Clockwise from left: Eric Schlosser, Richard Linklater and scenes from Fast Food Nation
GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL
up with her.
Nikolai Gogol.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES
The Indian-born, New York-based
filmmaker Mira Nair brings her dual
insights to bear on her latest feature, j The Namesake. Kaleem Aftab catches
After her sojourn into the upper echelons of British society with her adaptation of Vanity Fair, Mira Nair returns to the multicultural themes that established her reputation with The Namesake. It’s a cinematic rendition of Jhumpa Lahiri’s bestselling novel of the same name, in which (sticking with the heavy literary themes) the protagonist is a fan of Russian novelist
Nair, 49, proved with Sa/aam Bombay and Monsoon Wedding that she is in a league of her own when it comes to recounting tales of the emotional dilemmas that emigrant Indians face. The setting of The Namesake jumps between Calcutta and New York, cities that Indian-born Nair — who lived in New York before moving to Kenya — sees as identikits.
“The film is about movement and crossing borders in a deeper way than just a narrative tale of an arranged marriage couple who come to America,’ she says. ‘The physical crisscrossing of Calcutta and New York is so similar. I would be on a train in Manhattan and then there’s a screen-wipe and I could easily be in Calcutta on a tram. It’s a fantastic crisscrossing that is like a Robert Frank photo. Visually I was very excited about shooting the cities as if they were one, because it is also the
state of mind of an immigrant.’
Nair used her own experience of living in New York to tap into the mind of her characters. She says, ‘When immigrants look out of the window in Manhattan it is not the Hudson that they see, but the Ganges. That happens to us and
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cinema is a very potent tool to express it.’
I The Namesake, Cinewor/d Renfrew Street, Tue 20 Feb, 7.30pm & Wed 27 Feb, 2pm.
I Buenos Aires 1 977 Brutal and atmospheric Bolivian dramatisation based on the testimony of the real life survivors of Argentina's brutal military regime of the 19/08 and 808. GFII Sun I8 Feb, 8.45pm 8 Mon 19 Feb, 2.30pm.
I Catch a Fire Powerful true life drama about an oil refinery foreman in South Africa who became a radicalised freedom fighter when his family was persecuted by a police chief. Cineworld Fienfrew Street,
Wed 27 Feb, 7. 30pm & Thu 22 Feb, 2pm.
I Days of Glory Epic and heartbreaking war film about the many heroic North Africans who fought for France during WWII without recognition. This compelling and involving film stars the cream of Moroccan and Algerian cinema. GFT. Thu 22 Feb. 8.20pm.
I Everything’s Gone Green Any film scripted by Douglas Coupland has got to be worth a look. This bittersweet comedy about one young man's quest to make a quick buck was a huge hit in Canada. Cinewor/d Renfrew Street, Wed 2/ Feb. 8.45pm 8. Thu 22 Feb, 1.30pm.
I Finding Bob McArthur Former Edinburgh International Film Festival director Jim Hickey is in the director‘s chair for this mockumentary about an acclaimed Scottish filmmaker preparing to receive a lifetime achievement award. GFT, Fri 16 Feb. 8.30pm.
i If) Feb 700/ THE LIST 19