Great Film overall

A different way of telling a story

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Deepa Mehta, alluring 63 year old Canadian based Indian director has been married four times and is still going strong (at getting married). The 2012 edition of the Los Angeles festival of Indian Film closed shop on Sunday. April 14 with a brace of films on successive evenings by two of the best known Indian woman directors, Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta, both living outside of India. The films in question were respectively Nair's recent "Reluctant Fundamentalist" and Mehta's newly minted "Midnight's Children" based on Salman Rushdie's latest novel of the same name. The former is a treatise on Terrorism Paranoia leading to the unwitting (i.e.,"reluctant") creation of a terrorist in the wake of 9/11 hysteria, while the Mehta opus, shown here as a Sneak Preview, is a somewhat mystical tale of two boys, one from a rich family, the other from a poor one, born at midnight, on the very eve of Indian independence in August 1947, but consciously switched as an act of protest by a hospital nurse (Seema Biswas). Because this was a sneak preview full reviews are held in abeyance until the end of the month. For the moment what can be said is that the film rambles through the main events of Indian history since Partition with lots of metaphysical spin. Being a prestige film both from the point of view of director and writer the predominantly Indian audience viewed it with proper respect giving it a round of subdued applause that was more polite than appreciative at the end. Director Mehta introduced the film personally but did not stick around for a Q and A afterward. (PS: The film was a mishmosh that went nowhere -- a disappointment considering the expectations going in ...) Deepa Mehta is known for handling touchy subjects and the references in this film to Indira Gandhi, focusing on her suspension of democratic institutions during the State of Emergency (June '75 to March '77) were particularly objectionable to certain elements of India's majority Congress party. Ms. Mehta is best known for her Fire, Earth and Water trilogy all of which addressed controversial aspects of Indian society such as child marriage, prohibition of widow remarriage, and lesbianism, and were critically acclaimed world wide. The current film, however, can only be seen as a major letdown from a major Indian director. Hopefully this resourceful lady will soon have more cinematic ammunition in the folds of her colorful saris.

I have been to India. I am moderately familiar with Indian history. I had never heard of the book. I found the film very entertaining, emotionally gripping, and altogether a very interesting perspective of what the lives of children born at the stroke of independence could have been like. Of particular interest, almost a shock is a scathing assessment of Indira Gandhi, at least of a portion of her period holding power. Never mind the book, I think the film is abundant food for thought or perhaps "rethought" on how freedom and post-colonialism works and human destiny in a broader sense. One thing the story definitely confirms: Most revolutions, whatever their justification and ultimate vindication, have meant mostly disaster and misery for the first generation.

An adaptation of Salman Rushdie's 1981 novel of the same name, 'Midnight's Children' is a passable film. Go in with limited expectations & your chances of being disappointed will be less. 'Midnight's Children' Synopsis: A pair of children, born within moments of India gaining independence from Britain, grow up in the country that is nothing like their parent's generation.'Midnight's Children' is an engaging story on paper, but on celluloid, it appears clichéd. India-Pakistan conflict, is beaten to death in cinema. Sure, the novel must've been captivating, but on-screen, it looks very regular. Deepa Mehta's Direction is terrific. She makes this otherwise passable film, watchable, due to her true talent as a storyteller. Performance-Wise: Satya Bhabha delivers a sincere performance. Shriya Saran has 2 standard expressions. Siddharth tries hard to look like a menace. Darsheel Safary is very good. Seema Biswas & Ronit Roy are excellent, as ever. Others lend support.On the whole, 'Midnight's Children' is watchable, at best.

I'll make it brief. It is understandable that the lowest ratings came from the USA. The Indian sub-continent is exactly 1/2 way around the world or about 23hrs flying time (in the air) from NY. We don't get much exposure to this culture as say the UK, NZ or Australians do. Here in the US this culture is associated with newsstands and taxicabs, pity actually. I have been there several times for extended periods and appreciate the people and culture. This gives one a different perspective. I thought the Historical perspective, Love story, and dream sequences were wonderfully interwoven. Wanna hop on a plane to Delhi right now!