Short Review: Monsoon Wedding
 

For those who can't stand foreign films because you can't understand the conversations, this film is for you. A few phrases and sentences are subtitled but most of it is in English.

The movie is really terrific, and sheds light on some of the perceptions of the United States, while at the same time, displays the same problems of relationships and that they are universal in experience.

There are some really funny scenes and I am so glad I bought Monsoon Wedding.

I thought this was a fun movie too; it was a little hard to follow at first because they just sort of dove right in and there are an awful lot of characters, but once you figure out their relationship to each other it's smooth sailing. Beautiful production design and a great look into another culture's customs.

I bought this recently as a blind buy but have not had any time to see it yet. I heard great things about this movie so now I am excited to see it.

I was a little disappointed with this one, especially after the many glowing reviews. I thought much of the humor was silly and there was much more foul language than I would have preferred in a family-oriented film. All in all,though,it was enjoyable. I would recommend a rent first.

Not sure I agree with the above comment regarding "a family-oriented" film.

Yes, it dealt with the coming together of a family for the wedding, and yes it was a very uplifting film packed with a lot of humour and with a very satisfying feel-good conclusion... but there is a very dark undercurrent to this film which I would think precludes it from qualifying a nice family-oriented film.

This is one of my favourite (and most watched) films by the way, and I rate it right up there with films like A Straight Story, Amelie and Hana-bi as great, slightly off-beat, studies of the human condition.

regards, Tim...

"For those who can't stand foreign films because you can't understand the conversations, this film is for you. "

This quote is telling. Although I would rephrase it as "For those who can't stand foreign films because they don't recycle plots and characters from American soap operas, this film is for you."

MONSOON WEDDING is by far and away the most overrated movie of last year. Maybe if it's the first foreign film you've seen, it's cool to see a different culture, but there's lots of other great foreign films out there that look better, have better characters, have better plotting ... oy, I'll shut up now, since I know nobody's going to agree with me.

Thor - you're wrong - I agree with you.:)

It seems fairly apparent to me that Thor and bdots48 only gave this film a very brief and superficial viewing and took very little of the cultural aspects specific to Indian film into consideration - and I am a person who has close to 100 non-English language DVDs in his collection, not someone who is new to foreign films.

hardtack - I gave this a full viewing(brief?) although I have yet to watch it with the commentary. As for it being a superficial viewing,I don't think so. There was much to like about the film and for the most part I enjoyed it; I just thought the reviews were way too good. For the record,I have over 500 foreign language dvds,about 30 Indian. I would probably rate Monsoon Wedding in my top 10 of the Indian dvds I own.

bdots48... my comments were probably more directed at Thor than at yourself (you just offered a nod in the direction of his/her comments :)).

I was having a lot of trouble coming to terms with the comments regarding the recycling of plots and characters from daytime US soaps, as well as his/her assertion that it was the most overrated film of last year.

For those who've been considering this one - it's now $13.99 at DDD. By the way,I watched it a second time and again with the excellent director's commentary and now have a greater appreciation of it. I'd definitely recommend it at this price.

Best place to buy Indian movies
 

bdots48 and others, What are some good places to buy Indian movies on DVD? Also are most of the newer movies on DVD released in anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 audio?

nyer - take a look at zulm.net. I've done most of my ordering at indianblockbuster.com or nehaflix.com.

I rented the R1 and then purchased the R4 because its anamorphic. Great movie and www.EZYDvd.com has good prices.