First Friday Film and Book Rec

While this blog is intended to focus on Bollywood films and all things filmi and fabulous, I also have a love of foreign (i.e. non-American) films, indie films and lesser known Hollywood films. I also read...a lot. I'm always thrilled when someone turns me onto a movie or book that I fall in love with so I thought I would do my part each Friday to introduce anyone who cares to some, hopefully, new friends and obsessions.

Today's recommendation in film is "A Price Above Rubies".
Actors you'll recognize: Renee Zellweger, Christopher Eccleston, Julianna Margulies

The title comes from Proverbs 31:10, in the King James translation, which says "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." This is the story of a Hasidic Jewish woman who moves to a new community so her very pious and scholarly husband can be closer the the Rabbi he studies with. Her husband lives more in the intellectual and spiritual world than the real world so his wife is relegated to the back burner of his life. The movie is about her journey to understanding her own needs and desires and that her destiny may take her away from the only community and family she has ever known.

I like this movie because I always enjoy stories about people who, despite the pain and difficulties involved,choose a new path in life though it takes them away from everything they've ever known. These stories serve as reminders to us that just when we think we've got it all figured out, life can always take us somewhere unexpected and we need to have the courage to do what's necessary to live the most honest life we can because life is too short to live the way other people, society as a whole, or any outside force thinks we should.


Today's recommendation in books is Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors

This is a work of fiction set against the historical background of the building of the Taj Mahal. It has political intrigue, romance, and architecture. It's the story of Princess Jahanara the supposed favorite child of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz. It encompasses the love story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz, Jahanara and the love her life, and that of Jahanara for her parents and her own child. It's about passion, duty, undying love and what happens when those three forces are in conflict with one another. The author really makes 17th century India come alive for his readers. I did not want to put it down, cried through the last 3 chapters and was sad to have finished it. Please give it a shot, I think you'll love it if you do.