Sundance Film Festival ’15

Umrika

2015 • Comedy, Drama • 98 minutes • 204 ratings • 37 reviews

Directed by Prashant Nair

Starring Suraj Sharma, Tony Revolori, Smita Tambe, Adil Hussain and Rajesh Tailang

When a young village boy discovers that his brother, long believed to be in America, has actually gone missing, he begins to invent letters on his behalf to save their mother from heartbreak, all the while searching for him.

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Reviews

  • ★★★★ review by Brighid on Letterboxd

    Suraj Sharma is one of the most captivating, young screen presences. Timothee Chalamet? Never heard of him!!!!

  • ★★★★ review by JamesPasier on Letterboxd

    Really enjoyed this even though it runs longer then it should (or, atleast feels like it does). The performances are solid and the film has a strong emotional core.

    This feels personal.

  • ★★★★ review by TheRebexa on Letterboxd

    Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi) is an Indian actor to continue to watch. Apart from being attractive as all Hell, he's also a genuine and earnest actor that's very adept at carrying a movie. This is a very well-done Indian drama with a very original and intriguing plot that's also simple and very believable. It perfectly juxtaposes the differences between Indian and American culture by showing us Ramakant's life from a small village to crowded Indian tenement housing, while continually listing stereotyped and grandiose ideas of what life in America must be like. This film is a nice meditation on expectations and limitations that are put on people in Indian culture (e.g. who you can marry, the older brother is expected to do more, etc) without belittling the culture in any way. My favorite moment was when they were watching "Temple of Doom" and Indiana hacks at the bridge to stop Mola Ram and the audience yells angrily, "Don't hurt brother Amrish!" Even that moment was a perfect example of different perspectives (also "Temple of Doom" sucks).

  • ★★★★½ review by ShantiSal on Letterboxd

    Not as 'feelgood' as suggested on the DVD case

  • ★★★½ review by Mattes on Letterboxd

    Mitte 1980 macht sich Udai auf den Weg nach Amerika, hierfür verlässt er seine Familie und sein kleines Dorf in Indien. Er versprach sich in regelmäßigen Abständen bei seiner Mutter via Post zu melden doch dieses geschieht erst nach einer langen weile. Sein kleiner Bruder Ramakant kommt jedoch dahinter das die Briefe nicht von Udai stammen sondern von seinem Vater / dem Postboten des Dorfes entsprungen sind, also macht er sich auf die Suche nach dem älterem Vorbild.

    Wer es flott und spannend mag ist bei diesem Film falsch. Umrika lässt sich Zeit um den Zuschauer in die Welt eines Indischen jungen Mann ein zu führen der bis zu seiner Volljährigkeit nur sein kleines Dorf und das angrenzende größere Dorf kennt. Ein Schöner Film für einen Verregneten kalten Abend im Bett 3,5 von 5 Sternen.

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