Bend It Like Beckam is another great Indian-British cross-cultural film directed by Gurinder Chadha. It stars the yummy Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (BBC's
Gormenghast), whose true Irish accent makes the movie worth watching even if you are blind. The movie is cute, fun, very pop, but refreshingly different, epecially if you are an Anglophile. Indians have been a major part of English culture since the British empire colonized the continent, and the social ramifications of the merging of cultures have been very interesting--often resulting in movies depicting the social funnies and problems that are very raw, honest and so not Hollywood. Only the British could be socially honest enough to make
Bend It Like Beckham, a top-grossing movie in England. That would have never happened in The States. The plot basically revolves around a young Indian girl who is obsessed with the UK football star David Beckham and her dream to become a star female football player. Her parents, of course, are horrified that she doesn't want to get married and keep house like her older sister, and forbid her to play sports. The supporting actors are so good in their own right that the movie plays comfortably and you wish these people were real. I cannot praise this movie enough, and the soundtrack is really catchy as well. If you liked
East Is East, this movie will also get you wishing you could play football with a hottie like Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. Be still my heart. If you watch anything this year, this has got to be on the top of your list. One of my personal top ten.
--D.L.