Every Good Marriage Begins with Tears is a 2006[1]Britishdocumentary film produced, directed and written by Simon Chambers. The film is about two sisters born and raised in London in the traditions of their native Bangladesh, going through the process of arranged marriages to men chosen by their parents.
Shahanara Begum is quick-witted, coarse-mannered, in her early 20s and has embraced Western life. But her lifestyle has turned her father to banish her from the family. To pacify him and heal old wounds with her mother, she agrees to marry a man that her family has chosen for her. The film begins with her meeting him at the airport for the first time since they were wed in Bangladesh six months prior. Midway through the film, we learn it was an unhappy marriage and, having left after a few months, she was again banished from her family and dating another (also married) older man.
Meanwhile, Shahanara's younger sister, Hushnara Begum, is submissive, devout, quiet, and dutiful, and obeys her father and their domineering elder sister. Hushnara is being groomed for her own arranged marriage, something that at the age of 19 she does not feel ready for. When her parents inform her they have decided she will marry a man in Bangladesh that she has never met, she agrees. However, as her wedding day draws closer, her misgivings grow stronger.
The thrust of the film is on Hushnara's wedding in Bangladesh—the only time in which Bangladeshi women are treated like royalty (literally being hand-fed)-- yet the main protagonist is clearly Shahanara. When her father excludes her from the airplane tickets for the wedding, Shahanara buys her own and plans to sneak into the wedding. However, this plan backfires when she learns her mother-in-law had trekked through the floods to beg her to reunite with her estranged husband.
The effects of Shahanara's turbulent relationship with her family becomes starkly apparent in the scenes after the wedding, as she wanders awkwardly around a city in Bangladesh, keeping her distance. Later, back in London, we see she has left the older man and is now obsessed with a TV show host. As one reviewer writes, "Despite her claims to 'independence' she [Shahanara] appears to move from one man to another, claiming that each of them offers her the support and understanding that her family has denied her. Her quest for the idolized TV presenter has a somewhat painful quality, and viewers may well wonder what lies ahead for this woman."[2]
Despite having misgivings (and actually fainting during her wedding), we later see Hushnara back in London, flirting playfully with her new husband. The film ends with the eldest sister offering to arrange a marriage for Simon (the director).
Developmentedit
Every Good Marriage Begins with Tears takes its title from an old Kyrgyz saying.[3] The film is produced, directed, written by Simon Chambers. It was Chambers' feature debut after several documentary shorts.[4]
Releaseedit
Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears is distributed by Films Transit International.[5] On 3 November 2006, it received its world premiere at Sheffield Doc/Fest.[3] On 26th in the same month, it was screened at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in Amsterdam.[4][6] On 13 March 2007, it was screened at the Oxford International Documentary Film Festival. On 27 April of the same year, it was screened at the East End Film Festival. In June 2007, it was screened at the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) Film Festival.[7] It was also screened at Film Southasia in Nepal.[8] On 30 June 2013, it was screened at Cutting East Film Festival.[9]
On 21 May 2009, the film was broadcast by BBC Four on documentary series Storyville.[10] It was bought by around 20 countries for television transmission.[11]
Receptionedit
Leslie Felperin of Variety said, "Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears takes a humorous and deeply personal look at the experience of two London-based girls of Bangladeshi extraction whom their family tries to marry off."[4]
Diana Lodderhose of OPEN said, "...the film explores the universal theme of love and generational conflict between the daughters’ ideas and their parents. It dispels myths about Islam's treatment of women and puts a human face on the communities lately being targeted as a result of the terrorist attacks on the West."[12]
Mark Deming of The New York Times described it as "Two sisters living in England whose family have raised them in the traditions of their native Bangladesh have very different perspectives on the issue of arranged marriage."[3]
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam said, "The film offers a rare, candid and humorous glimpse into the life of a family and the clash of generations and cultures."[6] Cutting East Film Festival said, "This funny poignant film gives an insight into the effect both positive and negative an arranged marriage has on a family and on the community."[9]
^"Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears". The Guardian. 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^Johnson, Patricia Lyons (2012). "[Review] Every Good Marriage Begins with Tears". Visual Anthropology. 25 (3): 228–230. doi:10.1080/08949468.2012.629595. S2CID 144906852.
