489- Monsoon Wedding

[captainofbeef]

Cultures and families clash in Mira Nair’s exuberant Monsoon Wedding, a mix of comedy and chaotic melodrama concerning the preparations for the arranged marriage of a modern upper-middle-class Indian family’s only daughter, Aditi. Of course there are hitches—Aditi has been having an affair with a married TV host; she’s never met her husband to be, who lives in Houston; the wedding has worsened her father’s hidden financial troubles; even the wedding planner has become a nervous wreck—as well as buried family secrets. But Nair’s celebration is ultimately joyful and cathartic: a love song to her home city of Delhi and her own Punjabi family.

* New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director Mira Nair and director of photography Declan Quinn (with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
* Audio commentary featuring Nair
* Nair’s short documentaries So Far from India (1983), India Cabaret (1985), and The Laughing Club of India (2001), featuring video introductions by the director
* Nair’s short fiction films The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat (1993), 11’09"01—September 11 (Segment: “India”) (2002), Migration (2007), and How Can It Be? (2008), featuring video introductions by the director
* New video interview with actor Naseeruddin Shah, conducted by Nair
* New video interviews with Quinn and production designer Stephanie Carroll
* Theatrical trailer
* New and improved English subtitle translation
* PLUS: An essay by critic and travel writer Pico Iyer

[criterionmaster]

This movie is advertised as a chick-flick of sorts but it is so much more. I checked it out wanting to see a more modern film from India after having watched the first of the Apu trilogy. It blew any expectations away. The characters were all interesting and had many levels, the movie was at one second touching and at another hilarious. The score was also very well-done. Worth checking out, don't pay attention to the trailer or posters.