After the Empire: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

by Mary Jo

I was drafting a different blog when I realized it wasn't making a lot of sense, so I decided to riff on another topic altogether.

Anyone who has read my books over the years has probably noticed that I’m intrigued by the various historical connections between Britain and its empire, especially India, since there has been so much interaction over the centuries.  I also occasionally like to riff on movies: one of my favorites was Amazing Grace, a wonderfully entertaining biopic of William Wilberforce, the great anti-slavery crusader and reformer of late 18th and early 19th century Britain. 

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is more of a sweet adult tale with both comedy and drama, but it also has two major elements that struck me.  The first is—how often do we get movies that are serious about the lives and emotions of senior citizens?  Not often enough. 

The Story:

The set up of the movie has an exuberant young Indian, Sonny Kapoor, decide that he should convert his late father’s crumbling hotel into a retirement home for Britons who want to live in the sunshine, and who may not be able to afford to live as well as they’d like at home.  Played by Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire, Sonny is charming but not very practical.

The movie follows seven Britons who come to India to live in Sonny’s hotel, with varying degrees of satisfaction.  Most are single, like the newly widowed Evelyn, played by the ever-wonderful Dame Judi Dench.  As she blogs about her experiences so her family and friends in Britain can stay in touch, she becomes the emotional center of the film.

Some of the Britons embrace the color and chaos of India, others hate it, and at least one of the characters adapts rather against her will. There is the racist who isn’t comfortable with all those dark skins, and the silver foxy lady who doesn’t care what race a man is if he’s attractive and has some money. 

The storylines were handled with a light touch, but the characters felt real to me.  I cared what happened to them—and I felt very satisfied at the end.

The other element:

I also really enjoyed the way BEMH showed modern India.  There are modern young lovers on scooters, and traditional women in graceful saris.  We see an Indian call center from the point of view of the young, intelligent graduates who work there, and the tug between tradition and a changing world.

 

Movie thoughts: 

Movies are such fun to chat about, aren't they?  My sister and I are plotting to watch The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel again over Thanksgiving.  Have you seen the movie or would you like to? 

Can you think of similar movies that bring together cultures in a warm and interesting way? 

Come to think of it, this is a category of story I particularly like.  Maybe it’s time to rewatch Under the Tuscan Sun, since it has a lovely intercultural story line, though without the colonial history…

Mary Jo

 

Comments

[Janice]

I saw this movie in theater a few months ago with some friends. I wanted to see it because it had so many of my favorite Brit actors all in the same movie.

Although the audience was primarily middle aged and up, there were younger people as well. Everyone seemed to like it. There were several cheers when Dame Judi got the guy.

I liked it particularly for the portrait of the wife (played by Penelope Wilton, whom I know as Prime Minister Harriet Jones on Doctor Who) who did not like the new life; I thought the movie would be completely unsympathetic to her, but it wasn't.

[Lyn S]

Like your books, movies often inspire me to learn more about an era or a place. My daughter and I fell in love with Northern Italy in Letters to Juliet and since I am old and remember the original Camelot seeing Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero again was an added bonus.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Janice--

I also thought the Penelope Wilton character was done well. She was just in the wrong place for her, and it was making her miserable. Not all plants can be transplanted to a new land.

Weren't all those British veteran actors great? Dame Maggie Smith does cranky so well that one has to wonder what she's like in real life. *g*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Lyn S, I loved LETTERS FROM JULIET! I've seen some of northern Italy, but not Verona, and naturally, now I want to go there. *G* I hadn't realized that Franco Nero was with Vanessa Redgrave in Camelot, but that's a nice touch, and he sure has aged well!

[Nicola Cornick]

What a wonderful co-incidence! I saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel yesterday, and absolutely loved it. I thought the characterisation was really well done and it was poignant and full of quite a number of profound truths. I love Letters to Juliet too.

[Susan/DC]

I too enjoyed all of the great British actors in this film. I hadn't seen Penelope Wilton on Doctor Who but had seen her as Matthew's mother on Downton Abbey, where she is also allowed to be a mix of both good and bad characteristics yet is rarely unsympathetic.

Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave met during the filming of "Camelot" and had a child together. They then split but came together again much later in life, which I think is highly romantic.

As for "Under the Tuscan Sun", it needs to be thought of as completely separate from the book as the story is changed even more than the usual book-to-movie translation. I remember parts of it vividly because it's the only movie I've ever seen where the audience periodically gave a collective sigh at the scenery (the cliffs! the water! the vineyards!). I realized that the bias against Italians that was common around the turn of the last century was probably because people from other countries were jealous of the climate, the scenery, and the food.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Nicola--

You and I have similar tastes in movies! I liked your recommendation of ST. IVES so much that I bought the DVD after watching it from Netflix. *g* As you say, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is wise and poignant and satisfying.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Susan/DC--

I didn't realize that Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero had come together again! As you say, that's wonderfully romantic.

