Monsoon Wedding: Criterion Collection – Blu-ray Review
The Film:
Although her latest effort, Amelia, was a flop both critically and commercially, the Criterion Collection’s recent release of Mira Nair‘s Monsoon Wedding reminds us of Nair’s enormous talents. The film is wonderfully unique, a cultural smörgÃ¥sbord with an endless supply of gorgeous visuals. The clothing, the music, and the dancing might seem foreign to an American audience, but the joyous heart of Monsoon Wedding is universal.
The film begins informally by simply thrusting us into it’s world. There are well over a dozen characters we meet early on, and it’s up to us to sort out who is who. Slowly, we begin to pick up on the key players: Aditi (Vasundhara Das) and Hemant (Parvin Dabas) are the couple participating in an arranged marriage, Aditi’s parents are Lalit (Naseerudin Shah) and Pimmi (Lillete Dubey), and the event coordinator, P.K. Dube (Vijay Raaz) is smitten with the family’s beautiful maid, Alice (Tilotama Shome).
The way Nair weaves together all of these narrative threads is a massive juggling feat. Although the film can be confusing in it’s developing moments, we begin to not only learn each character’s relationship with the family, but what distinguishes them from everybody else. The screen may be crowded, but somehow Nair still finds time to explain each character with such a thorough tenderness that each personality can be easily reflected to someone in our own family.
Jonathan Demme’s Rachel Getting Married owes quite a bit to Monsoon Wedding. Although the former film is much darker, the family dynamics of the two films are very much the same. Each film also smartly balances melodrama with a vérité-style documentation of it’s wedding rituals.
Monsoon Wedding perhaps begins to lose itself in it’s final act, but it’s a film of such vivid life that each narrative hiccup is easy to forgive. The film is simply a pure joy – a lavish feast for the eyes and the soul.
The Blu-ray:
Audio/Video: Presented in the film’s original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and in 1080p, the Monsoon Wedding director-approved transfer is up to Criterion’s high standards. The film was shot using 16mm and then blown up to 35mm, and considering that hindrance the transfer is still mostly void of blemishes. Although the image isn’t as detailed as some of the company’s best transfers (Pierrot le fou), it’s the best the film has ever looked on home video. The audio track is sharp and dynamic, making the most out of the film’s lively soundtrack.
Audio Commentary: The commentary was recorded in 2002 with director Mira Nair. It’s a decent track, particularly beneficial in thoroughly explaining some of the cultural details that will likely go right over a Western audience’s head. There are dead spaces now and then, but Nair does do a commendable job at keeping things fairly active throughout the entire runtime of the film.
The Laughing Club of India: For some reason, this short is isolated from the rest of the shorts on the disc. It’s a charming documentary about people who get together and laugh out loud together. They laugh every day, forty minutes a day, and specialize in several specific forms of laughter as if it were a dance or aerobic class. The group has even brought their ideology to elementary school, where dozens of children laugh and flail happily at their desks. Nair claims that her editing technique in this short was a huge contributory factor in the editing of Monsoon Wedding (35 min, 4 min introduction).
Naseeruddin Shah: This feature was shot exclusively for Criterion in 2009. In it, Mira Nair talks to one of the film’s leads, Naseeruddin Shah, about his memories of the film. Shah begins by discussing what drew him to the material initially. The two also discuss the casting process thoroughly, which was plagued with roadblocks such as actors dropping out on the day of the shoot (21 min).
Declan Quinn and Stephanie Carroll: Another feature shot exclusively for Criterion in 2009. Cinematographer Declan Quinn and production designer Stephanie Carroll discuss the initial production process of the film, and how they achieved the film’s unique and highly spontaneous look. They’re both so articulate and specific that it’s upsetting they couldn’t have contributed to the commentary track (11 min).
Theatrical Trailer: The Blu-ray disc features the film’s theatrical trailer (2 min).
Short Films:
I. Documentary
a. So Far from India: In the introduction, Nair discusses what drew her to documentary film making having had her roots in theater. After graduating Harvard, she found the subject for her first documentary at a newsstand in Harlem, New York. The man, Ashok Sheth, is in Indian immigrant that left his newly-married wife and son after their arranged marriage in India. The film explores the cultural differences between India and America, and the subjects (Ashok’s family) are highly bitter about the western world. Although a bit dry, the film is an interesting character study that’s well worth the time (50 min, 7 min introduction).
b. India Cabaret: This film studies the line separating “good” and “bad” women in Indian society, contrasting the strippers at a Bombay club and a frequent customer and his wife. Focusing on the hypocrisy and double standards in the culture, “India Cabaret” is a fascinating character piece about dancers in a society that isn’t quite as forgiving as the west as it regards burlesque shows. I’ve never seen a world quite like this one represented on film, and the seedy club itself is a location that’ll stick with you (60 min, 8 min introduction).
II. Fiction
a. The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat: South Africa’s Communist Party leader, Chris Hani, was assassinated in 1993, causing enormous fear amongst the country’s white community. The short film studies a specific white family that flees the country following the event. A bizarre, but captivating effort (12 min, 5 min introduction).
b. 11’09:01 – September 11 (Segment: “India”): A young Pakistani man from Queens, Salman Hamdani, disappeared on 9/11 and was then accused of being a terrorist. The film, adapting the true story, involves a mother trying to salvage her son’s legacy. It’s a dense short that successfully paints a unique and effective portrait of Pakistani families in post-9/11 world (12 min, 3 min introduction).
c. Migration: A beautifully shot short about the AIDS epidemic in India. A man leaves his village for the city and ends up contracting the disease. It’s a bit preachy (at one point, a street performer lectures a crowd on condoms), but a fairly compelling work. The short stars the great Irrfan Khan, who was terrific as the father in Nair’s 2007 effort, The Namesake (19 min, 4 min introduction).
d. How Can It Be?: This short was one of eight commissioned by the United Stations for a compilation film about global society. In it, a woman decides to leave her family and follow her heart. It’s a loaded short, perhaps the most intellectually stimulating of any of the fictional shorts on here. Beautifully shot, well acted, and fully-realized, How Can It Be? is an exceptional effort (10 min, 5 min introduction).
Conclusion: This is one of Criterion’s best releases of the year. The film may not be for everybody, but the extras are simply extraordinary. Not all of the shorts are worthwhile, but I found the three lengthier documentaries to be fascinating. This is a must have set for anyone even mildly interested in Mira Nair as a filmmaker.
The Film: Rating: 
The Blu-ray: Rating:
