The Namesake
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Movie Reviews of The Namesake
Movie Review: "For Our Parents - Who Gave Us Everything"
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Truly Universal and Cathartic Adaptation of Lahiri's Time-Spanning Novel
Summary: 5 Stars
Meticulously observed and wonderfully heartfelt, this time-spanning 2007 family dramedy represents a return to form for director Mira Nair, who faltered somewhat with 2004's elaborate but lugubrious "Vanity Fair". This one is also a literary adaptation but this time from a contemporary best-seller by Jhumpa Lahiri, who wrote an emotionally drawn story about first generation Bengali immigrants to the United States and their U.S.-born children. It's an intricate book full of careful nuances, and Nair, along with screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala, captures most of them in a most loving manner. The story speaks fluently to the universal struggle to extricate ourselves from the obligation of family and a perceived enslavement to the past. Nair and Taraporevala manage to transcend the necessarily episodic nature of the novel to make it an involving journey toward self-acceptance.
The film initially focuses on Ashoke Ganguli and his arranged marriage to Ashima, a classically trained singer. The young couple move from Calcutta in 1977 to Queens in order for him to pursue his career as an electrical engineer. The adjustment is difficult, especially for Ashima in assimilating into the often cold U.S. culture, and these quiet scenes show a keen eye for subtle observation. They quickly have two children in succession, son Gogol and daughter Sonia. Gogol's name is the key plot point as he was inadvertently after Ashoke's favorite writer, Nikholai Gogol, and this is revealed to have greater significance as the story unfolds. Eventually, the film switches the perspective to Gogol's as he grows up, changes his name to Nikhil and starts his life as a yuppie architect in Manhattan.
At the same, the film does not abandon Ashoke and Ashima as they remain significant figures in shaping Gogol's destiny, especially as the impact of a tragic turn brings unexpected changes. The cathartic aspect of these scenes is what makes the film powerful. Moreover, with her filmmaking experience in her native India and the U.S., Nair brings a seamless fluency to both locales. The movie falters a bit toward the end when it starts to ramble and feel pat, but the story's old world gravitas rescues it just in time. Beforehand I was convinced Kal Penn would be the spoiler in this film, but he gives a sharp, dedicated performance as Gogol. Poised to be taken seriously as an actor even amid his White Castle and Van Wilder movies, he seems a bit exaggerated only in the early teenage scenes which recall those other movies.
However, it is the superb work of Irfan Khan and Tabu as his parents that make the film soar. Both bring a level of assurance and compassion that ground the film completely, especially Tabu who makes the seemingly modest character arc of Ashima really striking. Playing yet another variation of the spoiled American girl, Jacinda Barrett again proves how fearless an actress she can be in exposing the vanity and ignorance of Maxine, Gogol's first serious girlfriend. As Moushumi, the Bengali girl who comes with the family's seal of approval, Zuleikha Robinson has a ripe presence to match her character's aspiring worldliness. Cinematographer Frederick Elmes and production designer Stephanie Carroll provide masterful work in capturing the diverse flavors of the different locales. This film is for anyone who has struggled to forge his or her own identity only to find the need to embrace the past, especially those of us who have parents who displayed the courage to move from their native lands.
Movie Review: Sometimes Universal Themes Work Wonders
Summary: 5 Stars
Films with universal themes run great risks. Mostly this risk entails descending into that pit known as cliche. Many films have done it and fallen victim, but THE NAMESAKE uses its universal theme to great advantage, never disguising what it is and how important it can be.
The theme is family and how vital they are to our core existence. They shape every part of us, from childhood on, for better or worse. They create a sense of belonging, even when we're apart, even when separated by oceans. They give us our early identity, and even our names.
Most of us don't think about how tough it is to name a human being and how we lug that title around with us for the rest of our lives. But in The Namesake, director Mira Nair ( of MONSOON WEDDING fame) gives us Gogol Ganguli, a name of substance and importance, but not necessarily important to its owner.
The Namesake is a tri-generational story of a Bangladeshi family. The film starts with the beautiful Indian singing of Ashima (Tabu). Her initial goal in life is to become a great artist/singer. But family concerns override her plans as she returns home to find a marriage arrangement being put forth for her. Her parents introduce her to her future husband, Ashoke (Irfan Khan), an architect who's been studying and living in America. The marriage takes place and Ashima accompanies her new husband to New York ("Half a world away"). She immediately begins missing her family but her forlorn attitude is whisked aside as Ashoke teaches her the ways of the City. She becomes pregnant with her first child, Gogol. The naming is tricky because normally it is done by an elder from within the family (all of whom are still in India). So Ashoke names him after one of his favorite authors (Nicholas "Gogol", a famous Russian writer). Gogol bares the name with disdain, never fully realizing its importance (one of Nicholas Gogol's books actually saved Gogol's father's life after a fatal train accident in India many years before). Gogol eventually changes his name to Nick, thus ending his family's tradition of keeping an appropriate Indian name.
