Review of The Namesake (2006) by Erin S — 20 Sep 2008

I thought this was an incredible movie. It gives you an in depth account of life inside an immigrant family living here in the United States, and how big a part the religion from their own countries influence their lives and how difficult the change is once they lived here.

The story begins with Ashoke riding on a train that suddenly crashes. He is later to be identified as the only survivor. But before the crash, he is talking to a stranger who tries to convince him to travel the world, "Pack a pillow and a blanket", the man says. Ashoke replies to the man that his grandfather told him that he could travel without moving an inch by reading. Eventually, as is normal for Hindu's, his parents arrange for him to be married to a woman named Ashima. During the time between the crash and meeting Ashima, Ashoke has moved to New York and became a professor. After their marriage, they both move back to New York.

It takes Ashima a while to adjust to life without her family. Soon later, they have two children, Gogol and Rina. Ashoke named Gogol after one of his favorite Russian authors. As time passes, Gogol is given a different name, but wants to be called Gogol, but around the time he graduated from High School, he begins to be mocked and wants to change it again, which he later does to Nick.

Nick has hard times with his parents, like most western teenagers do. Eventually, we find out how Ashoke came to give Gogol his name. Since the train crash, like the Overcoat(Gogol), he had been thankful for everyday and counted it as a blessing. He told Gogol that he was one his biggest blessings.

Ashoke dies while teaching in Cleveland. Ashima moves back to India(spending six months there and six months in the US). Rina and Gogol live normal western lives.

Here's how the movie relates to world religions. India is predominantly Hindu. These two Indian Hindu's move to New York and start a family, and , begin to show us how different the two cultures are. How family is more close in India. And how India's religion(Hinduism) is much different than ours(Christianinty).