A perfect arrangement (Monsoon Wedding (DVD))

Member Name: george_lazenby

Product:	Monsoon Wedding (DVD)
Date:	05/02/02 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superbly made, excellent direction, brilliant music

Disadvantages: None

It was only by chance that I saw Monsoon Wedding, having missed it quite a few times, and forgotten it was an option. It was only because Mrs Lazenby and I were driving past the Trafford Centre and hadn't eaten dinner that we decided to stop off, and then wondered what was on. In these days of DVD and home cinema systems, missing a movie isn't quite the disaster it once was, but nevertheless, a film should be seen at the cinema if at all possible.

Given some of the films I have managed to turn out for so far in 2002, the idea of missing Monsoon Wedding seems horrific. Mira Nair's films ('Salaam Bombay', 'The Perez Family') are generally underrated, even her misjudged adaptation of the 'Kama Sutra' as a lush erotic romance was worth watching, if only for the cast of genuinely beautiful people, but 'Monsoon Wedding' is about as good a film as you're likely to see all year - thankfully, I finally managed to see it.

The film revolves around a wedding in New Delhi, and weaves several stories around the central situation - though done with mutual consent, this is an arranged marriage, and the bride's seeming jitters are more related to the fact that she's still in love with her (married) boyfriend. Meanwhile, Dad is struggling with a mounting debt problem, relatives are arriving from all corners of the globe, and cousin Ria seems to be harbouring some deep problem with the head of the family.

All of the performances are perfect - potentially unbelievable situations are handled with great aplomb because of Nair's careful direction and the superb actors, while the dialogue is sharp and witty. Virtually every character is given three-dimensions, a convincing set of motivations and feelings. Even Dupey, the toothy, insincere wedding organiser, whose purpose seems to be purely as comic relief, turns out to be involved in the most touching of the film's romantic strands. Nair and her writ
er see everyone as having their part to play; everyone seems valued and understood.

Generally, it's a hilarious film, vibrant and alive. There's an obvious emphasis on music and dancing (Nair is a Punjabi raised in Delhi, and the Punjab tradition puts great importance on the rituals of singing and dancing), but this isn't a Bollywood musical, no-one suddenly bursts into song. Rather, the soundtrack is loaded with traditional songs (and a superb score by Mychael Danna), while the wedding build-up is full of opportunities for communal singing and dancing.

But what is ultimately so impressive about the film is the way in which it is able to shift the mood between the lighter, comic stories, and strands which are darker, more bleak. You can guess where a lot of the stories are going, but the explosion of the film's more serious storyline is brilliantly handled, heightened by the joyous frame that surrounds it. It's a tribute to Nair's storytelling skills that the most important plotline is resolved rather earlier than expected, so that the most dramatic story can take centre stage. I am not, regulars may have guessed, a sentimental person, but the pivotal scene between Ria and her uncle (when you see the film, you'll know the one I mean, it ends with the line 'Everything will break) had tears in my eyes.

I love everything about this film - the gorgeous actresses, the superb mix of comedy and pathos, the superb sense of location, the cinematography, the raucous score - it never puts a foot wrong, and is perfect if enlightened cinema owners are still showing it at Valentine's Day. There'll no doubt be drippy Hollywood pap for cinephile romantics - seek this out instead, it's the real thing.

* A note about language
'Monsoon Wedding' has been intelligently released in two versions - one with English Subtitles, one in Hindi. I saw the English version, although the characters are effe
ctively bi-lingual, and at least 60% of the film is in English. I don't know whether the Hindi version is dubbed, or if the English dialogue is subtitled in it - whatever, you should decide which version is yours, and then get out and see it.

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