Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueAmu is the story of an Indian American woman who returns to India. The film takes a dark turn as Kaju learns that a horrifying genocide that took place twenty years ago turns out to hold the... Tout lireAmu is the story of an Indian American woman who returns to India. The film takes a dark turn as Kaju learns that a horrifying genocide that took place twenty years ago turns out to hold the key to her mysterious origins.Amu is the story of an Indian American woman who returns to India. The film takes a dark turn as Kaju learns that a horrifying genocide that took place twenty years ago turns out to hold the key to her mysterious origins.
- Réalisation
- Scénario
- Casting principal
- Récompenses
- 1 victoire et 1 nomination au total
Avis à la une
This was a very well made movie and a very daring movie. Such movies usually fade away in India. Konkona Sen acted well and her American Accent was almost perfect and commendable. Shonali has poured everything in the movie. Konkona Sen shows why she is clearly apart and far above the run of the mill actresses of Bollywood. Other artists did their part well. About why the Great Govt. of India has banned the movie, there could be several reasons. Apparently the common reason is that the movie might have "raked up the long lost past". I'm not sure about that. Every sane person knows that the Govt. had a large role in the riots of '84 and I'm not saying this because I'm a sikh (because I'm not). I'm saying this as an Indian. Just like there was hand of the govt. when innocent Muslims were butchered in Gujrat a few years ago. Truth is easily suppressed in a country like India, but that didn't stop Shonali Bose from creating an award winning movie. Go see it.
I just went to screening locally as part of an Asian American Film festival. Amu was the opening movie for the festival. I liked the film a lot. Not your typical Indian movie by any means. After the movie they had Q&A with the director, producer, and lead actress. The discussion gave some neat insight regarding the movie. For example a lot of the filming / subject matter was done in fear of govt censorship. The version shown, as well as the one to be released later this fall in the US, is different than what those in India saw at the theater. For example in the scene with the widows discussing with Amu & Kabir the riots and how the government tolerated the violence, that the widows voices are left silent as Amu & Kabir sit in silence.
I have to say, I was initially not looking forward to this movie based on the lose plot line I had seen, but having seen in, I'm glad I did. While there were a few rough spots, there were a lot of redeeming qualities for this which makes this movie worth seeing.
For example, the historical look at an assassination in is done very indirectly by examining the life of one family. There is suspense, some interesting flashbacks, as well as some plot development which moves on reasonably nicely, with fairly good acting.
I think there were definitely points in the acting or possibly editing that would smooth out the transitions and increase the believability of the movie, but it is fairly easy to look beyond this after the plot line pulls you in.
The courage in telling this story is what is the most important part of this movie. This was good general knowledge information for me on a slice of Indian history as well as an entertaining tale on surrounding an important historical event.
For example, the historical look at an assassination in is done very indirectly by examining the life of one family. There is suspense, some interesting flashbacks, as well as some plot development which moves on reasonably nicely, with fairly good acting.
I think there were definitely points in the acting or possibly editing that would smooth out the transitions and increase the believability of the movie, but it is fairly easy to look beyond this after the plot line pulls you in.
The courage in telling this story is what is the most important part of this movie. This was good general knowledge information for me on a slice of Indian history as well as an entertaining tale on surrounding an important historical event.
This clearly was a movie of passion for writer-director-producer Shonali Bose, a UCLA film school grad who wanted to tell a very important story about her homeland's history after she had some personal experience in the 1984 riots that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Bose wanted this film to appeal to audiences outside India - hence it is mostly in English - so she uses the plot device of a 21-year-old young Indian girl returning home from the U.S. for the first time. There, as she searches for her real parents, she finds out the ugly truth about her nation's recent history.
It's a brave, courageous attempt to reveal what happened in 1984, when several thousand Sikhs were massacred in what was a sanctioned move, if not a coordinated effort, by the government.
"Amu" takes a while to get going as we're introduced to the characters and the set up. It's fine, because the characters are engaging.
Konkona Sensharma is an absolute revelation. I realize that these days Aishwarya Rai gets much more coverage and publicity, but Sensharma is a much better actress, more convincing and gets thoroughly absorbed into her roles. As Kaju, Sensharma is utterly believable as a young woman who has spent most of her life in the United States. She has the mannerisms down, the accent's certainly not unbelievable and her emotions never ring false. I've now seen two films starring Sensharma - the other was "Mr. and Mrs. Iyer" (2002) directed by her mother, Aparna Sen - and she's been brilliant in both.
