Recently, I received some very nice emails from someone who appreciated my reviews (there's at least one!) and they recommended I look into the films of Satyajit Ray--particularly "The Big City" and "The Lonely Wife". I am happy I listened, as I really liked both films--particularly "The Big City". The best thing about these films is their ordinariness--how they are about everyday folks and the films are not glamorized or Hollywoodized in the least. The unfortunate thing, however, is that both are pretty lousy prints with relatively poor captions--and both appear to be directly copied from a videotape.
Now what I saw in the film and what the summary says are not exactly the same. Perhaps this is due to a mistranslation, or perhaps when the husband says 'brother' it's a diminutive term and the person he's saying it to is actually his cousin, but I sure was under the impression that Amal was Bhapati's brother.
Charlu is a lonely lady back in India in 1879. Her husband is the publisher of a newspaper--so she lives in relative luxury but doesn't see enough of him, as he's very busy. So, Bhapati gets the idea to have his family come and live with them. The brother-in-law seems like a good choice to move in with them, as he says he wants to work on the paper and contribute. Amal, however, is a recent college graduate and is not at all interested in doing any work--just write. Quickly Amal and Charlu become friends, as both of them have a common interest--writing. However, this familiarity combined with Bhapati's absence spell disaster--as does trusting the brother-in-law with the paper's finances. There's more to the story than this, but it's best you see it yourself and see it unfold.
The acting, writing and direction are very nice--mostly because it seems awfully real. And, if you like Neo-realist films or stories by Majid Majidi, then you should really like "The Lonely Wife". Not great but very, very good.
Now what I saw in the film and what the summary says are not exactly the same. Perhaps this is due to a mistranslation, or perhaps when the husband says 'brother' it's a diminutive term and the person he's saying it to is actually his cousin, but I sure was under the impression that Amal was Bhapati's brother.
Charlu is a lonely lady back in India in 1879. Her husband is the publisher of a newspaper--so she lives in relative luxury but doesn't see enough of him, as he's very busy. So, Bhapati gets the idea to have his family come and live with them. The brother-in-law seems like a good choice to move in with them, as he says he wants to work on the paper and contribute. Amal, however, is a recent college graduate and is not at all interested in doing any work--just write. Quickly Amal and Charlu become friends, as both of them have a common interest--writing. However, this familiarity combined with Bhapati's absence spell disaster--as does trusting the brother-in-law with the paper's finances. There's more to the story than this, but it's best you see it yourself and see it unfold.
The acting, writing and direction are very nice--mostly because it seems awfully real. And, if you like Neo-realist films or stories by Majid Majidi, then you should really like "The Lonely Wife". Not great but very, very good.