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Friday July 20, 2007
"This is a disaster isn't it!" Mr Bingley
I recorded "Bride and Prejudice" recently, as I thought it would make the perfect viewing on a wet afternoon with the knitting. I had been so keen to see it ever since I listened to a radio item when they were in the process of filming. Despite much criticism from the Jane Austen Society prior to its release, they were won over I think by a special preview for them in Bath. I thought then as I do now that it was a simply perfect idea; the plot itself is tailor-made for an Indian interpretation. Having seen it, I am even more impressed; like Elizabeth Bennet our new heroine, Lalita Bakshi, is an intelligent modern woman in a society undergoing change. Her major motivations go well beyond making a perfect marriage to a rich man.
I cannot think why anyone would be at all concerned by this movie idea. It is a lovely interpretation, and is not even slightly pretending to be a film of the book; to add to all that it makes a fine quality job of what it is intended to be. The screenplay is excellent, adapting much dialogue from "Pride and Prefjudice" while remaining completely convincing in the language of today.
I must also say, it included one of the nicest interpretations of Mr Collins I have ever seen. The excellent actor Nitin Ganatra plays Mr Kohli (Kohli Sahib), an Indian now living in the US and completely obsessed with and enjoying every minute of his new American way of life. He is clearly hard-working and keen for others to enjoy everything with him. Although clearly a figure of fun, he offers a plausible reason for a modern audience to understand why Lalita's best friend Chandra would choose to marry him - she justifies her choice by saying he is "a good man" and there is more than appears on the surface. Her equivalent Austen character Charlotte Lucas rather more poignantly illustrates the plight of the plain unmarried woman in her society, by expressing her fear that she may not get a better offer. This may also be true of modern India (for plain women of a certain class), I don't know; however a Bollywood musical shows only beautiful actors, so they did not explore that idea.
Now you must read a proper review - I read this after my own ramblings and am delighted that it expresses much my own views. I could be a reviewer!! ... but for the small fact that my command of the language is not so adept.
"...these shortcomings .... are largely irrelevant to the merit and entertainment value inherent in Bride and Prejudice. .... this film is no more than a clothesline on which brilliantly colored bed linen and clothing has been hung out to dry and which are now dancing in the wind, creating fantastic displays of movement and images. This film deserves to be viewed from a fresh perspective. Yes, Austen's novel has been bowdlerized into pulp, but the shards have been turned into flares illuminating another purpose altogether."
Finally - the real disaster. I spent many hours, including those watching the above film, knitting the cricket sweater. I completed a 4 inch welt,(all in the round, so the whole sweater), changed to a second ball of the other dye lot, and knitted 2 more inches. I realised suddenly in full daylight that the colours of the two dyes are completely different from one another. One is a positively yellow ecru, and the other much more white. I find it amazing that this was not obvious in the ball - but it was not. Further, I did some weighing and calculations and am dubious that there will be enough wool for the sweater. So - I have had to go back to the attic stash; I have found eleven 50g balls of the same wool type and started all over again. I only hope Lloyd is still interested in cricket next year as it seems unlikely that this project will be completed in time for any play this season.....
I am thinking that these disastrous dye lots experiences of late should be teaching me something. I have done this kind of stuff often in the past but since my teenage years I always found dyes to be very consistent, even between lots. I am thinking back and wonder if the difference is that in the past I often worked with shetland tweedy blends which better lend themselves more to the intended trompe l'oeil effect than plain colours. I think if I plan to try this again I will definitely be knitting experimental swatches before I start.
Posted by Christina at 7:20 AM. Category: Knitting
