Bower's Game Corner:New York 1901 Review

Bourdain Unknown Shanghai: Start at 32m to see an actual Wedding Banquet (though mainland example). It runs until about 39minutes. Also, you'll have to suffer through a couple commercials. by limukohou

Audience Questions

Due to a family emergency that has occurred over this week I was unable to attend class this week. For all panelists I did watch the movie in advance for Juile and Julia. I thought it was a really good movie! My two questions for anyone not just the panelists are: Do you think it was more than just achallenge to Julie cook all Julia's 524 recipes, like an inner challenge rather than to just prove that she could? My other question is why did she choose Julia's recipes? I don't think that it explained the why very well because it was French food not just American meals. Once again I apologize for not being there but I enjoyed this class and it was a pleasure to get to know some of you!

Ephron's Julie and Julia

This is Getting Crazy

I know I've been pointing out that the food film or the concept is now a bonafide genre and fully incorporated into film and media, but even I'm surprised at how much momentum it seems to have lately.  I've just seen a trailer for another food film with Helen Mirren, (The Hundred Foot Journey) about an Indian restaurant in France, and an even more surprising first, a food sitcom (don't remember the name).
    Jon also sent me a link to another food film in the work with Jean Reno (remember The Professional? or Femme Nikita --the film not the series?) as the chef, called (of course) Le Chef, though apparently it debuted in France two years ago.  Perhaps the success of Chef made them think Le Chef could find a similar audience.

Ramji and Assimilation

We've seen food and cuisine used as a "visible" part of assimilation, most notably in What's Cooking, where each culture's cuisine and its American "translation" embodies the challenge of maintaining one's heritage yet still becoming part of a new nation.  In Ramji we see food as part of the same equation (though the nation/culture Ramji joins is British rather than American of course).  What's interesting, though, is how the film suggests that assimilation is ultimately not the goal--in either a personal nor culinary sense.

    Notice that Ramji has to teach the cooks in Curry Corner how to properly prepare the dishes--and once he does business picks up, presumably as a result of his tastier fare.  In other words, his cooking is more authentically Indian, not the watered down, Anglicized Indian food he finds being prepared when he arrives.  Similarly, when he wins the contest (again through his superior cuisine) he doesn't use his success to solidify his entry into London, but to return home.  We could take it even further in seeing Sameera's return with him to India.  She's obviously been thoroughly assimilated (as her easy and thoroughly British English shows), though just as obviously her ability to speak Hindi suggests she hasn't lost touch with her heritage either.  Initially, she doesn't even realize that return is possible, but her Grandmother knows it instantly--knows it is not only possible, but desirable.  The message seems clear: one can only truly express and experience one's Indian identity in Mother India.
    On a sidenote, notice Ramji and Sameera never kiss despite several opportunities.  In fact, when they want to enrage Jai, who's trying to dupe them on the phone, Sameera kisses her arm rather than Ramji to trick Jai.  Needless to say, kissing (or any open sexuality) is strictly verboten in Bollywood pictures.  Hence, the need for dancing.

Ramji Londonwaley

Ramji Londonwaley is an adaptation, not remake, (according to the writer/director Sanjay Dayma) of an older film titled Nala Damayanthi.  It is Dayma's second of only two films so far.  By far this is the least famous of the two as the other film, Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, was nominated by the Academy for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.

The film that this is adapted from is part of Tamil cinema.  Tamil cinema is in reference to the location of production.  The region of Tamil is known as Kollywood, similar to the more famous Bollywood, taking it's name in respect of Hollywood.  Tamil cinema is also regulated more prominently by the government than others.  This regulation generally focuses on the prices of admission to the films that are released.

Sanjay Dayma worked with Indian cinema superstar R. Madhavan on both of his projects.  Madhavan is by far the most famous name associated with this film and has been in over 50 movies.  Not much information could be found about Dayma himself and even a photograph was hard to come by.  Unless the Sanjay Dayma that is easily locatable on Facebook is the same man in which case it seems that he has fallen out of the limelight.  His wife is Vidya Malvade, a relatively famous Bollywood actress.

As stated, this film was not the critical success that Lagaan was.  It has received mixed reviews from both Indian and American critics.  Although it has achieved a fresh rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes it has less than stellar scores elsewhere including a 6.5/10 on IMDB.  Most negative criticism points to the pace of the first hour of the film while the positive will note the charm and comedy brought to the film by Madhavan.

The film itself covers a lot of ground, which could explain why there is so much distaste for the set up in the beginning.  It follows a son, Ramji (played by Madhavan), after his mother's death in India as he travels to London in pursuit of a job as well as an arranged marriage (which is common in Indian culture).  Due to a series of unfortunate events including a bitter betrothal, inconvenient timing on the part of his employer, and legal troubles with immigration. Ramji is left to fend for himself.

Sources:

bollywoodhumgama.com

hindigeetmala.net

imdb.com

wikipedia.org

rottentomatoes.com