the namesake.

After a long day of alternately sleeping and working and reading yesterday (it's a vicious cycle) I settled down with my Netflix guilty pleasure The Namesake. I got Netflix primarily because I have to watch five movies for a particular class (and it is of course, so amazingly convenient). Unfortunately, my last selection-- JFK-- took me three weeks to get through, so I felt like I had earned watching something that I could actually watch in one sitting and didn't make me think that every situation I encountered in print or real life was some type of conspiracy. I mean, crap, I'm like that enough, as anyone who I've ever accused of being "patriarchal" well understands.

I have to say, I really enjoy movies about India. Water was one of the most painfully beautiful films ever-- so stunningly heartbreaking-- and I of course adored The Darjeeling Limited. The Namesake isn't as much about India as it is about love and accepting the identities that make us who we are. The movie is about a set of Indian immigrants and their American-born son's challenges in defining himself as Indian and as American, as played out in his changing relationship to his family, women and his name. I cried for about half of the film-- and not just because I am a big time wuss, as indicated by the way I cried over Waitress for like, three days-- family dramas just tug at my heart, and I think this film does an especially good job at capturing the complexities of those relationships.

Anyways, what I'm saying without any real analysis is that you should watch this movie so you too can appreciate how beautiful it is and can spend one of two hours crying because you too have felt the intense grief that comes with love and figuring out who you are.

p.s. I love daylight savings! It's six o'clock and still light out! Yaaaay!