The Bollywood film, Swades: We, the People, is the story of a young project manager in NASA, who returns home after one of his parent's death anniversaries to find the woman who took care of him as a child. He finds his nanny when he goes to a small village called Charanpur, but when he asks her to come back with him, she refuses, saying that even though her life would be comfortable in the US, she loves her homeland. Mohan stays on in the village longer, soon realizing the terrible hardships these villagers face in their everyday lives, so he decides to help out these villagers by encouraging them to educate their children and fixing their old electrical system. However, eventually NASA calls Mohan back to the US telling him that he is needed, so he is forced to go back without his nanny or his friend Gita. Feeling very alone, he returns and finishes his project there before resigning and returning to India.
This film does a very good job of realistically representing the lives of villagers in India. The daily lives of these villagers and the hardships they face is very typical of the Indian rural society. One main point that is presented in the movie is that of arranged marriage. These arranged marriages are typical of India, where the families will meet and agree on the marriage whether or not the girl agrees. More often than not, the girl is also expected to give up whatever career she may have and stay at home to take care of the house and of the children. In this story Gita refuses to do so because she does not want to give up being a teacher, but in most circumstances the girl does not have a choice, especially if the guy is from the US.
The other important theme that this movie presents is the love Indians have of their land. Whether they are living abroad or they live in India, they all love their country, which is something that Mohan very clearly shows us. From the moment he returns to India, he makes every effort to make the lives of his nanny and the other villagers better. Many people in India blame all these problems on the corruption of their government, but each individual, especially those from abroad are often compelled to use their resources to make their homeland a better place.
This movie does a very good job of sending out a message to Indians about their homeland, and shows the deep pride their people have of their country.
The film "Amores Perros", directed and produced by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, is an intense Spanish action film about the dysfunctional lives of people in three scenearios that are inevitably intertwined in eachother's fates. The first story is about the unrequited love of Octavio's brother's wife Susana. Throughout the story, she becomes unfaithful to her husband, Ramior, with Octavio while Ramiro is having his own relations with a coworker. Throughout a series of dogfights, robberies, and violence, they all become seperated and watch their volatile relationships fall apart. The second story is about Daniel seperating from his wife and children to settle down with his spokesmodel girlfriend that he has kept undercover. After a devastating car accident with Octavio, she suffers from many injuries and loses her dog, her job, her vanity, and she almost loses Daniel. The third story illustrates the life of a hitman who has lost his family. After being hired to "dispose" of a business man by his "supposed partner", he abducts his target as well as his employer to teach them both a lesson. He also saves the fighting dog of Octavio who as been shot and suffered in a car accident, only to have the saved dog kill all of his own pets who were the only family he had left. Throughout the film, the plot reveals the irony and pain that intertwines the three stories' fates together.
The form of the film takes on many international characteristics typical to action genres, such as low dim lighting, quick scene changes, short takes, racy music, and wobbly/jarring camera movements. The style of cinemetography used can be seenin films from all over the world. It is very effective for portraying intense emotion during high action scenes. Another global aspect of this film is the subjects of the stories. These themes are seen and experienced all over the world. From violent acts, to deceptive relationships, and disasterous events; they are all common themes used in films. They are also themes that take place in real life and can be relatable by the audiences, although these specific scenarios might be extreme, the general ideas are very global. The importance of animals and pets in people's lives is also a concept accepted globally. In these stories, the pets play significant roles in the lives of the people, whether they are used for comfort, financial gains, or family and love. A more local aspect of the movie is the illustration of the different classes in Mexico. The story of Ramiro, Susana, and Octavio represent the lower classes while the story of Daniel and Valeria represent the upper classes of Mexico. The third story of El Chivo, however, eximplifies how the two classes intertwine with eachother.
Overall, this was an intense and action-packed film. There is almost too much blood, gore, and violence. The plots will keep the viewers at the edge of their seat, and the connections of the fates of the characters throughout the film keep the audience guessing. The extremity of the scenarios will cause emotions to soar. This film could be very exciting and appealing to audiences.
