This is a feel-good love story that’s suitable for all ages (if you need something to watch w/ the family). The film is based on the autobiography by renowned physicist Stephen Hawkings’ wife, Jane. In 1963, Oxford Ph.D. student, Stephen (Eddie Redmayne), meets pretty/approachable undergrad Jane (Felicity Jones) at a school dance. Since he’s not much of dancer, they spend most of the night talking. There is mutual interest, though Jane’s gal pal calls Stephen “odd, but clever.” We learn that Jane also wants to get a Ph.D. though she’s in the arts.
Reality vs. film wedding photos
Stephen’s closest pal, and fellow physicist, Brian is played by up-and-coming Harry Lloyd (who I’ve watched in Robin Hood and Dr. Who). His role wasn’t too big, but he added touches of humor to the film. Solid character actor David Thewlis plays Stephen’s supportive advisor, Dennis Shiama.
Stephen playing with his kids
Stephen collapses one day in the yard. A doctor tells him that he has a rare, early onset form of ALS (a condition that will weaken his body, but leave his mind intact). He doesn’t want to talk, even w/ Brian, and decides to avoid Jane. Being a concerned, Jane seeks Stephen out in his dorm. He tries to get rid of her (thinking that he’s gotten a death sentence), but she won’t have it.
Eddie Redmayne & Felicity Jones at Toronto International Film Festival
Over time, they date, marry, have children, though the road is not smooth. Studying for Ph.D.s, living on a small budget, and raising a family is very challenging/stressful; my parents did it as immigrants to the US. Along with that, Stephen copes with his disease, writes a book about his black hole theory, and (slowly) makes a mark in the field on cosmology.
Eddie Redmayne on The Daily Show
Before I watched this film, I didn’t even know that Hawking was British! I’m not knowledgeable about his work, but science is only a small part of this story. The focus is the love between two very mentally strong, caring, resilient, and intellectual individuals. The leads have great chemistry- they fit perfectly as a couple. (I’ve been following these actors for some years, so was glad to see them in these meaty roles.) Redmayne, who always has an innocent and likable quality, must’ve worked very hard on his physical transformation! Some critics call this type of movie “Oscar bait.” The colors are saturated, the music is very well-suited, and there is a very rosy outlook throughout the film. My friends and I liked it a lot. Stephen Hawking commented that watching this film “was like watching myself as a young man.”
The acting is great- all were convincing as Moroccans with good accents and French language. The highlight was Nadine Labaki’s performance, though a secondary role, she stole the scenes with her funny “bitchy” attitude and added many comic relief along with her Grandma. Nadine is famous Lebanese director known for “Caramel” but she is also an acclaimed actress. The multi-talented Hiaam Abbas who appears in many foreign movies, she manages to reincarnate the role of a Moroccan mother with strict high values and morals. -IMDB reviewer
Miriam (Nadine Labaki) and Kenza (Lubna Azabal) sit at each side their mother Aicha (Hiam Abbas) during their father’s wake.
This stereotype-defying film (a mix of comedy and drama) was part of the Arabian Sights Film Festival in DC. It was written/directed by Laila Marrakchi, a young Moroccan woman. I saw it this Fall (with 2 members of a movie Meetup) at the French Embassy; the main language in the film is French (with a good mix of Arabic and English).
The ladies of the Hassan family find their thoughts drifting to the past.
When patriarch Moulay Hassan (Omar Sharif) dies, his extended family, employees, and community gather at his palatial estate (in Marrakech by the coast) for his funeral. We meet his strong widow, Aicha (internationally-renown Israeli Arab actress, Hiam Abbas, from The Visitor). Moulay’s daughters are all quite unique women; there is NYC-based actress/black sheep Sofia (Morjana Alaoui) with her young son, glamorous/dramatic housewife Miriam (Nadine Labaki)- on the verge of an affair, and straight-laced/religious professor Kenza (Lubna Azabal) whose teen son wants to act on Broadway. Sharif appears in a few scenes, adding a magical element of this fine film.
Three sisters with very different lives come together.
We are put in the shoes of the outsider, Sofia, who has recently separated from her director husband (an Irish-American). She hasn’t been home in many years; it was too painful to face the past (we learn why) and she has made a moderate success of herself in the U.S. (usually playing a terrorist). Sofia’s adorable 6 year-old son, Noah, is excited about experiencing a new culture and playing with a large crew of cousins. He’s hesitant to eat the new foods.
Noah bonds with his grandfather, Moulay (Omar Sharif), in a few scenes.
When her reddish-haired grandmother comments that Sofia shouldn’t have married a “foreigner,” Sofia good-naturedly reminds the older lady that she was once a foreigner (being a French woman). “But I married a Muslim and an Arab,” the grandmother says with a sly smile. As the days go by, secrets are revealed about another sister, their beloved housekeeper Yacout (who raised all the girls, as well as her own son), and Moulay. Sofia, who yearns for openness and honesty, is frustrated by (more conventional) sisters. However, she doesn’t have to live in the strictly stratified, dualistic society (people pray in the morning, but don’t necessarily shy away from alcohol and dancing later in the day).
