Monsoon Wedding

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This is a must see.

However, be sure to read:

A suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth. Equally wonderful, and has a lot of similar elements.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Love Story Spoiled by HORRIBLE "Dubbing"
Review: Only the rave reviews of so many people who enjoyed this romantic comedy made me give it a try. I just couldn't get past the horrible job of "dubbing". The voices are "dubbed" by people with barely intelligible "accents". One scene had a man go from broken English back to Indian and back to the broken English again. All-the-while the "English subtitles" went in and out.

I was unable to concentrate on the story, which was very good indeed. One minor flaw may be the fact that the people featured here did not represent an "average family" in India. Their life style was far above average for Indian standards. It's like making believe that most people live like those featured on "Murder She Wrote" or "General Hospital".

If there were a version in original Indian with English subtitles, I would recomment that one (wishing I could see it like that). The "dubbing" into terrible English didn't work for me. It was a big turn off!**

Rating:
Summary: Monsoon wedding
Review: Wow!...It was a beautiful, entertaining, mavelous movie. I recommended it to all my coworkers who also enjoyed it immensely. A nice rental movie to watch with family, friends, etc.
Yo have to see it

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: Enjoyed the Culture,Music,Vibe&Overall element my only knock with the film is that it explored to many things&somewhere in the middle it got dragged a bit.but the Wedding,clothes&the Ladies were Great&the Music was off the Hook.the film was Pretty Good&worth checking out.

Rating:
Summary: A Flood of Joy
Review: I have a soft spot in my heart for Indian movies. Though I am not of that heritage, I have often found myself on a Saturday morning watching the singing/dancing/action extravaganzas that are broadcast on my local public-access stations. I can't understand the dialogue, but the intentions are quite loud and clear.

Director Mira Nair has crafted a movie that is one-third dancing/singing spectacle, one-third societal/caste commentary, and one-third family melodrama. She succeeds beautifully with her first two components; the third plot line is out-of-place and seems to be lifted from the Lifetime Movie Network archive. Amidst the bright, beckoning colors, the subtle and overt comedy, the swirling fabric and the lush cinematography, the subplot of incest and child molestation is inappropriate and time-consuming. Perhaps Nair, who has helmed many serious films that explore poverty and racism, crosscultural love and eroticism, felt a gritty slice of "realism" was needed to anchor this movie, to make it go beyond a pretty, fluffy piece of Bollywood.

As a Caucasian Westerner, I have seen so many American and British films that depict India as a hotbed of illnesses, dirt-poor people struggling to survive, a mecca for privileged white people to dispense charity and altruism. MONSOON WEDDING was a welcome respite from this depiction of a country that always needs rescuing by superior, morally aware Westerners. How refreshing to see a well-to-do, close-knit, loving family depicted in a homecoming environment. Additionally, it was sweet to see the young housekeeper finding romance with an upwardly mobile wedding planner during the three-day marriage feast. You see, Indian people can be rescued and transported to better lives through their own initiative. They don't always need Patrick Swayze and Pauline Collins in CITY OF JOY to lift them from their lots in life.

I recommend this DVD for anyone who wants to see glorious, rich colors, who is fascinated by how similar all people are--despite geographical and cultural barriers. It's a heartwarming look at a family who just happens to be Indian. They are primarily a clan of mothers, fathers, nieces, and cousins who squabble, scrapple, support, and celebrate one another. Minus the "incest intervention" bits, it is a film that will make anyone laugh, smile, and rejoice in the global power of family and romance. Also, it's one of the few movies where a sudden dance number or lip-synching display seems natural. When Hollywood films show actors like Susan Sarandon and children flying around the house to the strains of Motown, or Glenn Close and crew doowopping to Marvin Gaye, I always wonder "What's wrong with me and my family? Why don't we ever put on spur-of-the-moment Busby Berkeley dance routines? Why are we so choreographically challenged?" MONSOON WEDDING showcases characters who break out into song-and-dance routines but in a believable,delightful fashion. It's very well done, and it'll make your inner Michael Kidd soar.

Rating:
Summary: More Like This, please!
Review: I loved this movie! It was a look at a culture I know I will never see in person, and for that reason alone it is worth viewing. The director handled the various story lines in a deft fashion, so that the viewer was never confused (I watched "Gosford Park" with remote in hand so I could re-play important scenes when the "duh" factor started to set in). The main story, the arranged marriage of the very modern, "liberated" daughter of the house, and the successful son-in-law come back from America for his bride, was fascinating to those brought up in a country where marriage is mainly a matter of hormones. Watching the attraction between the two of them grow is one of the best parts of the movie - at the end you feel that these fictional characters will have a wonderful life. I really cannot find any major flaws in this movie -- the music was a delight, the dialog was intellegent, the snapshots of Indian life offered to the view were fascinating. You will not be sorry that you bought it!

Rating:
Summary: Best movie I have ever seen! And I watch many movies!
Review: If you are not a movie nut or if you are one...this movie is a MUST see! I fell in love with India, it's music, the culture...I want to go there, now. It made me laugh, it made me cry, I could not pull away from it. I had watched the movie five times before getting a copy! GET THE SCORE....it is fabulous!

Rating:
Summary: Indian feelgood film
Review: Director Mira Nair has gone back to her roots with Monsoon Wedding, a loving portrait (from a screenplay by Sabrina Dhawan) of one Delhi family's preparations for their daughter's wedding.

The action takes place over five days with the daughter Aditi (Vasundhara Das) still in the midst of an affair with a married man, cousin Ria's (Shefali Shetty) witnessing of the corruption of another young cousin by the same uncle that abused her, and wedding planner P.K. Dubey's (Vijay Raaz) growing affection for housegirl Alice (Tilotama Shome). The mixture of the celebration of the wedding with the tension behind the scenes is perfectly balanced, with the love story countering the discomfort of the mildly-approached incest.

Nair truly knows these people (she said she has wanted to do a modern-day "Delhi dot-com family" portrait) and the details are what make Monsoon Wedding so evocative. Despite the uncomfortable subject matter, it is a purely enjoyable film and is much more layered--and therefore a much better film--than its sitcom-ish counterpart, My Big Fat Greek Wedding (which was obviously geared to a more mainstream audience).

Rating:
Summary: Excellant movie, great film to watch over and over again.
Review: This is a wonderful movie about an Indian family whose memebers are scattered about the globe who gather together for a wedding. The movie is very cross cultural, as it is about family. It is funny, moving and at times challenging as the family faces different issues. The filiming is beautiful---very colorful with great shots and the score is wonderful as well. The characters are well developed and interesting. I highly recommend Monsoon Wedding.

Rating:
Summary: Both subtle and complex
Review: Mira Nair's first film, Salaam Bombay was an extremely emotional film, with simply astonishing moments. This is the first film since her auspicious debut that lives up to the promise of her first film. The reviewers who have criticized it for either having no story, or being a soap opera, have truly missed the boat. The dynamic of the film derives from the clash between divergent forces, honoring tradition, yet assimilating to alien cultures, honoring family, yet making difficult and painful decisions when paternal responsibility demands. Then there is the contrast between the issues surrounding an arranged marriage between strangers, whose wedding is filled with splendid pomp and ceremony, and the simple romance between the event planner and a servant girl. The romantic elements of their developing relationship contribute to the most touching moments of the film, although this is a film that is filled with poignant moments. There are actually several plots and several reverse plots unfolding simultaneously, which leads to considerable complexity, yet in the end, all these threads are delicately interwoven in a satisfying manner.