Monday, November 10, 2008

The Namesake

I watched The Namesake (based on Jhumpa Lahiri's book) over the weekend. It was a really lovely film about a Bengali couple who immigrate to the US from India and their American-born children. It was an interesting look at the son, Gogol, and his attempt to understand his identity. The cast was stellar, especially Kal Penn as Gogol, and Tabu and Irfan Khan as his parents.

It provoked an interesting discussion between my husband and me. I am American, and he moved here from England when we got married. We talked about the immigrant experience and the way it's portrayed in books and films today. In The Namesake, the difference between America and India from the immigrant point of view seemed to be expressed not only in the subject matter, but in the actual way the countries were depicted. America seemed to be shot in duller colors and was bleaker, while India seemed to be shot in much more lush color and featured more cultural interest.

Although our situation is completely different, the film also made me wonder about my daughter. Chloe is 6 and identifies herself thoroughly as American, although we go to visit her father's family in England and France. I will be curious to see if and when she becomes more curious about the European side of her heritage.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My husband and I watched this movie a few months ago and we really loved it.