For Real
Common Sense says
- NR
- 2013
- 86 minutes
Parents say
Kids say
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A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Get Real is a melodrama produced in India and spoken in English. It depicts some very realistic and painful emotions when a family goes through terrible times, and the mother and father fight and split up. There's lots of tension and arguing, as well as some very brief and sometimes scary flashbacks and nightmare sequences that seem to depict people in pain. There's a suggestion of a suicide attempt and a woman hitting herself out of sheer agony. A woman sings seductively on stage, a couple is shown to have been in a sexual relationship (though nothing is shown), and a man attempts to kiss a married woman. Language is mild but includes "ass," "hell," and "bastard" as well as kids calling each other "stupid" and "idiot." Even though this movie takes place mostly from the point of view of a young girl, the subject matter is very grown-up and would be upsetting for younger viewers.
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What's the story?
While waiting at the train station, 6-year-old Shruti (Zoya Siddiqi Hassan) wonders why her mother has suddenly gone away for six whole days. Her older brother Paras (Sriharsh Sharma) informs her that aliens, who can take the form of humans, are among them. When her mother, Priya (Sarita Choudhary), arrives sporting a new haircut, Shruti decides that it's not her mother but rather an alien from the Orion Galaxy. She begins avoiding her, not eating her food, and trying to figure out how to rescue her "real" mother. In reality, Priya and her husband, Ravi (Adil Hussain), are on the verge of splitting up; Ravi, a doctor, works too much and Priya gave up her promising singing career. Will Shruti be able to deal with the truth?
Is it any good?
This movie is unflinching and realistic. NYU-educated director Sona Jain has made a rare English-language Indian film, struggling for years to raise the funds and get the film produced. She landed an excellent cast, including two talented child actors as well as the lovely Sarita Choudhary, known in the U.S. for her roles in Mississippi Masala (1991) and Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996). It's hard not to admire her effort.
However, she has taken on some very difficult, delicate material, and her hand is often a bit too heavy to make it effective. Too much information about the husband and wife is withheld for too long -- and introduced gradually through mysterious and disturbing flashbacks -- so they earn very little sympathy. And approaching the story through the eyes of a child probably requires something a bit less disturbing.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about the realistic portrayal of a disintegrating marriage. How is it portrayed on-screen? Do the characters earn sympathy or scorn?
Have you ever chosen to accept an imaginary scenario rather than face something that was too painful in real life?
How high is the tension in the movie? Did you feel anxious while watching? How did the filmmaker achieve this feeling?
Would you consider the older-brother character a bully?
Movie details
- On DVD or streaming: December 3, 2013
- Cast: Sarita Choudhury, Adil Hussain, Zoya Hasan
- Director: Sona Jain
- Studio: Emerging Pictures
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters
- Run time: 86 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
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