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Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Karma Sutra
Review: Those randy viewers expecting a soft core "Skin-a-max" romp will likely be disappointed by this well-meaning story of a love triangle involving a simple servant girl who becomes a rebellious royal courtesan.

A beautifully atmospheric film with a gorgeous and exotic cast, Kama Sutra comes across as more of an erotic soap opera than anything else. Mira Nair, who also directed "Mississippi Malsala", paces her film with a slow and deliberate burn--much like the passions which ignite between her film's characters.

While some may find the plot too familiar, I really enjoyed the performance of Indira Varma, playing the lead role of Maya, the servant girl. The beautiful and sexy Varma does a credible job building her character from a naive, young waif into a strong, independent woman.

This DVD has a moderate number of features like wide and full frame formats, director's commentary, a theatrical trailer, filmography, language selection, and animated interactive menus.

Although the slow pace of the film may not appeal to some viewers, it offers much in the way of eye candy (both actors and scenery).

Recommended

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An incredible movie from an incredibly gifted director
Review: KAMA SUTRA is decidedly one of the best movies of the 1990s, and perhaps Mira Nair's finest work. It depicts a courtesan's life in sixteenth-century India, showing the conflict between her true love and her duty to a selfish Raj. The attention to detail is astounding, from the landscape and architecture to the spiritual and sensual teachings. The story is a moving one, as is further emphasized by the stellar cast (including Naveen Andrews of "The English Patient"). Refreshing in both its feminist qualities and frank but not contrived sexuality, the film should please adults who are interested in both visual and spoken art. There is true emotion in this story, paired with life lessons -- a rarity in today's cinema, and for which KAMA SUTRA should be recognized.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Some nice scenes, but overall quite crude
Review: This is a rather crudely made film devoid of much charm. A few of the scenes are nicely shot, but overall this is a letdown, just like almost every film with the words "Kama Sutra" in the title. Beware of overly positive reviews. I'm not Indian (nor Pakistani), unlike some highly biased reviewers here.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Beauty of another Culture.
Review: I really enjoyed this movie because of the glance into ancient india. It expressed it's beauty in the land, the culture and the people, especially the women. Just goes to show how important women really are. I think this is a movie that you can sit and watch with you closet friends and discuss the feelings and actions of the people in the movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fab erotic tale of love, sex and culture from an exotic land
Review: Our heroine, Maya, and her lifelong friend, Tara, were born into the Indian caste cuture meaning that little Maya usually got all of the hand me downs from her more upper class friend.

As a little girl we see Maya's frustration with her lot in life as a lower caste in a very male dominated world, and she declares that someday she will have something all to herself before Tara. Of course that something turns out to be Taras husband, the King, Raj, who seduces and then falls head over heels in love with Maya the night before his wedding.

A jealous troll of a suiter that was meant for Maya spilled the beans and Maya was found on the street, dishonoured for something she could never have stopped anyway. Our heroine, with the innocent and clear mind of a beutifull child, the body af a woman (you betcha) and smouldering desires and libido of a born courtesan is thrust into a love triangle with no probable good end in sight.

This is not, by any stetch of the imagination a porno movie since the nude and sex scenes are delicately placed into the movie with purpose and reason to further the plot. The acting is stupendous as is the scenery, costumes etc of the Indian sub continent.

The quality of the DVD and the sound track are also ezquisite and I would reccommend this movie highly as a treasure of adult entertainment ...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: In the best traditions of "1000 and 1 nights"!
Review: This is, indeed, a Tale, a tale for adults... For in the East, it has always been known that adults NEED and enjoy tales no less than any child would.

This story is about LOVE (of course), true love broken by the society and its "powerful ones". In this case, the powerful one is a Prince, evil yet very sexy Naveen Andrews (Kip in "The English Patient"). The object of his desire is Maya, who is forced to become courtesan, after some unfortunate events. But, Maya was brought up as a princess...

