Umrika

What a beautiful film, full of meanings and analogies, the initial phase, with the readings of the letters a journey apart, deliciously passionate, a real drama, this week, a Brazilian woman died in the desert trying to cross it to enter the US, "O American dream", sad, real, beautiful photography, the quality films that Bollywood knows how to produce and that we love...

The surprise to me is that it hasn't been seen more - or reviewed more - since its Sundance launch in 2015. It's quite a good film that becomes engaging in a way that builds steadily.

In contrast to another reviewer here, I want to suggest that the plot is unpredictable, at least at the level of specifics and so I don't want to even give an alert and talk about spoilers.

I recommend watching it - it's a quality film with a theme that digs deep - into what I would call the role of a fantasy in not just one person's life but reverberating, like falling dominoes, into surrounding lives ... more specifically, how something of a fluke (a wedding present) can stimulate a fantasy that over time impacts every member of a family across generations due to fallout from that one instigating worshipful fantasy, in varying ways that determine the life trajectory of others rather than the original fantasizer.

Not even a single dialogue where I can see Suraj's lip movement.

A short story, but it has good actors and a good setting.

Credibility is the factor often found lacking in Indian cinema. They're prone to casting outspoken, billionaire actresses as shy village damsels and silver spoon urban elites as repressed youth from the peripheries. Not in this one, thankfully. Great detail is given even to the child actor that plays the protagonist's younger self (matching their looks). The story itself is simple & heartfelt, probably why it wouldn't find many takers in a nation that drools over scenes where vehicles fly when 53 year old actors punch them while saving their 22 year old love interests. This disillusionment is the theme for the film as well, where "door k dhol suhaavne" is explored masterfully. The urban life seems a bit rushed/undeveloped but by then, the story has left a favorable imprint on you. Good to see the bellboy from The Grand Budapest Hotel in a supporting role here! P. S: More content of this ilk, Netflix!