The Lunchbox
The Lunchbox, a man who's been grieving since his wife died, a woman who wants to seek her husbands attention to rekindle their love and the only way she'll do it is cooking . This woman wants to cook her way through her husbands heart and she would've succeeded only if the very famous 'dabbawalas' of Mumbai city would not have messed up her plan by delivering the hard cooked and awesomely delicious food to Mr. Fernandez. Realizing the mistake of the delivery she writes Fernandez a note about it and the in a series of fortunate and unfortunate notes the movie turns out to be beautiful.
Director:
Ritesh Batra
Cast:
Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Screenplay:
Ritesh Batra, Rutvik Oza
Screening Date:
Jan 25, 2014
Running Time:
104 min
| Excellent | Very Good | Good | Fair | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57.1% | 34.7% | 6.1% | 2.0% | 0.0% |
“So subtle but so clear.”
“The sensibility of letter writing and anticipating for a response and the slow building of a relationship between two total strangers reminds the viewer of a way of communicating that barely exists anymore with the advent of the internet. Amazing that these lunch boxes got to their destination but the journey - convoluted and long - made it even more astounding. I would love to have seen them actually meeting but maybe not…leaves you thinking with her letter and him riding with the lunch delivery men. I love when he looks for the letters in the lunch box in a different place. Gorgeous and totally moving. Auntie through the window was great.”
“How can a first feature film be so thoroughly magnificent? A thoughtful, sensitive, subtle portrayal of 2 trapped souls who free each other with the merest daily-written kindness. Wonderful in every way.”
“Superb in every way. Truly the best film I’ve seen at MEA over 15 years. A brilliant screenplay. Intelligent and powerful. And the ending, not showing us their undeniable connect, but establishing it in our mind’s imagination was genius!” Jeanne K
“Charming heartfelt emotionally rich. Old vs. new India. Old vs. new values. I loved it. I saw a documentary on PBS many years ago about the lunch delivery system which was amazing.”
“Dynamic view of the new and old in India. Interesting use of Hindi/ English in the dialogue. There could not be a happy ending, but maybe they all got to the right place.”
“I found it hard to connect with.”
“The love of food and the love of life, the spice of life, contrasted with those who lie staring at a ceiling fan – read those people who just sit and watch the world go round – is clever writing. Putting together such a simple story and making it a delight for nearly two hours is great filmmaking.”
“Wonderful!”
“Well done, but where is it going?”
Scrooge isn’t visited by three spirits but redeemed by the many lunchboxes filled with passion and hope and a love of life he had lost. And here both the wife and the businessman find salvation.”
“Good ad for Indian food.”
“Thank you!
“I haven’t seen the films nominated for Best Foreign-Language film, but it’s hard to believe they could top this!”
“Slow pace was fine, but film was too long. Interesting film.”
“Yes, 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD would make a great double feature (does anyone remember what double features are? were?) This is glorious, intelligent filmmaking, no chases, no explosions, but remarkable insights into the human condition. And just when they think they are arrogant enough to explore the human condition they throw in AUNTIE, to add some humor and keep us grounded.”
“Warm and tender movie.”
“A pretty nutty premise, but an excellent film. Although why she doesn’t send a lunch box to her husband once she first learns of the mistake isn’t reasonable.”
“Good acting. Very touching story. Sad. Slice of life done well. No happy ending and they live happily ever after. Adult movie that will appeal to adult people.”
“84 CHARING CROSS ROAD is one of my favorite films! Add a little BABETTE’S FEAST and you have LUNCHBOX.
“Interesting thoughtful film. Very personal and subtle. However it doesn’t make me like Indian food anymore.”
If you'd like to know more about the film...
Remeber during our discussion we talked about why The Lunchbox is not India's offical entry into the Best Foreign-Language film category. Here's the National Public Radio (NPR) interview with film critic, Aseem Chhabra. The website allows you to either read the transcript or watch the interview. http://www.npr.org/2014/01/18/263106196/lunch-gets-boxed-out-indias-osca...
Watch the stars from the film, Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur talk about what they found most appealing about the script, the obsession with food in their cultures and how they were able to step away from reality and transform into a neglected and somewhat lonley character on screen which was unfamiliar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II4PSKeINfM&hd=1
If you want to know more about the director and his inspiration to create a film based on the Mumbai's famous "dabbawallas" (lunch box delivery men) check out this clip! http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-lunchbox-director-ritesh-ba...
