02.28 - Mira Nair's "The Namesake" opens Cinequest

02.28 - Posted by Editor

The Cinequest Film Festival is opening with "The Namesake," a new film by Mira Nair. From the official announcement:

Opening Night Gala:

The Namesake

Cinequest’s 2007 Opening Night is as electrifying as it comes—treating film lovers to one of the most exhilarating films of the year, by one of the most provocative filmmakers of modern times. Filmmaker Mira Nair’s brilliant adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Namesake powerfully captures the hold of family traditions and expectations among Indians in America, resulting in an intensely stirring film.

Husband and wife, Ashoke and Ashima, escape the chaos of Calcutta in the seventies for a new life in the United States—Ashima finds it especially difficult to adjust to American customs. But it is Gogol (played by Kal Penn), their son, who struggles most. As a young man, Gogol rebels against everything that makes him different—including his family's expectations. A romance with blonde, outgoing Max proves liberating, even as the prospect looms of settling down with the proverbial good Indian girl.

In Mississippi Masala and Monsoon Wedding, Nair put India's global families on the screen in all their dimensions. Here, through Lahiri's story, she brings a family’s particular conflicts sharply into focus. Kal Penn makes a dramatic departure from comedy and gives a mature and poignant performance, while Lahiri, herself, makes a wonderful cameo as a family aunt. The Namesake is a moving tribute to being a family.

Screening Time: 2/28/2007 - 7PM - California Theatre