Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Monsoon Wedding Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 7, 2009

Winner of the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival in 2001, Indian director Mira Nair's "Monsoon Wedding" arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. Amongst the special features on the disc are an audio commentary with director Nair as well as seven short films she directed between 1982-2008 - "So Far From India" (1982), "India Cabaret" (1985), and "The Laughing Club of India" (2000), "The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat" (1993), "11'09'01 - September 11 (segment: India)" (2002), "Migration" (2007), and "How Can It Be?" (2008). Subtitled in English. Region-A "locked".

Let it Rain

Monsoon Wedding is a fascinating film that will surely resonate differently with different viewers. On the surface, it looks and feels like a comedy - a large Indian family sets up a wedding and everyone begins celebrating. A lot of things go wrong - the bride and groom get angry at each other but then fall in love - you know, this is an arranged wedding, so the first time the two meet is literally a few days before the festivities begin - but at the end everyone goes home happy.

However, if one looks closer at the type of dilemmas the main protagonists struggle with, one would quickly conclude that Monsoon Wedding is actually a very well scripted drama - identity uncertainty, misunderstood cultural loyalties and complex perceptions about family and tradition are addressed in spectacular fashion, one that tells us a lot about a country undergoing a very serious cultural transformation.

During the 50s and 60s, Italian directors followed a similar route in order to address many of the socio-political and cultural dilemmas their country faced after the end of WW2. Pietro Germi (Gelosia), Luciano Salce (Il federale) and Alberto Lattuada (Il cappotto), amongst others, satirized the importance of tradition, the secretive world of the mafia, even the Catholic Church, and their films made ordinary Italians aware of the shift in mentality their country was experiencing.

Monsoon Wedding uses comedy to achieve a similar goal - it raises awareness about the complex cultural transformation India is undergoing. The clash of ideas that occurs during the second half of the film is a prime example of it. Foreign audiences would likely see it as "funny", but I assure you, Indians won't.

Indian films typically feature a number of elaborate music scenes with elaborate sets and costumes, and Monsoon Wedding is not an exception. Once the wedding begins, music and dancing become the focus of attention. Somewhat surprisingly, however, the lovely soundtrack to the film was actually composed by a Canadian - Mychael Danna (Little Miss Sunshine).

Monsoon Wedding is directed by Mira Nair. In 2001, the film won the coveted Golden Lion award (Best Film) and Laterna Magica Prize at the Venice International Film Festival. A year later, the film won the Best Foreign Film - Foreign Language award at the British Independent Film Awards.

If the above accolades still do not have you convinced that Monsoon Wedding is worth seeing, here's another interesting bit of information: the film was made for only $ 1.5 million yet it went on to become one of the top ten highest-grossing foreign films in U.S. history (as noted in Pico Iyer's essay "A Marigold Tapestry" offered in the lavish booklet Criterion have supplied).

Aside from Monsoon Wedding, Criterion's Blu-ray disc also contains seven short films by director Nair - the documentaries So Far From India (1982), India Cabaret (1985), and The Laughing Club of India (2000), as well as the fiction films The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat (1993), 11'09'01 - September 11 (segment: India) (2002), Migration (2007), and How Can It Be? (2008), all with short introductions by director Nair.

Monsoon Wedding Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

This new high-definition transfer digital transfer has been created on a Spirit 4K Datacine from the original 35mm interpositive, which was blown up from the original Super 16mm A/B negative. The transfer has also been supervised by director Mira Nair and director of photography Decian Quinn.

I attended a screening of Monsoon Wedding not too long after it won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival and am pleased to confirm that Criterion's transfer accurately replicates the theatrical look of the film. For example, there are portions of the film that look notably warm, even pale (the nighttime scenes from the second half of the film). Detail also varies substantially - in accordance with the camera moves. The color-scheme is also rather subdued. Reds, yellows, blues and greens look a bit stronger, but once the monsoon arrives, the entire color-scheme completely changes.

Those of you who have seen only the non-anamorphic R1 SDVD Universal Pictures produced in 2001 will be very pleased with the strong improvements the Criterion Blu-ray release offers -from superior stability to image depth to clarity. Additionally, the Blu-ray transfer is free of tiny specks, scratches and debris. To sum it all up, I feel very confident stating that Monsoon Wedding looks as good as it could. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" disc. Therefore, in order to access its content, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player.

Monsoon Wedding Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Hindi/Punjabi/English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English and English HOH subtitles for the main feature. If you select the traditional English subtitles, they would appear only when the main protagonists in the film speak Hindi/Punjabi.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is strong. The dialog is crisp, clear and easy to follow (though I must admit that the accents are indeed very strong and at times it is rather impossible to understand everything that is said). The rear channels are rarely used. Additionally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review. Please note that the 5.1 soundtrack has been remastered at 24-bit from the original magnetic tracks.

Monsoon Wedding Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Booklet - a 32-page booklet containing Pico Iyer's essay A Marigold Tapestry (the author has written many books on globalism, the diaspora, and even his parents' India, including Video Night in Kathmandu, The Global Soul, and The Open Road) as well as information about the seven short films included on this disc.

Documentary Shorts -

a) So Far From India - Ashok Sheth is one of many Indian immigrants working in subway newsstands in New York City. This documentary follows his first journey back home to Ahmedabad, where he is forced to confront the conflicts between his ancestral culture and his new live in America. (1982). (50 min, 1080p).

b) India Cabaret - this documentary examines the line separating "good" and " bad" women in Indian society, specifically by focusing on the dancers at a Bombay strip club, a frequent patron, and his stay-at-home wife. The film arrives with an optional Hindi soundtrack. (1985). (60 min, 1080p).

Fiction Shorts -

a) The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat - Chris Hani, South Africa's Communist Party leader, was assassinated in April 1993, causing a wave of fear to sweep through the country's white community. This is the tale of one family as they leave South Africa on the day of Hani's funeral. (1993). (12 min, 1080p).

b) 11'09'01 - September 11 (segment: India) - based on the true events surrounding the September 11, 2001 disappearance of Salman Hamdani, a young Pakistani American man from Queens, this film portrays his mother's struggle with terrorist allegations, her own fears, and her son's fate that day. In Urdu and English with English subtitles. (2002). (12 min, 1080p).

c) Migration - part of a four-film series on the AIDS epidemic in India, this film examines the virus as Indian society's great class leveler, following its transmission through interweaving stories that link urban and rural India. In Hindi with English subtitles. (2007). (19 min, 1080p).

d) How Can It Be? - one of eight shorts commissioned by the United Nations on themes concerning global society, this film explores gender equality. It's the story of Zainab and Arif, who live with their son, Munna, in Brooklyn. Zainab makes the complicated decision to leave her protected life and follow her heart. (2008). (10 min, 1080p).

Audio Commentary - recorded in 2002, this commentary features director Mira Nair. She recalls how Monsoon Wedding came to exist, what were some of the production difficulties that had to be overcome, the message of the film, etc.

Monsoon Wedding Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding is a wonderful film, full of life! As expected, Criterion's Blu-ray treatment is solid. The distributors have also included seven shorts by director Nair, including India, which was featured in the memorable project 11'09''01 - September 11. Highly Recommended.