Such a Long Journey (1998)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Sturla Gunnarsson

Writers:

Rohinton Mistry (novel)
Sooni Taraporevala (writer)

Release Date:

15 October 1999 (UK)

Plot:

Circa 1971, Gustad Noble lives in a one bedroom hall rented apartment in Byculla, Bombay. He travels...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel | Independent Film

Awards:

4 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Roshan Seth	...	Gustad Noble
Soni Razdan	...	Dilnavaz Noble
Om Puri	...	Ghulam Mohamed
Naseeruddin Shah	...	Major Jimmy Bilimoria
Ranjit Chowdhry	...	Pavement Artist
Sam Dastor	...	Dinshawji
Kurush Deboo	...	Tehmul
Pearl Padamsee	...	Mrs. Kutpitia
Vrajesh Hirjee	...	Sohrab Noble
Shazneed Damania	...	Roshan Noble
Kurush Dastur	...	Darius Noble
Noshirwan Jehangir	...	Inspector Bamji
Dinyar Contractor	...	Rabadi
Souad Faress	...	Mrs. Rabadi
Shivani Jha	...	Jasmine Rabadi

Also Known As:

Un si long voyage (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

UK | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Company:

Amy International Artists

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Gustad enters the Bank Manager's office to take the call about his daughter, as he opens the glass door, a crew member in a white t-shirt is reflected.

Soundtrack:

Ni main yaar manana ni

Fascinating and excellent film

It's really unfortunate that most people outside of Canada think that the only things that Canada produces are snow, mounties and hockey players. This film is the second superlative Canadian film I have seen within the past few weeks (the first was "The Red Violin"), far better than all but the best Hollywood efforts.

Gustad Noble is anything but that; he is a middle-aged Parsi bank employee in Bombay in the 1970s. This film sensitively explores various things that happen to him concerning his family, his friends and his work, and their effect on him. At the same time, it is a fascinating, and, I would assume, accurate, portrayal of middle-class, urban life in India at the time.

However, I was somewhat prepared for this, having read Rohinton Mistry's book a few years ago. The film, as might be expected, cannot capture all the complexities of the book, but, if you want to read a really good book, and see a really good film, read and see "Such a Long Journey".