The film's shortcomings, however, are in the supporting players. Bose did a fine job in casting Sensharma. But as Kaju's love interest, she cast Ankur Khanna as Kabir. Khanna's problem is he never makes Kabir even remotely interesting. To say Kabir is wooden would be an understatement. The lines are delivered in monotone and there's barely any emotion in this performance. I couldn't believe that someone as vivacious and sprightly as Kaju would find Kabir attractive in the least. True, Kabir tries to be a sensitive young man trying to uncover the truth, but Khanna's so flat and dull that their budding romance is difficult to fathom. When Khanna works for some emotion, it seems very forced. There's little, if anything, natural about his performance.
Brinda Karat as Kaju's mother, Keya, is adequate - you can see her trying really hard to wring emotion out of her performance. The film's other fine performance comes from Yashpal Sharma as Gobind, a Hindu tea shop owner befriended by Kaju.
Bose uncovers her story well, adding a few surprises here and there. I realize why Bose used the device of having an Indian American going back to India. But I wondered if it was necessary. I would've preferred if the story had been about the riots; the mystery truly was superfluous. Then again, I also understand Bose's need to get this film distributed and seen in North America and the rest of the world - other than India, I mean - and adding a western touch to it was (unfortunately) probably unavoidable.
Bose certainly isn't lacking confidence in her story. There's one quiet moment between Kaju and Kabir where Bose allows the scene to unwind quietly, without any music. It's a fine moment, a poignant and strong one because of Bose's confidence. But just imagine how riveting and unforgettable that moment might have been with a better actor as Kabir. Having seen Rahul Bose and Sensharma have such tremendous chemistry in "Mr. and Mrs. Iyer," I can't help but think Rahul Bose would have been sensational as Kabir.
The flashback sequences are predictable only in that you know when they're about to be revealed. On the other hand, some of them are extremely painful to watch. Seeing a riot sequence replayed in never easy, but Bose brings out the humanity and the inhumanity out awfully well. And as anyone who's lived through riots would attest, they seem very real.
"Amu" is an important film that needed to be told. It gets a bit didactic occasionally. More subtlety would've helped. Some of the dialogue clearly needed to be tightened only because Bose serves up lines to only be transitions to more expositionary speeches. It's forgivable considering this is Bose's first narrative feature. But the lines seem too obvious and with a little bit of tweaking, this could have been a provocative masterpiece. Bose's a good director, but she needed someone to come in and strengthen the dialogue in this film.
If you're looking for some different fare, something other than Bollywood out of India, do yourself a favor and give "Amu" a chance. Bose shows a lot of promise and that's good not only for Asian cinema, but for film-making as a whole.
Bose wanted this film to appeal to audiences outside India - hence it is mostly in English - so she uses the plot device of a 21-year-old young Indian girl returning home from the U.S. for the first time. There, as she searches for her real parents, she finds out the ugly truth about her nation's recent history.
It's a brave, courageous attempt to reveal what happened in 1984, when several thousand Sikhs were massacred in what was a sanctioned move, if not a coordinated effort, by the government.
"Amu" takes a while to get going as we're introduced to the characters and the set up. It's fine, because the characters are engaging.
Konkona Sensharma is an absolute revelation. I realize that these days Aishwarya Rai gets much more coverage and publicity, but Sensharma is a much better actress, more convincing and gets thoroughly absorbed into her roles. As Kaju, Sensharma is utterly believable as a young woman who has spent most of her life in the United States. She has the mannerisms down, the accent's certainly not unbelievable and her emotions never ring false. I've now seen two films starring Sensharma - the other was "Mr. and Mrs. Iyer" (2002) directed by her mother, Aparna Sen - and she's been brilliant in both.
The film's shortcomings, however, are in the supporting players. Bose did a fine job in casting Sensharma. But as Kaju's love interest, she cast Ankur Khanna as Kabir. Khanna's problem is he never makes Kabir even remotely interesting. To say Kabir is wooden would be an understatement. The lines are delivered in monotone and there's barely any emotion in this performance. I couldn't believe that someone as vivacious and sprightly as Kaju would find Kabir attractive in the least. True, Kabir tries to be a sensitive young man trying to uncover the truth, but Khanna's so flat and dull that their budding romance is difficult to fathom. When Khanna works for some emotion, it seems very forced. There's little, if anything, natural about his performance.
Brinda Karat as Kaju's mother, Keya, is adequate - you can see her trying really hard to wring emotion out of her performance. The film's other fine performance comes from Yashpal Sharma as Gobind, a Hindu tea shop owner befriended by Kaju.
