And it’s called WOMEN.
Just got out of a near empty show of Eat, Pray, Love (of course, the movie’s in its fifth week in the US, hence the lean attendance). Felt nice to have an almost private show.
I will share my reaction to the film, but first, there’s a revolution in the making in Hollywood and if its role as a global trendsetter is to be taken seriously, then we have a paradigm shift taking place. I speak of themes and content of cinema that are more than ever centered, grounded and woven around the lives of women in all shapes, sizes, eras and ages. How fascinating it is that an industry that is nearly a century and half old is finally interested in how the ‘other’ half lives, breathes. Or in this case, eats, prays and loves.
An honest confession – I resisted reading the book by Elizabeth Gilbert. A self-professed snob confession – I try to steer clear of books that make it to Oprah’s Book Club; they all tend to be self-help ladled with a generous helping of self-indulgence. I feel a bit hypocritical as I write this as I do think my blog could qualify as being more of the same. C’est la vie.
This cynicism wore off fairly quickly as curiosity got the better of me. Describing the book as a realistic, live tale of discovering the ‘secret’ as opposed to reading ‘The Secret’ – another Oprah Book Club celebrity, made me buy the book. I only got around to reading it this week as I knew I had to watch the film and it makes sense to do that in the prescribed order of book first, film next. Just for the sake of critiquing integrity I guess.
Am going to start with the bottom line – It is true that Italy is about food and the amore of food. It is also true that Indian spirituality is more about tolerance and patience which forces one to submit to discovering a new level of self-awareness. And pray hard to hold onto it as it seems the only sane thing to do! And finally Bali, it is indeed about love. How else can you explain co-existing in harmony with lizards the size of your thighs and frogs that inhabit every room you would hope to escape them, and still find it to be the most beautiful place on earth?!
There is first hand experience in all of the above. But here’s the film’s version –
A woman facing premature midlife crisis (or it could easily have been a lifelong/ adult life crisis that merely manifests itself as the biological clock ticks to a dangerous point of no return) that result in a series of bad relationships, decides to rediscover herself, her path, her guru. To do this, she deems that a year off from her life as a writer in New York is called for. Much to the disapproval of a trail of friends, ex lovers etc that she leaves behind, she finds adventures in three lands. Characteristically, each of the three represent a dichotomous clash of values, existentialism and yet, help the film’s protagonist, the author herself, to discover and heal different aspects of her life.
Julia Roberts displays the kind of ambidexterity that can only be associated with an actress of her caliber and importantly, her honesty. She brings so much authenticity to each performance because at some level I believe, she is an authentic person. Among the supporting cast, James Franco is the part as the younger lover with a faddish fascination of Indian chanting. Javier Bardem is gorgeous and plays the mature Latin American lover who finally sweeps her off her feet – so perfectly cast!
But for me, the character of Keytut, the toothless ninth generation medicine man in Bali, beautifully scripted and wittily captured by Hadi Subiyanto, is a winner and unfortunately, will probably be an unsung one at that.
The film is long, by Hollywood standards. But it has a rich pace of story-telling that helps to overlook this.
And most of all, if it sounds like a chick-flick, it is. But to my male readers, if you are evolved enough to tune in to what a woman has to say on a blog, I think you have much more to gain from one whose tale made it to celluloid!
Final bottom line – Eat, Pray, Love – it’s a mantra that could heal as well as Om Namah Shivaya. Try it.
MA
Hey MA, I enjoyed the movie too. But thought it was very cliched in certain segments like their portrayal of India and the romance between Julia & Javier. The end too was out of a Mills & Boon.. But am totally in love with Javier Bardem..I thought he was super natural and genuine in the movie.
P.S. Read all your blogs after a long time today and thoroughly enjoyed them..
Since time immemorial man has tried to solve the mystery called ‘woman’ (I guess even Adam tried and failed) but thanks to chick flicks, it has atleast opened up an avenue to get insights into what woman want. However not many men have realised it which explains the empty theatre.