Arranged Marriage

Vassar was showing Monsoon Wedding today. I have a mix feeling about this film. The story line is great in a way that eventually you will get to know all the characters. I absolutely love the use of rich colors throughout the film. I admire the dances and Indian techno. Indian wedding is much more fun than Chinese and Vietnamese. Marigolds (Bong Van Tho) play a big part in Indian traditions. I am wondering what the significant meaning behind it. In Vietnamese, Bong Van Tho (marigolds) mean lifelong flowers. They play a big part in the Vietnamese too but I have never seen them being used for weddings. The bad part about this movie is the slow paste. The worse part is the lip-syncs, they don’t match up at all. It gets really annoying.

Anyways, I am not going into details about the movie but one of the theme is about arranged marriage. It actually works. Arranged marriages tend to be more stable than regular marriages. It’s really hard to married someone you don’t know but the love eventually grow. Your relationship will eventually build up and you’ll learn to appreciate each other. In contrast, unarranged relationships usually go down the drain. The first three months are the best part of the relationship. After that, it starts to drift away. You start to get bored. You no longer appreciate your partner. You just don’t care anymore. A year or two goes by, you can’t take it anymore and want a divorce. Ok enough of this crap.

No one can sing this song better than Don Ho (I am talking about the Vietnamese Don Ho, not the Hawaiian Don Ho). It is one of his best performance because he puts so much soul and feeling into it. Specially the bridge part.

Anh den voi em, voi tat ca tam hon.
Em den voi anh, voi tat ca trai tim.
Ta den voi nhau, muon mang cho don dau.
Mot lan cho mai nho thuong dai lau.

I came to you with all of my soul.
You came to me with all of your heart.
But it’s too late, for love meant to be.
For love to stay with me always.