^ abcDeming, Mark (2013). . Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. New York. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^ abcFelperin, Leslie (20 December 2006). "Review: 'Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears'". Variety. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^"Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears". Film Transit International. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^ ab. International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^. RAI Film Festival. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^"Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears". Film Southasia. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^ ab"Features". Cutting East Film Festival. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^"Storyville, Every Good Marriage Begins with Tears". BBC Four. 21 May 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^"Cowboys in India". Film Southasia. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^Lodderhose, Diana (8 August 2009). "Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears". India: OPEN. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
Every Good Marriage Begins with Tears trailer on YouTube
November 01, 2023
every, good, marriage, begins, with, tears, 2006, british, documentary, film, produced, directed, written, simon, chambers, film, about, sisters, born, raised, london, traditions, their, native, bangladesh, going, through, process, arranged, marriages, chosen,. Every Good Marriage Begins with Tears is a 2006 1 British documentary film produced directed and written by Simon Chambers The film is about two sisters born and raised in London in the traditions of their native Bangladesh going through the process of arranged marriages to men chosen by their parents Every Good Marriage Begins with TearsPromotional posterDirected bySimon ChambersWritten bySimon ChambersProduced bySimon ChambersStarringShahanara Begum Hushnara BegumNarrated bySimon ChambersEdited byBenjamin Putland Emiliano BattistaMusic byRabindranath Tagore Odithi MohsinDistributed byFilms Transit InternationalRelease date3 November 2006 2006 11 03 Sheffield Doc Fest Running time62 minutesCountryUnited KingdomLanguagesEnglish Bengali Contents 1 Overview 2 Development 3 Release 4 Reception 5 Awards and nominations 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksOverview editShahanara Begum is quick witted coarse mannered in her early 20s and has embraced Western life But her lifestyle has turned her father to banish her from the family To pacify him and heal old wounds with her mother she agrees to marry a man that her family has chosen for her The film begins with her meeting him at the airport for the first time since they were wed in Bangladesh six months prior Midway through the film we learn it was an unhappy marriage and having left after a few months she was again banished from her family and dating another also married older man Meanwhile Shahanara s younger sister Hushnara Begum is submissive devout quiet and dutiful and obeys her father and their domineering elder sister Hushnara is being groomed for her own arranged marriage something that at the age of 19 she does not feel ready for When her parents inform her they have decided she will marry a man in Bangladesh that she has never met she agrees However as her wedding day draws closer her misgivings grow stronger The thrust of the film is on Hushnara s wedding in Bangladesh the only time in which Bangladeshi women are treated like royalty literally being hand fed yet the main protagonist is clearly Shahanara When her father excludes her from the airplane tickets for the wedding Shahanara buys her own and plans to sneak into the wedding However this plan backfires when she learns her mother in law had trekked through the floods to beg her to reunite with her estranged husband The effects of Shahanara s turbulent relationship with her family becomes starkly apparent in the scenes after the wedding as she wanders awkwardly around a city in Bangladesh keeping her distance Later back in London we see she has left the older man and is now obsessed with a TV show host As one reviewer writes Despite her claims to independence she Shahanara appears to move from one man to another claiming that each of them offers her the support and understanding that her family has denied her Her quest for the idolized TV presenter has a somewhat painful quality and viewers may well wonder what lies ahead for this woman 2 Despite having misgivings and actually fainting during her wedding we later see Hushnara back in London flirting playfully with her new husband The film ends with the eldest sister offering to arrange a marriage for Simon the director Development editEvery Good Marriage Begins with Tears takes its title from an old Kyrgyz saying 3 The film is produced directed written by Simon Chambers It was Chambers feature debut after several documentary shorts 4 Release editEvery Good Marriage Begins With Tears is distributed by Films Transit International 5 On 3 November 2006 it received its world premiere at Sheffield Doc Fest 3 On 26th in the same month it was screened at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in Amsterdam 4 6 On 13 March 2007 it was screened at the Oxford International Documentary Film Festival On 27 April of the same year it was screened at the East End Film Festival In June 2007 it was screened at the Royal Anthropological Institute RAI Film Festival 7 It was also screened at Film Southasia in Nepal 8 On 30 June 2013 it was screened at Cutting East Film Festival 9 On 21 May 2009 the film was broadcast by BBC Four on documentary series Storyville 10 It was bought by around 20 countries for television transmission 11 Reception editLeslie Felperin of Variety said Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears takes a humorous and deeply personal look at the experience of two London based girls of Bangladeshi extraction whom their family tries to marry off 4 Diana Lodderhose of OPEN said the film explores the universal theme of love and generational conflict between the daughters ideas and their parents It dispels myths about Islam s treatment of women and puts a human face on the communities lately being targeted as a result of the terrorist attacks on the West 12 Mark Deming of The New York Times described it as Two sisters living in England whose family have raised them in the traditions of their native Bangladesh have very different perspectives on the issue of arranged marriage 3 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam said The film offers a rare candid and humorous glimpse into the life of a family and the clash of generations and cultures 6 Cutting East Film Festival said This funny poignant film gives an insight into the effect both positive and negative an arranged marriage has on a family and on the community 9 Awards and nominations editYear Award Category Result2006 Royal Anthropological Institute Best Documentary WonRomadoc WonLa Huesca International Film Festival WonIsmalia International Film Festival WonGrierson Awards Best Newcomer NominatedParnu Honorable Mention NominatedSee also editArranged marriage in the Indian subcontinent British BangladeshiReferences edit Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears The Guardian 2006 Retrieved 1 August 2015 Johnson Patricia Lyons 2012 Review Every Good Marriage Begins with Tears Visual Anthropology 25 3 228 230 doi 10 1080 08949468 2012 629595 S2CID 144906852 a b c Deming Mark 2013 Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears 2006 Movies amp TV Dept The New York Times New York Archived from the original on 24 October 2013 Retrieved 1 August 2015 a b c Felperin Leslie 20 December 2006 Review Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears Variety Retrieved 1 August 2015 Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears Film Transit International Retrieved 1 August 2015 a b Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 1 August 2015 Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears 11 RAI Film Festival Archived from the original on 12 March 2016 Retrieved 1 August 2015 Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears Film Southasia Retrieved 1 August 2015 a b Features Cutting East Film Festival Retrieved 1 August 2015 Storyville Every Good Marriage Begins with Tears BBC Four 21 May 2009 Retrieved 1 August 2015 Cowboys in India Film Southasia Retrieved 1 August 2015 Lodderhose Diana 8 August 2009 Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears India OPEN Retrieved 1 August 2015 External links editEvery Good Marriage Begins with Tears at IMDb Every Good Marriage Begins with Tears trailer on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Every Good Marriage Begins with Tears amp oldid 1118989123, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