** I realized that the bias against Italians that was common around the turn of the last century was probably because people from other countries were jealous of the climate, the scenery, and the food.**

LOL! I haven't heard that before, but it's a defensible theory. *g*

[Donna]

You've named a couple of my favorite movies and a favorite genre also! I'm delighted to be in such august company. In addition to the two you named, I'd add:

A Good Year with Russell Crowe, similar to A Year In Tuscany
Bride and Prejudice - the Bollywood modern version of Pride and Prejudice (fun and wonderful!)
Mamma Mia - beautiful Greek islands and Abba music!
The White Countess - Natasha Richardson, Vanessa & Lynn Redgrave with Ralph Fiennes set in '30's Shanghai
Enchanted April and Room With a View - the British do Italy in both

[Mary Jo Putney]

Donna--

I love Mamma Mia and Enchanted April, and now you've given me more movies for my Netflix queue. *G* I also love Cold Comfort Farm, but that doesn't have the cross cultural aspect.

[Donna]

And now I'll have to check out Cold Comfort Farm - I'm not familiar with that one.

[Laura]

Julie and Julia ~ and Enchanted April ~ and Shirley Valentine spring to mind.

Such a fun blog, Mary Jo. I loved The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, too.
Some fun clashing of cultures happen within one country! ... some not-so-fun ones, too.

A movie that was visually one of the most beautiful I'd seen and showed two cultures within one country (not necessarily in clash, though) was Monsoon Wedding.

Happy movie watching and Thanksgiving :D

[Mary Jo Putney]

Donna--

COLD COMFORT FARM is an English classic, in with an orphaned and very efficient young woman goes to live with strange rural relatives, and sorts out everyone'd lives. *g* Very funny!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Laura--

I need a bigger, better tv to watch these movie riches! I love watching really great cinematography. It appeals to the old designer in me.

[Donna]

Yep! Cold Comfort Farm goes on the list. English classics are some of my favorites. Thanks, Mary Jo.

[Janice]

Mary Jo, I watch Region 2 disks on my 17 inch laptop. Close up it fills my field of vision just as well as a bigscreen TV across the room.

But it really doesn't matter much what the film looks like, though great art direction and cinematography are always appreciated. It's the story that matters, and if the story sucks, then who cares how well it was filmed?

I would imagine Pride and Prejudice would be just as engrossing on a Dick Tracy 2-way Radio Wristwatch ;)

[Mary Jo Putney]

Janice, you're very right. When I think back on a movie I've seen, mostly I remember the story. Not if it is was in black and white or color, or anything else technical. ALways it's the story.

That said, there are some movies that are so intensely visual that I prefer to see them on a large screen. It must be the old designer in me. *G*

[Ella Quinn]

I've never heard of this movie, but it sound interesting.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Ella--

Since you're a romance writer, I think you'd enjoy the movie. Good character studies, poignance, and romance is not only for the young. If you do watch it, I hope you like the movie as much as I did!

[Sherrie Holmes]

Sherrie, here, chiming in late. I loved this movie to bits! Being of a certain age, I found many of the "senior" in-jokes and comments hilarious. There were mostly senior citizens in the audience, and they laughed so loud at some of the "senior" bits that you couldn't hear the next line. This was a charming movie that spoke to some very real truths about the elderly.

Another movie I saw at the same time as Marigold was Beasts of the Southern Wild. (My sister and I saw both at a local art film cinema) Beasts was a visual and emotional shock to the system, a comment about the value of community and facing one's fears. Most of the actors, including the stunning main character (a 6-year-old black child whose performance was stellar) were not professional actors, and that lent a unique honesty to the film. I highly recommend Beasts and Marigold.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Sherrie--

So oftenit's the "small" movies that really touch our hearts. And word of mouth is the best way to learn about them. Thank you.

[Anne Gracie]

I loved this movie, too, Mary Jo. And I also love the way Judi Dench clearly hasn't had any operations to make her look artificially younger — and yet IMO she's growing more beautiful each year.

[Mary Jo Putney]

I agree, Anne--Judi Dench is so authentic and beautiful, and of course an amazing actress. She's the heart of the movie.

[Tillamook Hotel]

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is great feel good film. I found it to be quite captivating and am very glad that I made the effort to see it. I recommend it to others.