Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
Stream HERE!
Our next Rialto Recommends comes to us from India and is the definition of an epic. LAGAAN: ONCE UPON A TIME IN INDIA is lavish, rousing entertainment in the old-fashioned tradition of Hollywood musicals. In 1890s India, an arrogant British commander challenges the harshly taxed residents of Champaner to a high-stakes cricket match. The Seattle Times raved "A great big Bollywood musical, complete with song and dance and doomed love triangles and elegantly photographed men playing cricket. And it's terrific fun, in a way that only great big musical fantasies can be." While the Los Angeles Times said "An affectionate homage to a popular genre that raises it to the level of an art film with fully drawn characters, a serious underlying theme, and a sophisticated style and point of view." LAGAAN is streaming on Netflix. If you've never seen a Bollywood film, this is a great introduction.
