India - home of sadness.

Garam Hawa, in classic Indian art house films, is ANOTHER sad ass movie. I think that this class has made me hyper critical of high production happy films or god forbid children's movies. I think this film was particularly successful in the way that it presented the social stress that partition (and general class or religious dispute) put on families at that time. There are so many aspects of partition that are left un attended and once we cover one I always tend to feel like that is it but it never is. It was interesting to see how the director completely removed the personification of the villan from the film and replaced it with a disembodied voice. It made for a very uneasy/tense experience. I felt as if there was no peace or outlet for the feelings I had for all of the characters. Either way Garam Hawa ended again with the death of a young woman over marriage (or lack there of) and the demise of her ability to function without the support of a man. I feel like these directors all attempt to give women a stance or a platform by making their stories so tragic, which in turn only makes people feel guilt and sadness rather than conviction, but who knows, maybe it works.

Meghe Dhaka Tara, another black and white film, followed suit in being completely depressing. The family members all happened to play very extreme roles. Nothing really subtle about this movie. Lots of patriarchy, but the mother seems to challenge that a little bit as she sways everyones decisions. I'm not so sure how I feel about this film on a personal level. I think I'm ready for something light hearted. It's strange because Indian films don't tend to have those brief moments of comic relief that American films have. What is that french word for "pleasure in misery"? I heard it once in passing and made a mental note to remember it but of course I didn't. Well whatever that word is, I think it describes the Indian art house movie industry. This film had so much less historical influence and was so much more personal, which makes it that much more astonishing that people watch them for recreation. I imagine that the process of picking all of these films was a depressing one. At this point in my life I think I NEED something more light hearted. If I have to stay up until 2:30am again writing about these depressing Indian films I'm going to really decline into some sort of depressive state I don't think I'm fully prepared to handle. If I watch one more Indian girl grip the hem of someones garment in pleading it's going to kill me.

*sigh*