GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

transkei The fact that this movie "American Desi" has become the focus of these ABCD's is sheer proof that they have missed the boat on the whole issue surrounding The Diaspora experience. Spoof it may be; but anything hedging upon reality; they will never know ...Back in the 70's when "East Meets West" / "Puhrab Au Pachim" came out, many questioned the actuality of such lifestyles actually becoming a reality.late 80's Buddha of Suburbia" by Hanif Quraishi/Ivory/Merchant production came out, giving us a truly deep insight to this sad phenomenon. Of the many Indo-Pak people I deal with - aged over 30, very few have ever heard of this movie - let alone have seen it.What is captured in Buddha of Suburbia is the many nuances and differences that exist between the old and the new - each taking pot-shots at each other and each looking more ridiculous than the other. I found the pace to be right on the mark - missing nothing.I suppose - having lived directly within these various cultures does give one a better understanding/insight to what Hanif is driving at. The story - told through Naveen's eyes really encapsulated every sublime - bizarre aspect of these cultures in conflict.Later movies such as Mississippi Masala and Monsoon Wedding (both worthy of mention) seem to fall a little short of The Buddha of Suburbia when dealing with so sensitive a topic and people ...What is more sad, is that many of those who do cleave (by whichever degree) to their culture tradition, language, religion, culinary skills, mode of dress, etc., are erroneously ridiculed as being FOB's.While the FOB's shake their heads in utter amazement at how distanced, these DESI's are from anything pertaining to India - these ABCD's turn up their noses at these "ignorant" FOB's. So it is, that these two groupings rarely connect with each other. In the DESI's attempt to become so modern/enlightened and superior, they sorely lack openness and understanding ...

ytbufflo-1 I am coming out fighting here because this film was so well shot and so well cast that I am twice as angry about its de-evolution than I would have been with a lesser work. Without revealing too much of the plot, I can only say that part one of my 2 VHS set was an unnerving, unfolding delight of bizarre but plausible plot developments. The lead character was suitably naif-like but also intelligent and very very open. The events that he is rapidly forced to come to terms with are the separation of his parents, the culture shock when his Pakistani roots collide with a complete breakdown of English straitlaced society in the sixties, his father's dubious transformation into the revered Buddha of Suburbia, and the turning of his cousin into a feminist militant as his best friend suddenly becomes an icon of the burgeoning punk movement in the seventies. Among other things.What made me so angry was the amount of detailed work each actor put into creating and establishing their characters in the first part, only to have the whole thing devolve into very bad porn episodes in the second part, far too many to justify plot development, and far too explicit to even seem erotic. My biggest pet peeve is when directors let their private fetishes interfere with the truth of their movie, and this to me was a supreme example.I felt a bit like I'd been invited to a party of very clever, funny strangers, only to have the doors locked and the guests not allowed to interact, and all of us forced to watch bad seventies sexploitation films instead. What an insult to the hard work of these amazing actors! Why not just make a cheeseball flick to begin with? And why cast a great lead character who can actually act, and then cut away from him whenever he is building up to a great performance? I almost felt as if he too was growing tired of the endless sex scenes where all he did was lie there pumping his pelvis for yet another breathy naked actress.Bottom line - Part One is minor genius, Part Two is second tier soap opera perversion. I know the book is quite explicit, but I felt that these fine actors were as exploited in real life as their characters were in the movie, and it made me quite angry and very uncomfortable. Only John Waters can pull off such a dubious degrading of actors and plot and have it seem artistic. My suggestion is to only watch the first part, toss the second in the proverbial rubbish heap, and you will love the Buddha forever. Score A+F=0

wuthering Then again, why should it be. Those who watch this and comment about it being vacuous, etc., did not watch the same film I did. Of course the film is less detailed than the novel. Of course there's going to be some "stereotyping". But have you ever seen a film that didn't? This film gave voice (in the body of beautiful Mr. Andrews) to a young emerging culture. That of the Indo-Brit who was born in England, not India. Trying to fit in, yet knowing the conservative party/culture at the time would not let them. While not meant to be hysterical, this film has enough laughs to help you make it through its 220 minutes. It has enough passion to help you understand the feelings. And it has enough meaning to make you understand that not all things (causes, beliefs) can be folded neatly and packaged away for American viewers.Watch this film. You will not want your time back. Cheers.

sfboy101 Naveen Andrews, probably best known to American audiences as the Indian bomb expert in "The English Patient," plays Karim, a young London high schooler in the 1970's. Karim is caught between loyalties to his mother and his father, who are going through a messy split. Susan Fleetwood is notable as the father's mistress, whose son might or might not be the hottest thing to hit the music scene since Bowie.The amazing thing about "Buddha..." is the depth of characterization. The secondary characters, and there are at least fifteen, all have their own struggles and histories. Karim floats through his world, trying to be everything to each character -- a friend, a confidant, a lover, a good son, a loyal nephew -- and finds that he can't satisfy everyone. Pay close attention to each story, such as the arranged marriage between Jamila and Changez. It's a comedy of errors orchestrated by her traditional parents that's wonderfully out-of-place for the characters who see themselves liberated members of the "me" generation.Though this is a mini-series rather than a film, the production values are pretty good. It would be a good idea to rent it for two nights, since it's long. And since it was made for TV anyway, the small screen is just right. (It was shown on a big screen at the San Francisco Gay & Lesbain film festival.)