Ashima (it means limitless, played by the gorgeous Bollywood star Tabu). Waiting with her parents, Ashoke looks uncomfortable but resigned - its been done this way for centuries. Before Ashima goes into the room to see him for the first time - she tries on his American shoes he's left outside the room - they fit and she likes them - a good sign. Ashima takes them off and meekly enters - ultra respect to her elders. Ashoke is not traditionally handsome, but his big soppy bug-eyes and equally studious glasses tell you that this is a good man - and an intelligent one. They marry in full traditional dress and custom. Ashima waves her family goodbye at the airport and then on to New York.
Life in America is foreign to her, but she adapts. Besides, something else is happening that makes it all bearable; Ashima is slowly but surely falling in love with her 'chosen' husband. It's in these scenes that the film shows it true charm - it's so beautifully and realistically handled (many scenes returned to later in flashback to flesh out dialogue that is important and pivitol to the story). Their relationship is an evolving love, away from need and initial awkwardness into a mutual respect for each other. The believability of the two lead actors here is crucial - and you can feel their drawing together - year after year after year.
The story continues to both of their kids being born (a boy and a girl), then young, then grown up and full of New Yawk attitude and difficulty with the 'old ways' - even with their names. 1st born - and most rebellious - the boy's name is Gogol (played by Kal Penn), which he hates with a passion until he finds out why his father called him that (a train journey and a passenger who changed his life). Gogol and his sister's dual identities cause them both conflict and even heartache. They endure racism, work, snobbery, meet potential partners, they marry - and on it goes - to sad and joyful surprises as their life journey progresses. It's set across 25 years and there's a lot crammed in. (Gogul's sister Sonia is played by Sahira Nair)
The Namesake is as much about Indian culture (then and now) as it is about the power and pull of family - that one thing that unites us all with love and misery in equal measure! I can't recommend this movie enough - in my Top 20 with a bullet. A gentle and beautiful surprise I heartily recommend.
P.S.: Like Gustavo Santaolalla's music in "The Motorcycle Diaries" and "Babel", Nitin Sawhney's music is one of the reasons the movie has such slow and majestic power - an absolutely gorgeous soundtrack - and one I'm going to buy pronto!
P.P.S.: The title of this review is from the dedication in the credits by the director Mira Nair.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
This movie is sentimental and touching...stands out !!!, September 7, 2007
I watched this movie recently. It is based on the 'bestseller' novel written by Jhumpa Lahiri that I read a few years back ( Also called THE NAMESAKE). The storyline is very touching as it tries to explore the inner turmoils experienced by an immigrant indian family in US ....especially as they try to raise their children with their own set of indian traditions and run into conflicts between eastern and western mindset.
Ashima and Ashoke ( the Gangulis), move to the US very early in life. They are both very proud of their new country and its limitless opportunities but at heart they still remain attached to their 'bengali' roots and culture. I guess this is the loneliness of most 'first generation' immigrants - irrespective of whichever country you migrate from.
So the couple consciously try to raise their kids with their bengali traditions and values. This makes the kids perpetually unsure about their 'true' identity while they try to blend themselves within the american 'melting pot'. Should Gogol follow the typical lifestyle of the average american youth or should he continue following the indian traditions so dear and near to his loving family??? Gogol grapples with this conundrum throughout his early youth...
As a recent indian immigrant myself I can say that this conflict affects most of our families and it is difficult for both the parents and kids to understand one another. Eventually many of these ABCD kids grow up to become extremely confused or they become rebels (like in the movie Gogol's is embarrased by his odd-sounding name and blames his parents for this act).
I felt the director Mira Nair handled the entire subject with a lot of sensitivity and maturity . As Nair explores the psyche of the Gogol Ganguly ..one almost feels sorry for Gogol as he tries to grapple with his own identity vis-a-vis his unspoken yet deep love for his parents.
It was also amazing to see the depth in Nair's research during the the movie. For example her portrayal of the bengali traditions(arranged marriages, nick names, etc) and festive 'Kolkata' was both authentic and terrific.
I must say the principal actors Irfan, Tabu and Kal Penn played their roles beautifully. Irfan especially stood out as the Bengali Bhadralok(gentleman). Music composition was also very good. To sum up, I felt this Mira Nair film did full justice to the original novel written by Jhumpa Lahiri.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
What's in a name? Everything., August 30, 2007
Having been to India myself, the opening minutes of "The Namesake" immediately struck an emotional cord within me. The familiar sights of an over packed train journeying across the sprawling Indian countryside evoked a time of searching. India is a land of great mystery and soul, even for those who call it home.
On this particular train journey, an older man sitting across from a student questions him about the book he reads. The elder man encourages this young student to see the world, not just read about it through books. Then, almost instantaneously, tragedy strikes...then darkness...and silence. As the lovely opening titles ebb and flow before us, with soothing music, a powerful sense of a great journey about to unfold washes over you. It is a rewarding journey, and a very human one.
Adapted from the bestselling novel of the same name, "The Namesake" effortlessly ushers us through the life cycle of a Bengali family. The relationship between the spouses, Ashima and Ashoke, is at first a landscape as unfamiliar to them as is New York, where Ashima joins her newly married husband after their arranged marriage in India. The Pulitzer Prize winning author of "The Namesake" Jhumpa Lahiri, has fashioned a beautiful example of two people very much in love with one another who never fail to respect their individuality in their union. This is poignantly displayed in a scene where, Ashima, in an effort to please her husband, has accidentally shrunk his sweaters in the dryer. She isolates herself in the bathroom, in tears at her husbands frustration. Ashoke is quick to recognize his shortcoming acknowledging to her through the closed bathroom door that her intention was good, and that it was his fault for not telling her she did not need to do the laundry. He also offers to make her some tea. She is surprised at how untraditional he is in his expectations of her.
Two children follow and the focus soon settles on the eldest, Gogol, a name given him after his father's favorite author and one we learn has extra special meaning as the film plays out. Gogol is a typical youth, struggling to find his own identity outside of the one fashioned for him by his parents and the traditions they raised him with. We follow him from boyhood to manhood and experience the pain that comes with moving forward and the doubt that comes from what we've ignored in the process. Yet even though our gaze follows Gogol, we are given a balanced experience of everyone's journey. Ashima is a striking example of a woman in touch with the cycles of life and surrendering to the meaningful nature of its many seasons. Ashoke is a silent pillar of strength and wisdom, loving his son despite of the distance Gogol prefers. But for as much distance as Gogol creates through his interest in his American girlfriend's family, he is pulled back to his roots and eventually succumbs, unaware, to the preferences of his family tradition, only to lose it. But as is true in life, we must lose it, to find it.
"The Namesake" is a full circle tale about finding ones home in the world, after many journeys away from our own back yard. It's about ultimately coming to accept and being thankful for the longings of our heart, and the many journeys it can take us on in life. - Thomas O'Connor
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