English for Beginners (film)

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Movie
German title English for beginners
Original title English Vinglish
Country of production India
original language English , Hindi
Publishing year 2012
length 133 minutes
Age rating FSK 0
Rod
Director Gauri Shinde
script Gauri Shinde
production Sunil Lulla
R. Balki
R. Damani
music Amit Trivedi
camera Laxman Utekar
cut Hemanti Sarkar
occupation

English for Beginners (Original title: English Vinglish ) is an Indian feature film from 2012 by the filmmaker Gauri Shinde, who wrote and also directed the script. The tragic comedy revolves around Shashi, who comes alone to New York with poor knowledge of English and not only learns English in a language school there, but also makes new friends. The film marks the comeback of Indian superstar Sridevi after a 15-year hiatus. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012 , where it received a standing ovation. The film opened in German cinemas on June 27, 2013.

action

Sridevi at the premiere of the film

Shashi is a mother and housewife and an avid cook and lives with her family in India. Her talent for cooking also lets her run a small catering business, making laddu , which she sells successfully. Her husband Satish and her daughter Sapna, however, make fun of her poor English and humiliate her from time to time because she actually only speaks Hindi.

Shashi's older sister lives in New York and invites her entire family to her daughter's wedding. Against Shashi's will, her husband decides that she should travel to New York alone to help with the preparations for the wedding, the rest of the family only comes to the actual wedding after that. With her poor knowledge of English, she causes chaos in a New York coffee shop - again humiliated by her lack of language skills, she decides to secretly attend a four-week English course. In class, she meets like-minded people from all over the world: a Mexican nanny, a Pakistani taxi driver, a Chinese hairdresser, an Indian software specialist, a quiet African and the loving French chef Laurent. Shashi quickly becomes one of the best students in the language course, respected by everyone for her charming manner and for her talent at preparing the most delicious things. The French chef Laurent becomes interested in her and flirts with her. Shashi is finally starting to have more confidence.

In the meantime, Shashi's niece finds out that she is secretly attending an English course and supports her wherever she can. Shashi starts watching English films at night and does her homework very seriously. To successfully complete the English course, each student must give a five-minute speech in English. Shashi's family arrives in New York earlier than expected. So she can no longer take the English course. In addition, the date of the language test falls exactly on the wedding.

However, Shashi's niece invites the entire course plus teacher to the wedding. At the wedding, Shashi gives a heartwarming speech in English that surprises everyone. She talks about the importance of having a family, the importance of respect, and the fact that one shouldn't laugh at each other's weaknesses. Her English teacher explains that she passed the English test with flying colors. And her husband and daughter are ashamed to realize that they mistreated Shashi. Shashi also thanks Laurent for his contribution to her new self-esteem. On the return flight to India, Shashi confidently asks the stewardess in fluent English for a newspaper in Hindi.

criticism

  • "You're going to smile for days." - Hollywood Reporter
  • "Disarmingly charming, Sridevi reminds of Audrey Hepburn." - Variety
  • "Amiable feel-good entertainment." - The Guardian
  • “If one suffers here, then at most because of the almost unbearable stereotypes on the screen.” - Critic.de

Web links

Commons : English Vinglish  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Certificate of Approval for English for Beginners . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , May 2013 (PDF; test number: 138 805 K).
  2. ↑ Lisa Tsering: Indian screen legend Sridevi triumphs in a gentle, but affecting, story of a woman's awakening self-respect. . In: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com on October 9, 2012; Retrieved May 29, 2013
  3. ↑ Lisa Tsering: Indian screen legend Sridevi triumphs in a gentle, but affecting, story of a woman's awakening self-respect. . In: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com on October 9, 2012; Retrieved May 29, 2013
  4. ↑ Joe Leydon: Popular Indian thesp Sridevi returns to the screen after a 15-year hiatus with "English Vinglish," a sprightly star vehicle that finds her perfectly cast as an attractive yet old-fashioned homebody who elevates her sense of worth by becoming bilingual . . In: http://variety.com on September 30, 2012; Retrieved May 29, 2013
  5. ↑ Peter Bradshaw: [1] . In: https://www.theguardian.com/international on October 4, 2012; Retrieved May 30, 2013
  6. ^ Regina Karl: [2] . In: Critic.de on June 5, 2013; Retrieved June 26, 2013