Bose uncovers her story well, adding a few surprises here and there. I realize why Bose used the device of having an Indian American going back to India. But I wondered if it was necessary. I would've preferred if the story had been about the riots; the mystery truly was superfluous. Then again, I also understand Bose's need to get this film distributed and seen in North America and the rest of the world - other than India, I mean - and adding a western touch to it was (unfortunately) probably unavoidable.
Bose certainly isn't lacking confidence in her story. There's one quiet moment between Kaju and Kabir where Bose allows the scene to unwind quietly, without any music. It's a fine moment, a poignant and strong one because of Bose's confidence. But just imagine how riveting and unforgettable that moment might have been with a better actor as Kabir. Having seen Rahul Bose and Sensharma have such tremendous chemistry in "Mr. and Mrs. Iyer," I can't help but think Rahul Bose would have been sensational as Kabir.
The flashback sequences are predictable only in that you know when they're about to be revealed. On the other hand, some of them are extremely painful to watch. Seeing a riot sequence replayed in never easy, but Bose brings out the humanity and the inhumanity out awfully well. And as anyone who's lived through riots would attest, they seem very real.
"Amu" is an important film that needed to be told. It gets a bit didactic occasionally. More subtlety would've helped. Some of the dialogue clearly needed to be tightened only because Bose serves up lines to only be transitions to more expositionary speeches. It's forgivable considering this is Bose's first narrative feature. But the lines seem too obvious and with a little bit of tweaking, this could have been a provocative masterpiece. Bose's a good director, but she needed someone to come in and strengthen the dialogue in this film.
If you're looking for some different fare, something other than Bollywood out of India, do yourself a favor and give "Amu" a chance. Bose shows a lot of promise and that's good not only for Asian cinema, but for film-making as a whole.
The fact that Indian movies are much more viewable is shown best by movies like Amu appearing in theatres.
Amu is about Kajju's (Konkona Sen's) exploration into her past. Right from the time I saw her in Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, I have regarded her as an excellent actress. This movie is no different. Excellent, flawless acting bu Konkona who plays an Indian girl who has grown up in the US and comes back to India.
The acting by the grand mother of Kajju is interesting with some sharp dialogues 'how do girls pee from pants?'. The step mother's role is played excellently as well. However, the actor playing the boy friend to Kajju is far from satisfactory with his expressions. The screenplay also leaves a lot to be desired as a movie just about 90 minutes long has enough scenes in between which could have been edited to make the flow of scenes smoother.
The movie is about how Kajju slowly finds out about the dark riots of 1984 where Sikhs were mercilessly killed in Delhi. The politicians are shown as supporting the riots and the policemen doing nothing to help. It is a shocking reality which makes one wonder how human we really are.
And it is ironic that just as Kajju seems to come to terms with her tragic past, a newscaster from NDTV is shown on TV reporting about a train being burnt down in Godhra. That was the beginning of the gruesome riots of Gujarat which occurred in 2003. It seems we really will never learn from the past.
Amu is about Kajju's (Konkona Sen's) exploration into her past. Right from the time I saw her in Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, I have regarded her as an excellent actress. This movie is no different. Excellent, flawless acting bu Konkona who plays an Indian girl who has grown up in the US and comes back to India.
The acting by the grand mother of Kajju is interesting with some sharp dialogues 'how do girls pee from pants?'. The step mother's role is played excellently as well. However, the actor playing the boy friend to Kajju is far from satisfactory with his expressions. The screenplay also leaves a lot to be desired as a movie just about 90 minutes long has enough scenes in between which could have been edited to make the flow of scenes smoother.
The movie is about how Kajju slowly finds out about the dark riots of 1984 where Sikhs were mercilessly killed in Delhi. The politicians are shown as supporting the riots and the policemen doing nothing to help. It is a shocking reality which makes one wonder how human we really are.
And it is ironic that just as Kajju seems to come to terms with her tragic past, a newscaster from NDTV is shown on TV reporting about a train being burnt down in Godhra. That was the beginning of the gruesome riots of Gujarat which occurred in 2003. It seems we really will never learn from the past.
Le saviez-vous
- ConnexionsReferences La famille indienne (2001)
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Détails
Box-office
- Montant brut aux États-Unis et au Canada
- 51 251 $US
- Week-end de sortie aux États-Unis et au Canada
- 8 480 $US
- 27 mai 2007
- Montant brut mondial
- 51 251 $US
- Durée1 heure 42 minutes
- Couleur
- Mixage
- Rapport de forme
- 1.85 : 1
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