SYNOPSIS:
At
the tender age of seventeen, Nazneen's life is turned upside
down. After an arranged marriage to an older man, she exchanges
her Bangladeshi village home for a block of flats in London's
East End. In this new world, pining for her new home and her
sister, she struggles to make sense of her existence - and to
do her duty to her husband. A man of inflated ideas (and stomach),
he sorely tests her compliance.
Told from birth she must not fight her fate, Nazneen submits,
devoting her life to raising her family and slapping down her
demons of discontent. Until the day that Karim, a hot-headed
local man bursts into her life.
Against a background of escalating racial tension, they embark
on an affair that finally forces Nazneen to take control of
her life. Set in multicultural Britain, Brick Lane is a truly
contemporary story of love, cultural difference and ultimately
the strength of the human spirit.
MOVIE REVIEW:
"Brick Lane" is by far and large a sad
take on foreign immigrants in a western homeland. While the
issue of foreign immigrants marrying locals is nothing new
here, this tear jerker paints a realistic picture of the suffering
behind and the struggle to break out of their mould.
Nazneen
(Chatterjee) comes from a poor family in Bangladesh, married
off to an older, much educated man in a pre-arranged marriage,
she must come to terms with living in a foreign land, in this
case, an apartment in London on a street called Brick Lane
which is situated at the heart of the Bangladeshi community.
As the years pass and as her two daughters grows accustomed
to the Western culture, Nazneen begins to realize there’s
more to her own life than serving her husband’s needs.
The
film is a serious social drama made in the UK, a definite
departure from the usual song-and-dance routines found in
Bollywood films. Besides family relationships, it even delves
on issues such as prejudice, terrorism (the malicious 9-11
attack) and infidelity involving Nazneen and a younger man.
And
there’s her younger sister who still reside in her hometown
that she writes constantly to. A place Nazneen longs to return,
a place where she can find solace.
This
apparently is not an easy film to swallow. Asians on the whole
won’t be too taken aback by the values uphold by Nazneen’s
family and her household. In the olden times in countries
such as China and India, women are told to be submissive and
adhere to the husband’s demands. While certain aspects
of it are still practiced even in today’s society, "Brick
Lane" serves more as an eye-opener to the Western audience
given their more liberal upbringing and morals.
The
cinematography is surprising lush and expects stirring performances
from the relatively unknown cast especially Tannishtha Chatterjee.
The emerging arthouse actress from India delivers a performance
worthy of a nomination at the British Independent Film Award
for Best Actress.
It’s
a thought-provoking drama in the end, the perfect material
for literature class and college students to dissect on. Not
surprisingly it’s actually based on a 2003 book by Monica
Ali who created a wave of controversy for its alleged negative
portrayal of the Bangladesh community.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
NIL.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
video and audio transfer is passable for a film which relies
heavily on spoken dialogues. The DVD comes with a choice of
English & Chinese subtitles and English track.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
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