Indeed, Maya grew up with the evil Prince's future wife-to-be, Tara, so it gets very complicated: Prince has beautiful Tara, but he desires beautiful Maya (they are both so beautiful, why not have them both?...Prince manages to do that for quite some time).

There is another amazingly beautiful woman in this film, whom I enjoyed seeing on screen once again: famous Indian actress, Rasa Devi, playing Rekha-- older courtesan and Maya's mentor, and what a wonderful mentor she is!

In short, Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, is one of the most beautiful and most sensuous films in years. It is entertaining and at the same time philosophical!

It was nice to see "making love"-scenes, as oppose to random and mostly meaningless sex-scenes that seem to dominate today's cinema.

I only regret that there wasn't more dancing in this film. I also regret over-using the word "beautiful" in my review:)....but, in this case, it is more than appropriate.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: From a woman's point of view
Review: This film's imagery is powerful and sensual...so rich and vivid that it seemed as though I could feel and smell the lush and exotic scenes. Throughout, the film is infused with light-hearted, but nevertheless heated, eroticism informed by female sensibilities. What is most surprising is that it does have a message; one might say that despite being set in 16th century India, it is a modern morality play told with more than a little tongue-in-cheek.

Maya, born into a servant caste, and thereby relegated to a powerless situation in a rigid society, manages with daring, intelligence, and humor to live an authentic life. She acts boldly, at times, to shape her destiny; but she also accepts with equanimity the turns of fate that she cannot control. I think I can say without giving away anything that I love the final scene where, on the metaphorical path of life, she walks serenely out of the chaos and madness created by powerful men into the peace of her own future. Oh, that one might do as well in the madness of the 22nd century.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kama Sutra Plus more
Review: This movie was beyond exceptional. It had beautiful people, costumes as well as scenary. I like it For this Movie and more visit us online for lingerire, kama sutra books games and online community. http://karmasutraexpress.com/enter.htm

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Some nice scenes, but overall quite crude
Review: This is a rather crudely made film devoid of much charm. A few of the scenes are nicely shot, but overall this is a letdown, just like almost every film with the words "Kama Sutra" in the title. Beware of overly positive reviews. I'm not Indian (nor Pakistani), unlike some highly biased reviewers here.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: WHY LABEL AN ORDINARY SOAP-OPERA "KAMA SUTRA"?
Review: For one thing, it puzzles me how this westernized view of India -- plush with its dusky women courtesans and its white bread social beliefs -- is associated with "Kama Sutra". A perfectly guessable tale of unrequited love, scorn, and revenge thereof, is packaged with frequent bits of unnecessary sex (call it audience targeting).

But even if I were to detach myself from exploring the Indianness in this film (the lack thereof, I mean) or its non-chalant labeling as Kama Sutra, in and of itself the movie is still quite an ordinary one.

The theme, as simpleton as they come -- Maya (a conveniently dark-skinned Indira Verma much in keeping with a western stereotype of Indian nymphs) is reviled by her Prince husband and socially ostracized. She takes refuge under the aegis of an exotic dancer (played convincingly by a superbly controlled Rekha, the only respite amidst all this facade). This dance teacher supposedly coaches our modest protagonist in all the requisite moves and emotional shenanigans involved in inveigling a man.

Lots of visual eye candy lines this bagatelle (not as much soft porn as some XY-chromosomes among you may wish for), some good costume designs, and an occasionally entertaining soundtrack.Nothing more.

From a veteran of Mira Nair's cadre, one would perhaps expect more than that -- maybe even a complex story of sexual intrigue and character study. Instead, looks like she fancied unshackling some international mental barriers about eroticism in the oh-so-orthodox Indian society, which ends up being little more than a farce to real Indians. (A trend that she seems to have continued with Monsoon Wedding)

Come to think of it, the whole plot reeks heavily of another movie, "Dangerous Beauty", which btw is a must-watch, where a Venetian courtesan tackles a similar fate. At least you may run into some honestly intelligent dialogue there.


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