India
Annual Prudential Spirit of Community Awards
By GTVW Staff
Photos Agency
The top two youth volunteers of 2015 from each state and Washington, D.C. will gather for the 20th annual Prudential Spirit of Community State Awards Ceremony. From 6-7 p.m., they will hear from Prudential Financial Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld, a keynote speaker and five past honorees who have remained involved in service.
Midnight’s Children will set you up at night
By Jenny Alvarez
Photos: Courtesy
A film by Oscar®-nominated director Deepa Mehta, based on the universally heralded novel by world-renowned author Salman Rushdie and adapted by Rushdie himself (who also serves as the film’s all-knowing narrator), MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN is a tale at once sweeping in scope and intimate in tone. Full of heartbreak, hope, comedy, tragedy and a considerable amount of magic, the film conjures characters and images as rich and unforgettable as the vast nation it celebrates.
At the stroke of midnight on August 15th, 1947, as India declares independence from Great Britain, two babies are switched at birth by a nurse in a Bombay hospital. And so it is that Saleem Sinai (portrayed as an adult by SatyaBhabha), the bastard child of a beggar woman, and Shiva, the only son of a wealthy couple, are fated to live the destinies meant for each other. Over the next three decades, Saleem and Shiva find themselves on opposite sides of many a conflict, whether it be because of class, politics, romantic rivalry, or the constantly shifting borders that are drawn every time neighbors become enemies and decide to split their newborn nation into two, and then three, warring countries. Through it all, the lives of Saleem and Shiva are mysteriously intertwined. They are also inextricably linked to the history of India itself, which takes them on a whirlwind journey full of trials, triumphs and disasters.
This movie is at once a fascinating family saga and an astonishing evocation of a vast land and its people–a brilliant incarnation of the universal human comedy. Midnight’s Children stands apart as both an epochal work of fiction and a brilliant performance by one of the great director Deepa who makes a mix of magical thinking and political reality. Despite of certain sensitive topics and passages are crafted with amazing skill, and the narrator is a pleasant enough fellow. Great movie with great Indian taste!
Singer and Actress Jennifer López will be in Hispanicize Event Artist Q&A
By GalaTView Staff
JLo has cemented an international reputation as a singer and producer of Latin music. During the course of her remarkable career, JLO, will be part of many talents such as Marc Anthony, India, Christina Aguilera, Tito Nieves, Víctor Manuelle, Tito Puente, Orquesta de La Luz de Japón, and Sergio George among others. Sergios serves as founder and CEO of Top Stop Music, the independent record label that launched the career of Prince Royce and keeps pumping out musical stars such as Leslie Grace, as well as great music with the compilation SALSA GIANTS which unites biggest stars of tropical music under one project. Robert Somoza of Army Social will conduct the panel; Samoza will discuss the legendary producer’s career, achievements and the catalyst of the rebirth of tropical music.
Footnote summarizes all the references of the relationship between father and son
By Jenny Alvarez
Photo: Cortesy
Footnote is the tale of a great rivalry between a father and son. Eliezer and Uriel Shkolnik are both eccentric professors who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies. The father, Eliezer, is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work. While his son, Uriel, is an up-and-coming star in the field, who appears to feed on accolades, endlessly seeking recognition.
Then one day, the tables turn. When Eliezer learns that he is to be awarded the Israel Prize, the most valuable honor for scholarship in the country, his vanity and desperate need for validation are exposed. His son Uriel, meanwhile, is thrilled to see his father’s achievements finally recognized but, in a darkly funny twist, is forced to choose between the advancement of his own career and his father’s. Will he sabotage his father’s glory?
Their relation is very complicated between a father and son. Does Uriel give too much respect to his father? Is the price he pays too great? It’s much more a tragedy than a comedy (though it has very funny bits) and I found the focus on the word (as in “In the beginning was the word”) fascinating. “Footnote” is a decidedly male-centric film. Structurally, this film is divided into named chapters that make for cute markers but give it the not-entirely satisfying feel of a jaunty satire.
Eventually the movie focuses on an unknown that is stretched almost to the point of paradox: Is the quality of the old man’s work in academe really unsurpassed, or is it really unsatisfactory? The movie does turn out to be a fable, and a fable worth taking seriously. Finally, we won’t know the possible end but I figure out that love will win in this complex paradigm.