Hollywood, being the largest and most prosperous film industry in the world, inspires the creation of many other films around the world. Bollywood, perhaps the second most prosperous industry, located in India, has many movies inspired from Hollywood. While such movies do not necessarily represent the true idea of Bollywood, and are rarely the most successful, it still shows how many different ideas can be changed to be represented nationally. The most successful Bollywood films, such as Lagaan, were composed of distinctly Bollywood aspects. A Hollywood inspired film is known as hybrid cinema, a film combining aspects of two different industries, and tweaking an idea to fit nationally. In my argument, I will discuss the relationship between two such films and which parts were carried over effectively. I will also mention those which the directors changed in order to allow the film to fit for Bollywood. Another aspect I will discuss is the parts of the movie which could not have been translated, or were not translated effectively.
One example of a Bollywood film inspired by a Hollywood one is Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, a Bollywood film released in 2002, inspired by My Best Friend’s Wedding, a Hollywood movie made in 1997. My Best Friend’s Wedding, was much more successful and according to IMDB, it received 11 wins and 14 nominations, including an Oscar nomination. On the other hand, Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, only received 1 nomination. While the objective of directors of such films may be to mirror the success of the original, tweaking an idea to fit nationally can be a difficult task. Also, translating such ideas may not work as well as directors have hoped. One major difference between Bollywood and Hollywood cinema is the amount of singing and dancing which occurs in Bollywood films. This characteristic can be seen as the trademark for Bollywood films. It is very interesting to see how the directors have picked the most meaningful scenes from My Best Friend’s Wedding, and turned them into an Indian musical scene. Another characteristic of Bollywood cinema which was added to the movie was a man trying to win the love of another girl through her parents. In a review of Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, by ApunKaChoice Bureau, the critic mentions just that: “The film then strays into “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” mode with Sanju doing everything to win the love and affection of Anjali’s family comprising pampering mom-dad, a loving grandmother, a Vastu-Shastra freak aunt and a pessimist uncle.” The Bollywood film the critic relates Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai to is one of the most famous and successful romance films in Bollywood. The directors of Mere Yaar Ki ShaadiHai choose to include this story in order to nationalize the film and allow it to fit better into Indian society. Since in India, marriages must many times be approved by the parents, adding such a storyline allows the film to suit the viewers better. In My Best Friend’s Wedding, the film is strictly about trying to win each other over, simply because the parents’ approval is not common in American society. Both characteristics are particular to their own nations and would not be very realistic in other societies.
Another characteristic that is different in the two films is the comedic style. The styles vary according to each country’s national cinema. For example, My Best Friend’s Wedding has the classic style of a romantic comedy. It displays the sly, subtle humor found in many Hollywood movies of the same genre. For example, Owen Gleiberman, reviewer for Entertainment Weekly, writes “They make you more aware of how little comic nimbleness there is to the rest of the proceedings.” Gleiberman mentions that although there is comedy in the movie, it is not done with much intelligence. In Bollywood films, however, the comedic style is very different for such a type of movie. The humor turns out to be very childish and borderline, which is a common trait of such types of movies. As for Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, apunkachoice.com writes, “His [Producer Yash Chopra] attempts at comedy are pathetic”. This quote shows that although the comedy in this film failed to mimic the style commonly seen in such films, it failed just as the comedy My Best Friend’s Wedding did. This shows while the storyline might be universal, the comedy is not. It reveals that while a storyline might be “borrowed” from another film, the films will most likely have some characteristics of its own cinema. While both attempted and seemed to have failed, the director added comedic aspects respective to the film’s own nation.
