Namesake - two worlds, one journey
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Namesake - two worlds, one journey |
| Original title | The namesake |
| Country of production | India , USA |
| original language | English , Bengali |
| Publishing year | 2006 |
| length | 122 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Mira Nair |
| script | Sooni Taraporevala |
| production |
Lydia Dean Pilcher , Mira Nair |
| music | Nitin Sawhney |
| camera | Frederick Elmes |
| cut | Allyson C. Johnson |
| occupation | |
| |
Namesake - Two Worlds, One Journey is an American-Indian drama directed by Mira Nair from 2006 . It addresses the question of the cultural identity of children of Indian immigrants in the United States (“Second Generation Immigrants”). The film is based on the novel The Namesake (German namesake ) of the Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri .
action
The film begins with a train accident in the early 1970s that the young Bengali Ashoke barely survives. He is saved because he can make the rescue workers felt by rustling the pages of a book - with the coat of Nikolai Gogol .
The main plot begins a few years later and extends over about thirty years. Ashoke, who is now studying in America, comes to Calcutta in order to marry the young Ashima, arranged by his parents. He takes her to New York and plunges her into an uprooted and lonely life as a housewife. Only gradually do the two also become lovers. They have two children: Gogol, who owes his name to Ashoke's traumatic experience, and Sonia. The two children grow up as Americans, but as children of Indian immigrants they always remain trapped between the two cultures.
When Gogol found out more about his "paranoid, suicidal, depressive" namesake as a teenager, he dropped his name and called himself "Nikhil" - the name can easily be shortened to "Nick" in America. The family's stay of several months in Calcutta shows that the parents Ashoke and Ashima are back at home there, while the children Gogol / Nikhil and Sonia feel like tourists and experience the city as a stranger.
After studying architecture, Gogol lives with the typical upper-class American Maxine. He hides the relationship from his parents for as long as possible, as he sees it as a betrayal of the Bengali values. But when Ashoke dies completely unexpectedly, Gogol throws himself into the traditional funeral rites in an almost exaggerated way and professes his Indian roots. At this change of identity, his relationship with Maxine breaks.
A short time later, at the suggestion of his mother, Gogol meets with Moushumi, who like Gogol is a child of Bengali parents and lives in New York. You are starting a passionate relationship and will soon get married; however, the marriage breaks up after just one year. Gogol experiences the separation as a release from the constraints that his constant search for identity has imposed on him. Ashima, who is now around fifty, is returning to Calcutta.
background
The film was made in close collaboration with the author of the strongly autobiographical novel , Jhumpa Lahiri , and her parents. All three can be seen in small supporting roles.
German synchronization
The synchronization was created by All Arts Medien GmbH. Dialog book and direction was carried out by Joachim Kunzendorf.
| Role name | actor | German voice |
|---|---|---|
| Gogol / Nikhil | Kal Penn | Nico Mamone |
| Ashima | taboo | Christin Marquitan |
| Ashoke | Irrfan Khan | Jaron Lowenberg |
| Maxine | Jacinda Barrett | Luise Helm |
| Moushumi | Zuleikha Robinson | Vera Teltz |
reception
Namesake - Two Worlds, One Journey were mostly positively discussed in the German feature pages. On Deutschlandradio Kultur it was heard: "With fine humor and actors of Indian origin who have also been seen in major Hollywood films, Mira Nair's family drama shows a successful integration."
Critic.de emphasizes the simplicity of the narrative and sees The Namesake as a "film whose melancholy and unexcited narrative are deeply impressive."
The lexicon of international film takes a more critical view of the film: "A rather sober discussion of immigration and assimilation, which shows contradictions, but argues a bit too academic."
Awards
- 2007 Gotham Award in the category " Best Film " (nomination)
- In 2007 it was named to the National Board of Review's list of Top Ten Independent Films
- 2007 EDA Award in the “Best Seduction” category for Irrfan Khan and Tabu
- 2007 EDA Award in the "Best Woman Director" category for Mira Nair (nomination)
- 2007 EDA Award in the "Cultural Crossover Award" category (nomination)
- 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Award in the “Outstanding Actor, Film” category for Kal Penn
- 2008 Independent Spirit Award in the category "Best Supporting Actor" for Irrfan Khan (nomination)
Web links
- Namesake - Two worlds, a journey in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Official site for The Namesake
Individual evidence
- ↑ This is what the director Mira Nair reports in her audio commentary , which is included on the DVD.
- ↑ The Namesake - Two Worlds, One Journey. German synchronous index, accessed on December 11, 2012 .
- ↑ Hannelore Heider: Successful integration. Radiofeuilleton: Films of the week. Deutschlandradio Kultur, June 6, 2007, accessed December 10, 2012 .
- ^ Hannes Brühwiler: The Namesake. critic.de, January 25, 2007, accessed December 10, 2012 .
- ↑ Namesake - Two Worlds, One Journey. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 10, 2012 .
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from November 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Awards. Top independent films. (No longer available online.) Nationals Board of Review, archived from the original on December 6, 2012 ; accessed on December 10, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 2007 EDA Award Winners. (No longer available online.) Alliance of Women Film Journalists, archived from the original on September 14, 2011 ; accessed on December 10, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b 2007 EDA Award Nominees. (No longer available online.) Alliance of Women Film Journalists, archived from the original on October 1, 2011 ; accessed on December 10, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Inside Searchlight. Searchlight Films Receive a Flurry of Award Noms! (No longer available online.) Fox Searchlight Pictures, May 30, 2007, archived from the original on March 5, 2010 ; accessed on December 10, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Film Independent Spirit Awards 2011. (pdf; 725 kB) Twenty-six Years of Nominees and Winners. (No longer available online.) Film Independent, p. 8 , archived from the original on April 22, 2012 ; accessed on December 10, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