It is this Americanization that is most troubling throughout the film. It invades the very fabric of what Gogol's family represents. Although not entirely without merit (America does give him a good education and a nice job), the culture of his parents seems stilted and uncool. As Gogol (and eventually his sister) grow into adulthood, they search for love in America, and find it via Americans. This is also another blow to Ashima and Ashoke (Gogol's mother and father). Americans live in the fast lane and often have to choose between one spouse's family over the other. This comes into sharp contrast as Gogol begins dating a beautiful blonde American named Maxine (Jacinda Barrett, POSEIDON). Maxine's pull is strong and forces Gogol to drift farther away from his roots. His parents call and call but never hear back. It takes a devastating family event to get Gogol back on track and it is this that gives the film its emotional heft. Tear-jerking and non-forced, this event was played perfectly and surprised everyone in the audience (all the movie patrons gasped around me when it occurred, a true tribute to this film's masterful weaving of the family theme).
The movie's arc is also well done. It ends just as it begins, with the focus on understanding family and what it means to move on when the time comes, but to never forget where you've come from.
Movie Review: What's in a name? Everything.
Summary: 5 Stars
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
Movie Review: Involving Tale of Immigrant Parents and American Children, with a Sense of Humor.
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Namesake" is the most memorable and enjoyable of all the films about South Asian immigrant families that I've seen. Based on the novel by Jhumpu Lahiri and directed by Mira Nair, it expounds on a familiar theme: Traditional immigrant parents struggling with a new culture and perplexed by their Westernized offspring. This film is always in motion, respectful of the characters' emotions but never stopping to wallow in them. It treats the parents' conventions and perspective as a matter of fact, not as a source of conflict or an issue in need of examination. Along with the striking performances, this approach sets "The Namesake" apart from other films with a similar premise.
In 1977, Ashoke Ganguli (Irrfan Khan) returns to his family home in Calcutta, India to find a bride to join him in New York, where he is a graduate student. Ashima (Tabu) is the playful, elegant young woman who agrees to marry Ashoke and embark on a new life far away from her country and family. The couple have a son, whom they name Gogol after the Russian writer whose stories played a role in a pivotal event in Ashoke's life. Gogol (Kal Penn) and his sister Sonia (Sahira Nair) grow up both fascinated and annoyed by their Indian heritage, while their parents are bewildered yet tolerant of their self-centered American children. Gogol's priorities and loyalty to family sometimes conflict, like his lifelong love-hate relationship with his name.
"The Namesake" is as much about Ashima's adaptation as about Gogol's dual cultural identities. Bollywood star Tabu is beautiful but not pristinely so. Her face is so interesting that I never stopped wanting to look at her. She is radiant, self-contained, and thoroughly sympathetic. Irrfan Khan is amazing as unassuming, even-tempered Ashoke. My first impression of the cinematography was of "ordinariness". In fact, the work is very good and suits "The Namesake" perfectly. The view is always interesting. Color and design don't draw attention to themselves but reinforce the characters' authenticity. With first-rate performances and characters that make the audience curious to know them better, "The Namesake" may be Mira Nair's best film. In English and Bengali with subtitles.
The DVD (20th Century Fox 2007): Bonus features include 3 deleted scenes, a theatrical trailer, 4 featurettes, and an audio commentary. "The Anatomy of The Namesake: A Class at Columbia University's Graduate Film School" (32 min) features the director, producer Lydia Dean Pilcher, DP Frederick Elmes, the production designer, editor, and casting director explaining their work and answering students' questions. "Fox Movie Channel Presents: In Character with Kal Penn" (4 min) interviews the actor about Gogol. "Kolkata Love Poem" (4 min) is a visual tribute to the locations in India, with music. "Photography as Inspiration" (8 min) showcases some photos and the scenes that drew on them. The audio commentary by director Mira Nair is constant and detailed. She discusses her inspirations, intentions, and the elements of each scene, and how the film connects the worlds of New York and Calcutta. Subtitles are available for the film in English, Spanish, French. Dubbing available in Spanish.