Review of Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) by Carl F — 12 Sep 2007

Lagaan was sold to me as a ground-breaking Indian film. As I don't think I've watched any other Indian film I don't have anything to compare it to (I'd appreciate views from readers with better knowledge). As a standalone film Lagaan is a fun, heartwarming piece. Not being a fan of conventional musicals I find characters bursting into song for no reason quite annoying but I found the music and dance numbers well fitting with the rest of the plot.Elodie also enjoyed the tunes and the visuals that went with them. The plot revolves a cricket match between a poor Indian village and the Brit army that rule them, led by the regulatory mastachioed bad guy. The plot follows the conventions set by other western sport films such as Escape to Victory, Dodgeball and yes The Mighty Ducks. The high stakes ( triple taxes or triple 'Lagaan') make the tension quite believable. The film's sub plots touch on themes such as Imperialism, inter-religious tensions and the caste system but I don't think the film says anything ground breaking on any of them. The film is in 2 parts at a total of over 3 hours but the high production values and touches of humour will make this time fly by.

I'd recomend this to people who fancy a pick-me-up film and who can either speak hindi or don't mind subtitles.