USA
Faith & Film: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Most summer movies are targeted to young audiences who are out of school, looking for something to do with their free time. So if the latest superheroes action movie isn’t exactly your cup of tea, it’s good to know that there are at least a few films targeted to “more mature” audiences.
At a matinee this Memorial Day, a group of gray-haired patrons packed a theater showing “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.” In this entertaining movie, six British men and women approaching retirement, see a brochure for a beautiful, reasonably priced hotel in India. Ready to try something different and exotic, these people take a plane to India. The hotel, in serious disrepair, leaves much to be desired. Managing the hotel is Sonny (Dev Patel, from “Slumdog Millionaire”) who is young, energetic, and eager to please. However, his management skills are sadly lacking. In addition, Sonny’s mother is there to constantly remind him of his failures, and thwart his romantic interests.
Marigold Hotel feels like a throwback to movies of the ’80s and ’90s in which British people go abroad to scenic countries to find love and fulfillment (e.g. “A Room with a View,” “Enchanted April.”) So there’s something familiar about this movie. We can guess that the retirees will, in some way, find what they’re looking for, despite the crumbling hotel. Romance is still possible for these seniors. There’s even hope for conversion for the worst curmudgeons along the way.
The movie is helped tremendously by its great cast of comic actors. Judi Dench plays Evelyn, a recently widow, still grieving the loss of her husband. Maggie Smith is Muriel, a bitter woman needing hip surgery. I don’t think there is a better comic actress anywhere than Maggie Smith. Tom Wilkinson is Graham, with a history in India, trying to find a lover he hasn’t seen in decades.
Director John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”) does a good job balancing comedy and drama. He also balances the exotic color and allure of India with the rundown hotel, crowds, noise and traffic. It’s a shock to the system of the six retirees. Some deal with it better than others. However, all are changed by their experience in this very different country.
If your hair has at least a little gray in it, and you like great British actors in exotic locations, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is for you. It’s a great way to spend a couple of hours on a hot summer afternoon.
Tom Condon, OP
Participating universities/colleges included Albertus Magnus College, Connecticut; Caldwell College, New Jersey; Dominican College, New York; Dominican University, California; Dominican University, IllinoisL; Edgewood College, Wisconsin; Molloy College, New York; Mt. St. Mary’s College in New York; University of Missouri; Siena Heights University, Michigan; St. Catherine’s College, Louisville, Kentucky; St. Thomas Aquinas College, New York; and for the first time, the University Central de Bayamon from Puerto Rico.
On the next day the participants were ready to put their “preaching into action.” They spent the day in immersion sites ministering to the poor at the Pilsen Neighborhoods soup kitchen, the children of San Miguel School, caring for the earth at Urban Habitat, ministering to former incarcerated peoples at St. Leonard’s Ministries, helping the elderly at H.O.M.E., and working with immigrants wanting to learn English at Casa de Providencia. Once again we added time for “Theological Reflection.” There was a wonderful sharing of stories, people, reactions, fears, attitudes, and underlying issues. Many of the students were so moved by their experiences that they made commitments to get more involved with their own communities back home.
Highlighting the conference are the morning and evening prayer services prepared by the students. Students use their creativity, musical talents and giftedness of voice to lead the entire group in prayer which begins and ends each day. This is but one of the elements of the conference that students enjoy immensely and plan on recreating on their college campuses. At the closing liturgy, each student presented his or her individual action plan which is a vehicle for incorporating what they learned at the conference into their own lives and the life of their campus. It was moving to witness each student making a commitment to continuing the “Holy Preaching.” Each then received the Dominican Cross and was commissioned to go forth and preach the “Good News” to their fellow students.
