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Lagaan 2001 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker
PG, 220 min. (profanity, mild violence) |
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Starring: Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne, Suhasini Mulay, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Raghuvir Yadav, Rajendra Gupta, Rajesh Vivek, Shri Vallabh Vyas, Javed Khan, Raj Zutshi, Akhilendra Mishra, Pradeep Rawat, Daya Shankar Pandey, Yashpal Sharma, Amin Hajee
Producer: Aamir Khan
Screenplay: Kumar Dave, Sanjay Dayma, A. Gowariker
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Released: 6/15/01 (Limited)
(In Hindi with English subtitles) |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
Lagaan, recently nominated for Best Foreign Picture by the Academy, is a charming if too long film from India
that at its heart is really just another version of The Bad News Bears. It's part musical, part sports epic, and
part commentary on the injustices of British imperialism. Althouth India has had its share of quality films, it seems strange
that this particular endeavor would be nominated for an Oscar considering how peculiar a film it is. I use the word
peculiar because Lagaan flirts with several genres before settling on the classic underdog scenario much in the tradition of
Hoosiers or Major League. However, unlike those films, the stakes are a bit higher considering the
poor farmers involved in the story could lose everything.
The British are engaged in heavy taxing of provinces in 1893 India. They require Lagaan, or a land tax, from every
farmer each year. The tax has become a terrible burden on the people, whose only reward is the safety provided by the
British army from local violent nomads. In one particular province, the locals are led by Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), whose
rebellious attitude has resulted in a challenge from the British captain, Russell (Paul Blackthrone), to settle the tax burden
with a game of cricket. If Bhuvan and his village can defeat the well-trained British team, there will be no lagaan for three
years. However, if they lose, their lagaan will be tripled for the current year, more or less ensuring their starvation.
Bhuvan's village, at first outraged by his arrogant acceptance of the bet, slowly begin to realize their opportunity and begin
learning the game from Russell's beautiful sister, Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley), who takes a fancy to Bhuvan. Between
learning the game and preparing for the match, Bhuvan must balance his relationship with his village, his girlfriend
Gauri (Gracy Singh), and Elizabeth. His chosen team is made up of various villagers with certain skills that befit their
position in cricket. However, defeating the British will take a supreme effort from Bhuvan himself if the village is to
be saved.
American audiences will probably appreciate the musical numbers that interrupt the story throughout the film. They're
flashy, mostly over-the-top numbers in the tradition of Moulin Rouge, but add a layer of entertainment to a sometimes
sluggish script. Lagaan is beautifully-filmed, with many shots of the dusty, sun-soaked desert ever-present in
almost every frame. The conditions of the villagers are obviously poor, yet their happiness comes from the
comaraderie and close-knit ties made possible by an open community. They have simple lives and wouldn't have it
any other way.
Lagaan's greatest strength comes from its ability to surprise. At first, it seems the film will take on a historical epic
approach, until suddenly music and singing is in the air. It concludes with the aforementioned cricket match, which is
interesting and educational, but way too long. In fact, the match itself runs over an hour and a half long. Despite its
length, the match is meticulously-crafted to squeeze every ounce of suspense possible from such a game. Although the
outcome seems predictable, there are several moments when you're not quite sure what will happen, which is the sign
of intelligent filmmaking. Lagaan is a good film, recommended, but the simple fact that it runs almost four hours long
(if you include the intermission and restroom breaks) will invariably intimidate many viewers from seeing it. But for those
who do, it doesn't disappoint.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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