TRS, you are wonderful!!! I second every single one of your words and thoughts. These are exactly my feelings. Let me quote ...
a feel-good movie with a gentle message. Not the easiest of combinations to achieve, but the feel-good part is great. And in my opinion, the messages are worth listening to, and precisely because they are delivered in a very gentle, non-confrontational way, without agression or self-righteousness, they might reach quite a lot of people. This. So very much this. There is a lot of learning going on in the movie, in all sorts of ways. With laughs.
I liked the depiction of India, too. There are no tourist-brochure-pretty images. True, there is no depiction of the most gruelling poverty, either, but that would fit neither the feel-good intention nor the story-line. And I think a 'let's look for everything that's most wrong' approach wouldn't really do justice to present-day India either. And this! The movie did not gloss over the fact that there is poverty and inequality. But people kept their dignity. I've often heard people from poor countries feel exposed when Westerners just can't for once give the "looking for the worst" a miss. This one, I find, walked that tightrope well.
Penelope Wilton is the wife from hell, true, and I did feel for her husband. But at the same time I felt sorry for her. So completely out of her depth in India, desperately lonely, disappointed in everything. Oh, and how much do I agree with this! There had to be a character who could not cope, and her portrayal was perfect. All the symptoms of culture shock -- I did feel for her, too, despite wanting to slap her on occasions.
How did you like Judi Dench's character? I found her fab! MacCrone indeed. And I loved the final image ♥
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a feel-good movie with a gentle message. Not the easiest of combinations to achieve, but the feel-good part is great. And in my opinion, the messages are worth listening to, and precisely because they are delivered in a very gentle, non-confrontational way, without agression or self-righteousness, they might reach quite a lot of people.
This. So very much this. There is a lot of learning going on in the movie, in all sorts of ways. With laughs.
I liked the depiction of India, too. There are no tourist-brochure-pretty images. True, there is no depiction of the most gruelling poverty, either, but that would fit neither the feel-good intention nor the story-line. And I think a 'let's look for everything that's most wrong' approach wouldn't really do justice to present-day India either.
And this! The movie did not gloss over the fact that there is poverty and inequality. But people kept their dignity. I've often heard people from poor countries feel exposed when Westerners just can't for once give the "looking for the worst" a miss. This one, I find, walked that tightrope well.
Penelope Wilton is the wife from hell, true, and I did feel for her husband. But at the same time I felt sorry for her. So completely out of her depth in India, desperately lonely, disappointed in everything.
Oh, and how much do I agree with this! There had to be a character who could not cope, and her portrayal was perfect. All the symptoms of culture shock -- I did feel for her, too, despite wanting to slap her on occasions.
How did you like Judi Dench's character? I found her fab! MacCrone indeed. And I loved the final image ♥