So, I decided to get some practices on writing film reviews, something that I'm pretty clueless on how to go about writing. Through practices every now and then (hopefully), I hope I could write better film reviews in the future. Due to my inexperience, this film review may contain spoilers.
For a start, I will review on Gurinder Chadha's Bride and Prejudice (2004).
Chadha's Bride and Prejudice (2004) is a Bollywood adaptation based on Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813). Chadha follows closely Austen's plot but foregrounds the love story between Darcy and Lalita (Darcy and Elizabeth in the novel). The movie is a two-fold transpositions, both temporal (from 19th Century to today) and spatial (from England to India), that focuses mainly on how two different cultures (East and West) reconcile and synthesize to form a new "hybrid" identity. A mix of Bollywood and Hollywood elements, the movie shifts from being a critique on the upper-class in Austen's novel to an exploration of multiculturalism and the diaspora identities. Unlike the characters in Austen's novel that serve as grounds for criticism on the 19th century society, Chadha's characters function as comic relief and satire on issues and mentalities of today's world. Yet, unlike Austen's characters who possess strong psychological complexities, which are illustrated through their dialogues and perspectives, Chadha's characters, in comparison, appear superficial and lack emotional depth. This may be due to the use of the filmic medium, where the film's limited duration does not allow the characters to be developed to full-fledge. Nevertheless, the movie is a light-hearted comedy that looks at and explores relevant social issues from a humorous perspective. And, one doesn't need to have read Pride and Prejudice before watching the movie.
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