Also, many aspects of cinematography are different in the two films. The setting has very much to do with the storyline. For example, in My Best Friend’s Weddding, much of the setting is a bit darker, which can also relate to the humor found in the movie. In Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, the film has a lot of light imagery. The second screenshot has very bright and flashy colors. One part where the cinematography is completely different is during the songs. In Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, during many of the songs, the characters are wearing colors which stand out, and the scenes also try to show much of the unique scenery. My Best Friend’s Wedding¸on the other hand, focuses more on the characteristics of society as opposed to the setting itself. As seen in the screenshot from Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, it has the two main characters, each wearing bold colors, and standing in front of a vast setting. Also, the rule of thirds is shown in this screenshot, with the grass, the trees, and the sky. The screenshot also has the main characters off-center, another element which adds to the cinematography of the film. The shot is a long shot of the setting, but a medium close up of the characters. In the screenshot of My Best Friend’s Wedding, the main character, Julia Roberts, is also off center. The shot is a close up of the characters. The people in the background are all focoused on Julia Roberts. While song and dance is not as common throughout My Best Friend’s Wedding as it is in the Bollywood version, Janet Maslin, film critic from the New York Times, writes, “Characters burst gaily into song when, as often happens, they don’t have anything better to do.” Maslin mentions that the characters burst into song and dance if the plot has slowed down, and the same could be seen in many Bollywood films. While the extent of singing and dancing in My Best Friend’s Wedding is much less, it still can compare to its Bollywood counterpart.
Overall, while some view two such movies as simple copies, each film has been carefully made to better suit its type of cinema. While some aspects of Bollywood film, such as the goofy comedy, may never fit in such a story here, it will always be acceptable in Bollywood films. Such aspects allow films to be unique to their own film industry. While the storyline of two films are the same, much is changed to adapt one film to another nation. While many times such aspects may not have been able to be added in effectively, it still allows a film to be a hybrid of two types of cinema.
Works Cited
Gleiberman, Owen. "My Best Friend's Wedding." Entertainment Weekly 20 June 1997. 12 Mar. 2009 .
Maslin, Janet. "My Best Friend's Wedding: Something Borrowed and Blue." New York Times 20 June 1997. 13 Mar. 2009 .
"Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai." Review. Apunkachoice. Apunkachoice.com. 13 Mar. 2009 .
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Hitch vs. Partner
Hollywood and Bollywood are the two largest film industries in the world.On one side, Hollywood produces the most popular movies in the world, while Bollywood produces the largest quantity of movies of any national film industry.If someone was to compare the two film industries at a glance, Hollywood and Bollywood would initially seem to be completely different, and they were until recent years.Now, the Bollywood film audience has begun to like the same sort of story lines that are present in American films, which has lead to several pairs of movies which have the same theme, and often almost identical plots.A good example of this is are Andy Tennant’s film, Hitch, and David Dhawan’s movie Partner. The storylines of these movies are almost identical; however, Partner, the second one to be released, two years after Hitch came out in movie theaters, has many elements included in it, typical to Bollywood movies that would never be seen in American films.This shows us that even though the themes of movies might have been affected by globalization, each film industry still has its uniqueness, such as the songs and dances in Bollywood movies.Nationalism plays a very important role in movies.
Partner is such a close copy of Hitch that they have almost identical plots.The main character in both the movies plays the role of a “love doctor” or “Love Guru” who helps men who want to enter into a serious relationship with another woman but do not know how to approach her for whatever reason that may be.The movies focus on this “love doctor” helping one particular man, who has his eyes on a woman who would basically be impossible to get, while in the process meeting and falling in love with another girl.Everything goes well until the “love-doctor” is exposed at which point both the girls break up with the guys, at which point, the “love-doctor” makes things right for both of them by explaining himself by showing that he is doing this with completely good intentions.
