Thank goodness for March!

In a year when not much of interest has happened before the third month of the year (wonderful existential Western Seraphim Falls aside), finally I get the opportunity to crow about some films that truly deserve it. Towering above them all, of course, is David Fincher’s masterful Zodiac, but with Starter for 10, Black Snake Moan, Adam’s Apples and next week’s Reign Over Me that's four great (or near great) films and we’ve still got two more weekends to go.

Added to this list, and a picture that must immediately be put in the memory bank as a potential top ten pick, is Mira Nair’s (Vanity Fair) superb The Namesake. This adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jhumpa Lahiri’s (Interpreter of Maladies) bestseller of the same name is an episodic, moving, emotionally rapturous journey I couldn’t wait to see where it would take me next. It's a cliché, too be sure, but this movie took my breath, and as soon as I find the time I’m positive I'm going to run to the theater and watch it again.

The film is the story of the Ganguli family as it makes its way from the crowded streets of Bombay, India to the concrete jungles of New York City in the United States. It begins with the arraigned marriage of Ashoke (Irrfan Khan, The Warrior) and Ashima (Tabu, Maqbool) and concludes with the cultural and spiritual awakening of their eldest son Gogol (Kal Penn, Van Wilder: The Rise of the Taj). Where it ends, however, is somewhere far beyond this simple destination, the scope of the family’s journey as rich, full-bodied and wondrous as any I’ll see this year.

How do people fall in love? What sacrifices must be made to build a life? Do immigrants to the United States have to bend their ways to reflect the cultural mores of their new home? What about their children? What responsibility do they have to reflect their parent’s heritage even though they have been raised in a country whose values are wildly divergent from what they have learned at home?

All this and more is swirling inside of Lahiri’s multilayered story, Nair and screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala (Mississippi Masala) weaving these complex strands beautifully producing an epic generational tale that grabbed me by the heartstrings and refused to let go. Watching love build; slowly, elegantly, wordlessly; between Ashima and Ashoke is spellbinding, while the complex societal pangs assaulting Gogol are palpable and real no mater what a person’s skin color or cultural background.

It is Ashima’s story that has the most weight and movement to it. She is the one we follow from almost start to finish, and although the opening scenes belong to the father this is a mother’s saga through and through. As such, Tabu is phenomenal. Not only is she one of the most singularly beautiful women I quite possibly think I have ever seen, her performance is one of such universal verisimilitude that it is impossible not to be moved by her melodious and multifaceted portrayal. She mesmerizing, her face an aria of life lived and love given that’s stunning in its full-bodied emotional magnetism.

The rest of the cast is exceptional. Khan is a stalwart presence, holding the film together with his iron fist and caringly furrowed brow. Penn proves he really is a talent worth keeping an eye on (those venal gross-out comedies like Van Wilder and Epic Movie notwithstanding) after all, while Jacinda Barrett (The Last Kiss) is quite good as the all-American girl who goes about trying to win Gogol’s heart.

Best of all is Zuleikha Robinson (Hidalgo). She plays Moushumi, a fellow Bengali whom catches the younger Ganguli’s eye after a tragedy strikes the family. It’s a brief but potent bit of character acting, Robinson casting a spell so complex and lyrical I found myself thinking about her (and her actions) hours after I had left the movie theater.

Nair has made some incredible films in her career. Salaam Bombay! (an Oscar-nominee for Best Foreign Language Film) is easily one of the best debuts of the past few decades, while Mississippi Masala, The Perez Family and especially Monsoon Wedding certainly cemented her status as one of the most intriguing and talented directors working today. For me, The Namesake just might be her best yet. The movie bobs and weaves like an epic poem of familial longing, Nair handling it all with such confidence and precision not a single moment feels false or out of place.

In the end, I can’t imagine a better way to spend an evening than one curled comfortably in a theater seat watching this picture delicately unfold. The film movies through the years with elegance and grace, its characters taking on richer and deeper traits the longer it goes on. It’s an almost perfect film, The Namesake an enchanting journey to a world as far away as a grandfather’s generation and as close as our very own heart.

Film Rating: êêê1/2  (out of 4)