Review of The Namesake (2006) by Micheal C — 14 Nov 2015

Namesake follows the life of an Indian couple raising children in the United States. The movie does an amazing job at illustrating what life is like in an Indian family. The story begins as Ashoke and Ashima meet in the traditional prearranged Indian way where families decide who is a good match for their child. I loved the strong characters and acting. The story really engulfs you as you watch the characters grow up together and the family expands. The movie is well paced and about 122 minutes considering it spans about 3 decades. The central character Gogol is played by Kal Penn and I have only seen him in comedies like Harold and Kumar but he really shows how talented of an actor he is in this dramatic role. Namesake is beautifully written and the scenes transfer fluidly. As a Westerner I can only imagine what it is like to have a traditional arranged union but Ashima's husband Ashoke is a really sweet loving guy that you instantly feel connected to. He is just a man trying to live and raise his family and teach his boy about life.The photography and cinematography, reinforce the drastic changes that occur when moving from colors and chaos of India to the freezing winters of New York. We are easily able to follow the father and mother's struggle to connect with their children, hold together their family values and culture, and offer them the best life available.

Religion is very prominent in India and it is evident in this movie how deeply religious the family is. In the wedding scenes we see a lot of Hindu elements and attire. There is also a Hindu funeral scene after *spoiler alert* a character dies. We even see some Hindu tradition in a scene where a baby is directed to choose an item off of a plate to determine their fate or position in this life. There is also a scene where the father talks about meeting again in the next life, a Hindu concept of reincarnation.