Bollywood has many characteristics to its movies that make its films very unique to worldcinema.One of the most important of these is that most of them have a “goofy” aspect to them through their slapstick humor “His brand of comedy is strictly slapstick, and pretty enjoyable at that.”This is present in the beginning of Partner, where the movie is introduced with about five minutes worth of cartoons.Salman Khan, the main character who plays the role of “Love Guru”, describes his young life and how he grew up to become this “Love Guru” through animated people.Another instance where this occurs is when the “Love Guru’s” nephew whose around five years old builds a missile that is activated when he says “Go, Baby, Go”.While their family in on their boat, the boy accidentally activated the missile, which chases around the “Love Guru” who is on jet skiing in the bay.This scene, along with many others are so outrageously unrealistic that it just comes across as completely ridiculous as stated on a Hindi movie review site: “The film went from one absurd scene to the other. In the middle of these sprang, loud, boisterous song and dance numbers, which had no link whatsoever to what was going on in the film at the time.” In Hollywood movies, the humor is rarely this goofy except in the spoofs which are made with that intention, but is rather sarcastic, subtle, ironic, or simply in the form of practical jokes.For the most part the humor is simple and easy to follow, but not ridiculously obvious like Bollywood films : “The smiles aren’t forced, the jokes come easy, and the scenes between Smith and James and Smith and Mendes – even the ones that feel too set-up – work because Smith’s so charismatic you can’t help but smile and go along with it.”
The second main difference is the different ways songs and dances in the case of Indian films are used in the Hollywood versus Bollywood.Songs and dances are probably the one that would be the most prevalent among Hindi movies are the songs and dances.Of course,Partner, is not an exception to this.With several Hindi songs and the typical dance moves, even if all the characters in the movie were white, it would be obvious that this was an Indian movie.This is the number one trait of Hindi movies, the one that distinguishes them from other national cinemas.Furthermore, most of the songs deal with romance, where the main character who is usually a guy sings to or about the girl whom he is trying to impress. In these scenes is where camera angles are important.Not only are these dancing scenes characteristic of Bollywood movies, but so are the types of camera angles use in them.Dutch angles are very prevalent throughout songs in all Bollywood movies.On the other hand, Hollywood movies such as Hitch do have songs, but they are usually songs that are not sung by the characters in the movie, but used more as background music for events that occur throughout the movie.There is no real trend in the music that is played in Hollywood movies, but is used to build up suspense, or to lighten up the mood of the movie.
The third trait of Bollywood movies that is prevalent in this movie, along with the majority of other Indian movies is the romance.Of course, in this case, romance is the theme of the Hollywood movie as well, but this characteristic can be generalized to include all other movies as well; in fact it is close to impossible to find a Bollywood movie that does not include some sort of romantic experience in it.If one was to analyze the romance in Bollywood further, they would also find that these romances also follow the same pattern; the guy falls in love with the girl at first glance, then works to get the girl to fall for him which of course she finally does, but the guy does something wrong and she leaves him, and he works even harder to win her back.In the end, she eventually forgives him, and they live happily ever after.This pattern is Bollywood’s trademark, and after watching, it is very obvious that this is the pattern of romance that Hitch uses between the two characters Hitch and Sara, and it almost seems as if Hollywood has copied this romance trend from Bollywood films even though Partner is the copy of Hitch and not vice-versa.
Hitch and Partner, may follow the same themes, but after analyzing them, it is very apparent they have crucial differences that make them very different from each other.These differences shows us the differences between the national film industries that created them.The Indian audience and the American audiences have very different expectations and tastes in movies even though the Indian audience is beginning to very much appreciate Hollywood movies.These taste difference are very prevalent in the movies, which is what makes these two movies unique even though they may be essentially the same.This is the role of nationalism in movies.
Works Cited
Amodini. "Review: Partner."Amodini's Movie Reviews. 22 July 2007. 11 Mar. 2009 .
Kumar, Nikhil. "Partner: Movie Review."Apunkachoice. 20 July 2007. 12 Mar. 2009 .
Murray, Rebecca. ""Hitch" Movie Review."About.com: Hollywood Movies. 2005. 11 Mar. 2009 m
