Bend It Like Beckham

whose life are you living

bend it like beckham presents a somewhat exotic take on the subject of coming of age with a bit of a go at interracial dating as a subplot. i found the direction somewhat incoherant but perhaps that is the quality which gives the film it uniqueness. still a watchable film, i was well engrossed into the story.

the picture focuses on an indian girl living in london named jasminder who loves soccer, beckham, and her family. the trouble is, her parents (particularly her mother) are devout hindus.

of course from my perspective, much suffering comes from fundamentalism and, there is much suffering to be had in this household. the contrast between the dogma from the bahmra family and the snobbery from jasminders field mate's family the paxtons is quite striking. it really highlights the idea that though western society is steeped in patriarchy it's the women who tend to keep the often abused traditions alive.

i'm only giving this one two stars because i felt that the emotional impact was lacking. if a film doesn't make itself present in the gut, why bother?