ABCD
(2000)
Film, and the visual medium as a whole, always works
best when it allows us access to places we have never
seen before. The logical and beautiful extension of
this idea is when a film takes us inside a story or
theme or character that we possibly could not otherwise
meet on our own. "ABCD" is a slice of this ideal.
"ABCD" (the title is explained late in the film) deals
with an Indian family who has been in America for many
years. Although their father has died, grown siblings
Raj and Nina spend much time at home, visiting their
rather traditional mother. Raj is an accountant who
is engaged to an Indian girl while the rebellious Nina
finds pleasure in bedding as many white men as she possibly
can, only to find a flaw in them and toss them aside
as soon as possible. The influence of the mother's traditional
values on the storyline and trajectory of the siblings
becomes more and more important as the film progresses.
What "ABCD" does so wonderfully is allow us to look
in on this "new" type of American family, a modern immigrant
household struggling to find a balance between their
traditional culture with it's conservative values and
the confusion of contemporary American life. As the
film evolves, the steadfast Raj will meet an American
woman who causes him to question his engagement and
traditional values. Meanwhile Nina, much to her chagrin,
finds the seeds of romance with a recent Indian immigrant
whom she meets through her mother's matchmaking skills.
The story in the film may become slightly soapy at
times, often seeming like watered-down Sirk/binder,
but it never fails to intrigue and captivate us. The
characters are so well drawn and so wonderfully brought
to life by the actors in the piece that we are easily
engaged with the film. This is a deeply layered, multi-textured
piece that continually weaves a meaningful theme which,
although easy to follow, is quite complex. The ideas
being discussed here: The loss of cultural tradition;
the confusion of existence in the modern, multicultural
city; modern relationships in this new melting pot,
are almost universal to everyone who lives in the United
States. Even as non- Indian viewers, we are able to
easily relate to the story and it's ideas.
"ABCD" is a finely crafted, wonderfully paced, beautifully
written and perfectly directed film. The characters,
and the actors who breathe magical life into them, will
draw you into the film, it's themes and it's story.
This is American filmmaking at it's finest in that it's
about a segment of the fringe which is outside of the
America mainstream, struggling to fit in, dealing with
loss and love and tradition, and realizing there are
no concrete solutions. In the end, the protagonist looks
into the vast open future, eyes wide, feeling both a
sense of freedom and of loss.
Note:
Directed, co-written and co-produced by Krutin Patel.
With Madhur Jaffey, Faran Tahir and Sheetal Sheth
More
of Lodger's reviews indexed alphabetically! Just click
your favorite letter to go there.
a
b c
d e
f g
h i
j k
l m
n o
p q
r s
t u
v w
x y
z
HOME
|
In
Association with:
|
Posters From!
|
|
Please Visit
|
|
