[WQ40] The Queen of My Dreams [2024-04-06]

[hermionesviolin]

THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS
Saturday Apr 6 @ 6:30 pm
Brattle Theater

Pakistani Muslim Mariam and her Canadian-born daughter Azra come of age in two different eras against the backdrop of a shared obsession with Bollywood fantasy.

The WQ blurb says: "This at its center is a celebration of community that comes together against all odds to mourn the past, celebrate diversity and plan for the future." I think this overstates to some degree -- and sets you up to expect resolution sooner than happens -- but these elements do all show up in the film.

There was less queer content than I was expecting (given its presence in this film festival). Which is fine.

The narrative shifts between present-day 1999, 1969 Pakistan, and 1989 (the year Azra turns 12). It does a nice job of showing the generational shifts that happen (and how history repeats), and how various characters/relationships get to the strained place we first see them at (with people doing the best they know how).

The Canada parts take place in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and apparently were in fact shot on location there. One review says, "[writer-director Fawzia] Mirza, who grew up watching Bollywood movies as a young, queer Muslim in Cape Breton, N.S., says she didn't see herself in the film genre she loved."

I had not realized that the Bollywood film featured in the film is real (one review says of this film, "The title is a literal translation of “Meri Sapno Ki Rani,” the wildly popular Hindi song from 1969’s “Aradhana.” ")

Comments

[meat_and_breath]

Your girlfriend, who is taking a moment to catch up on bits of DW, loved this one.