After watching the 2012 Indian movie “English Vinglish” last week, I had a lot of emotions in my heart. The title is so unspeakable, it makes one misunderstand what a ridiculous comedy this is.
In fact, this Indian film is very in-depth. It uses gender and family themes that the public can easily understand to cross cultural barriers, and makes a gentle critique of women’s roles in traditional families.
I just checked other people’s movie reviews, and my experience doesn’t seem to be anything special in comparison.
However, I have observed that people’s comments on the ending are somewhat divided. Some people feel that it is in line with the reality and deserves reflection; some people feel inspired by the heroine’s spirit; some people feel that she should have made a different choice, which seems to reflect the different value. In this article, I mainly want to talk about my views on the ending.
The plot of “English Vinglish”
The story takes place in a middle-class Indian family, which is in line with the traditional small family that everyone imagines. A successful father, a virtuous and beautiful mother, an adolescent daughter plus a naughty young son, and a kind and amiable. mother-in-law.
The heroine Shashi usually does a dessert business when she is free at home. Her good craftsmanship is widely welcomed by everyone. However, whenever she wants to share this sense of accomplishment, she is hurt by her husband’s disapproving attitude or inadvertently contemptuous words. .
And the adolescent daughter always has contempt for her mother who can’t speak English, and takes out her wrong words as a laughing stock, and even thinks it’s a shame to let her mother who can’t speak English go to school to participate in the parent-teacher meeting.
Shashi’s older sister Manu has been married to the United States for a long time. She raised two daughters independently because of her husband’s death. The eldest daughter wants to get married and wants a Hindu wedding. Manu is a working woman and wants to make money to support her family, so she can only ask Shashi to help in planning.
Since Shashi flew alone to live in the United States, she was constantly experiencing setbacks because she could not speak English. Finally, she saw a short-term English course cram school on a bus advertisement and decided to sign up for the class secretly.
Shashi is very serious in class, absorbs like a sponge and infers other things, and performs well in class.
She always wears beautiful sari and looks traditional, but she has an open and respectful heart towards different ethnic groups. Her teachers and classmates like her very much.
This is especially true of Laurent, a French chef classmate in the class, who always invites her for coffee but keeps getting rejected.
Shashi has been shaken by Laurent, who respects her and listens to her, but she also knows that seasickness is temporary.
Especially a few days before her niece’s wedding, after her husband and children flew to the United States ahead of schedule, she was convinced that what she wanted to manage was a real life, and she was more determined to learn English.
In the end, she gave a speech at the wedding after being promoted by everyone. Her husband originally wanted to speak in English instead of her, and her daughter expected her mother to be embarrassed again. They were surprised and ashamed that Shashi could give an excellent speech in English.
Observations on the ending view
The film presents a conservative and most realistic ending, which is somewhat regrettable.
This feeling of regret is based on empathy for Shashi, because everyone sees her husband’s hurtful words and her daughter’s rude ridicule, and hopes that Shashi can get rid of them, feeling that she deserves more respect and cherishes her people.
But from Shashi’s point of view, the movie only presents some of the more “dramatic” content. The movie hides the deep feelings of marriage and support from her husband. What a special existence for her to have her first child in October and many more.
How angry she was with her husband and daughter’s hurtful words reflected how much she cared about them.
Shashi is not just an entrepreneur with a dessert business, she is also an entrepreneur with a family.
Seasickness often occurs in environments where the sense of reality is weak or detached from reality, such as going abroad to have an affair, an unfamiliar new environment, and so on.
Shashi can strengthen her confidence and quickly find her way, which means that she is actually smart and wise, knows herself, and knows what she is really after.
But I also understand why some people think she should leave the family to be with the French dude, because I also slightly regret the ending.
Movies are a medium for dreaming, which allows the audience to act on behalf of satisfaction. The more you project Shashi, the more you feel the ignorance of your husband and the hurt of your daughter’s words, the more hope that movies can help satisfy us. The joy of going and not looking back”!
Finally… It’s really sad to see the news that the heroine Sridevi passed away suddenly in 2018.
Thank you for leaving behind such a brave and inspiring film, forever living in the image with Shashi’s strong and wise image.
