I For India (2005)

This film took me a bit of time to watch, not because the topic didn't pull me in, but because the director (aka the child whose parents are the main subject) just couldn't seem to find her voice. This is one of those rare documentaries where our director is directly embedded into the course of the film that it becomes difficult to become a conscientious objector to the events occurring. There are several instances where our "Mother & Father" are speaking to Sandhya Suri as if she already knows, forcing us to accept whatever background we can find as truth. That is where "I For India" struggles the most. Attempting to break that barrier where Suri pushes past the idea that these two are her parents and truly uses the experience to show the struggle between those leaving India (subsequently the surrounding influx of Britain's voice) and the passion that families in India want to see their children return. Having just finished reading "Midnight's Children", I had one fictional view of what India was like during this time - but Suri never captures it.

Structure is what faults this film. From the beginning, we are shown images of television programs discussion the racial influx happening in Britain, and how that is effecting the medical profession. We then transform into a film about a couple's struggle about leaving India for a better career opportunity and the consequences that follow. What should have been emotional video tapes and messages sent, instead just turn into a gripe-fest. There is so much nagging and personal conflicts that the larger scope of what Suri attempted to create on this film just gets lost. By the end of the story, I cared nothing for the family, was lost to whom was speaking, and never quite felt that emotional heart-string being pulled. The opportunity was there, the final cut just lacked that glue to hold it together. Instead of a social commentary on India and Britain in the 1970s and up, all we were left with was just a photo album. A visually intreguing photo album, but still a photo album none the less. By the first twenty minutes, I was bored.

The last entry in my "Halliwell's Movies that Matter", "I for India" just fell flat. It wasn't a horrible film, but a pink mark is all I can muster. I need to ask others what their feelings are when they watch this film, but for myself, something was just missing. I liked the concept, just felt mislead on the final production. Interested in seeing how it does in the collection, but may not keep it as years progress. Good, not close to great.