vernon film society
Bringing the best in world and Canadian film to film lovers of Vernon and the North Okanagan
THE NAMESAKEDirector: Mira Nair “Brims with intelligence, compassion and sensuous delight in the textures, sights and sounds of life--all the way from the Taj Mahal to Pearl Jam.” - Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
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Ashoke Ganguli (Irrfan Khan) and his wife, Ashima (Tabu), escape the chaos of Calcutta in the seventies for a new life in America. Once there, Ashima finds it especially difficult to get used to the chilly pleasantries that pass for social interaction. But it is their son (Kal Penn), born in the States, who struggles the most. Thanks to a classic cross-cultural misunderstanding, he acquires the name Gogol, which at the very least demands an explanation when out on a date. As a young man Gogol chafes against everything that makes him different – including his family’s expectations. A romance with blonde, outgoing Max (Jacinda Barrett, THE HUMAN STAIN, THE LAST KISS) proves liberating, even as the prospect looms of settling down with the proverbial good Indian girl.
“In the capable hands of director Mira Nair, Jhumpa Lahiri’s wildly popular novel about two generations of a Bengali family receives a loving, deeply felt screen translation that should appease fans of the book while making many new converts. [The film] is bolstered by Nair’s lush visual style and superb performances from ace Bollywood thesps Irrfan Khan, Tabu and HAROLD & KUMAR star Kal Penn (in his first dramatic lead).” – Scott Foundas, Variety |
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In the lives put to page by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri, personal independence comes with a price. Few filmmakers understand that dilemma better than Mira Nair (VANITY FAIR). Her adaptation of Lahiri’s novel THE NAMESAKE, which was a Special Presentation at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival®, powerfully captures the clasp of family bonds among Indians in the United States. 
In MISSISSIPPI MASALA and MONSOON WEDDING, Nair put India’s global families on the screen in all their dimensions. Here, drawing from the vast reservoir of Lahiri’s story, she brings the Gangulis’ particular conflicts into sharp relief: the pain of Ashima’s solitude inside her perfect American home; the frustrations between parents and child; and memories of India Gogol can never fully understand until he makes the journey there himself. As Gogol, Penn makes a startling dramatic departure from his work in comedies like HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE. This is a mature, soulful performance, meshing beautifully with those of Khan and Tabu as his parents. Lahiri herself turns up in a delightful cameo as a family Auntie, and Zuleikha Robinson adds considerable heat as Moushumi, a surprising variation on that “good Indian girl.” Anyone who has felt the pull of the old country is sure to be moved by THE NAMESAKE. Nair acknowledges the universal arc of adapting to a new home, but it is in the unique choices this family makes that the film comes gloriously alive.