As Mr. Curie and I have a Netflix subscription, we have gotten into the habit of watching LGBT-themed movies from time to time for our date night, and then discussing them. I thought I would share my thoughts from the lesbian-themed films.This week, we watched The Journey, which obtained an "Good" rating from EL. I had high expectations of this movie - a movie about two lesbian schoolgirls in India who fall in love had all the promise of rich, colorful artistry and beautiful love scenes. Frankly, I expected something completely different than what this movie is.
Although the actresses in this film were quite good, and the friendship and romance that formed between the girls was very believable, I found that the "documentary" feel of the movie really took a lot away from the film. Suzanne left a comment on EL's blog explaining the motivation behind the movie:
If I remember right from the Directors commentary on "The Journey", she was upset with the high suicide rate in this particular Indian State. She wanted to give gay kids hope and show that they could choose to live and make a life for themselves.This may explain why the movie was much less "movie" and much more "social commentary". Although the movie was released in 2004, the production quality is very circa-1970. So much for rich cinematography, sumptuous saris, and elaborate dance sequences! The movie was also very slow, and seemed much longer than its 107 minutes.
Finally, the ending left much to be desired, since I could never figure out what Kiran decided to do after losing her girlfriend, and the ending scene just goes on... and on.... and on... with no final resolution. For a movie made to show how lesbians in India can choose to make a life for themselves, this final ending did not make this clear at all.
In the end, I gave this movie 3/5 stars, because the love scene was beautiful and left everything to the viewer's imagination, and the interaction between the two girls was very believable and heart-warming.
3 comments:
I think a lot of the problems you saw comes from the Bollywood style, which is to slowly ease a story in instead of the "bells-and-whistles" spectacles of American film.
It's always interesting to hear about non-Western takes on sexuality.
That may be true. I fully admit ignorance as to Bollywood films.
Believe it or not, 107 minutes is pretty short as far as Indian movies go. ;) It's been so long since I've seen this, I can hardly remember it or why I rated it "good". But I'm with LDS Brother - I like to see other cultures' takes on sexuality. It helps me sort out our own culture, sometimes.
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