This documentary from LA-based brother-sister team, Ravi (actor/main subject) and Geeta (director) Patel, is scary relatable for desi (and other singles) all over the US! When he turned 30 a few years ago, first gen Indian-American Ravi (who’d had only one real relationship with a white woman) agreed to try the traditional Indian way of finding a wife; this (of course) brought joy to his mother and father in North Carolina. Geeta, his older sis, came along to film the experience.
The family went off to the Punjab region of India to look at eligible single ladies (fellow Patels); Ravi felt odd about the scenario. However, he also admitted that he loved the way he grew up- with a strong sense of pride in being a Patel and having an extensive community; he wanted that for his future. After the trip to India (doesn’t work for him), Ravi says he’ll accept arranged introductions to women born/raised in the U.S. He also attends a large marriage conference (for singles of the Patel community in the U.S.); it looks very similar to ISNA.
We learn that as tough as it is for Ravi, Geeta went though the same situations (she thinks she’s had 200 arranged dates since age 20- wow!) The true stars if the doc are the parents- Champa (mom) and Vasant (dad), who proclaims that being single is akin to being a “loser.” But they are no stereotype- they are loving/caring/thoughtful parents who want their kids to be happy… and someday soon give them grandchildren. In the end, Ravi does find his match, but she’s not who you’d expect! This film is laugh-out-loud hilarious; my friends and I all thought so.
Brahmin Bulls (2013)
This is apowerful (yet subtle) film from a husband-wife team (Indian-Americans) who are friends of the lead actor (Sendhil Ramamurthy from Heroes fame; he is American with South Indian roots). Director/writer Mahesh Pailoor and Ramamurthy have known each other since undergrad; this role was written for the actor. The focus is on the strained/distant relationship between 30-something L.A. architect, Sid Sharma (Ramamurthy) and his professor father, Ash (internationally-acclaimed Indian veteran actor, Roshan Seth). Mary Steenburgen has a crucial role in the film, too. Wow, what cast! (By the way, if you’re a fan of tennis, you’ll especially enjoy this film. Ramamurthy had a scholarship in undergrad, he said in a post-show panel interview).
When Ash drops in from Boston to attend a conference in LA. (you’ll discover the reason why), Sid is very taken aback. He’s going through a transition in his marriage and at work, and doesn’t feel comfortable having the old man around in his house. Both men are brooding, charming, intelligent, but also quite stubborn; this is the making for great dramatic conflict. However, they have more in common than you’d expect! My friends said they liked the movie a lot, as did I.
Viserys (Harry Lloyd) laughs w/ Illyrio (Roger Allam) on HBO’s “Game of Thrones”
Recently, my mom (a fellow fan of Shakespeare) and I saw a filmed version of The Tempest (from the remade Globe Theatre) at Landmark Bethesda Row. The role of Prospero was played by Roger Allam, who some of you know as Illyrio Mopatis from HBO’s Game of Thrones. Illyrio is a wealthy and powerful Magister in Pentos; he is a dealer in spices, gemstones, dragonbone, etc. For a time, he served as custodian of the exiled Targaryen children and seeks to return them to the Iron Throne. Illyrio also arranged the marriage between the Dothraki leader, Khal Drogo, and the teenaged Danerys Targaryen.
I’ve seen Prospero played as a benign schoolmaster, colonial overlord and Faustian necromancer. But Roger Allam brings something new to the party by suggesting that Prospero is first and foremost a father: what we see, in this riveting performance of Shakespeare’s usurped protagonist, is a man torn between possessive concern for his adored Miranda and recognition that she is an agent of reconciliation with his enemies. -Michael Billington (The Guardian)
The Tempest, in essence, is a small story- the exiled Duke of Milan, Prospero, and his teen daughter, Miranda, are living on a secluded island peopled by magical spirits (including Ariel) and the son of a “witch” (Caliban). Propero carries a wand and wears a cloak when he’s performing magic in this version of the play.
Magic is created through simple means, such as a shower of petals descending from the sky or Stephen Warbeck’s music emanating from every corner of the building. Herrin sometimes slows the pace to maximise the laughs, but he gets good performances from Jessie Buckley and Joshua James as the enraptured lovers, Colin Morgan as a nimble Ariel and James Garnon as a Caliban who burps and spits in the groundlings’ faces. -Michael Billington (The Guardian)
This play contains some of The Bard’s most-quoted lines, including “Oh, what brave new world with such people in it!” Miranda exclaims this when she first sees the men from Milan up close. Until then, she’d only seen her betrothed- Ferdinand, who’s used for comedy in this production (youthful earnestness with wide eyes). Ariel is not feminized, as is often done- he’s handsome, limber (does some acrobatics), and slyly funny.
Knightleyemma 