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(great pleasure)
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
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What a "grois fargenign" it was to see the
movie, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,"
starring Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Penelope
Wilton, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson,
Ronald Pickup, Celia Imrie, and Dev Patel.
Here's a Yiddish guide to the movie:
"tsuriktsien zikh" (to retire)
"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," produced
by John Madden, follows seven British
retirees/pensioners who decide to "outsource" their retirement to less
expensive and seemingly exotic India.
"alt" and "sheyn" (old and beautiful)
The retirement hotel is run by the "yung"
and eager, Sonny (Dev Patel). It is pitched
as a place for the elderly and beautiful,
and is located in Jaipur, India.
Jaipur (the Pink City) is in the northern part of India. The local transport is auto rickshaws, rickshaws and hired cars.
"fraye" (leisure)
The guests, all of whom have visions of a
life with leisure, find the palace a shell of
its former self.
"teylin zikh mit" (to share)
Though the hotel/environment is less
luxurious than they imagined, the residents
are forever transformed by their shared
experiences.
"leyn" (life)
"libshaft" (love)
The residents discover that life and love can
begin again when you let go of the past.
"shidekh" (arranged marriage)
Sonny's mother, Lillete Dubey, wants him
back in Delhi for an arranged marriage,
but Sonny is in love with Sunaina (Tea
Desae), who works at Evelyn's call centre.
"matsliakhdik" (successful)
Sonny has more successful brothers and
each own a third of the hotel. They want it
knocked down.
"umglik" (disaster)
Sonny's mother declares the hotel a financial disaster and asks the residents to
relocate.
"kompyuter" (computer)
Muriel sneaks access to Sonny's computer.
After examining the accounts, she discovers
that the business plan is in fact sound.
"shtele" (job)
Discovering that she cannot even afford
to live at the Marigold, Evelyn gets her
first job, advising the staff of a marketing
call centre how to better interact with
their British contacts.
"farhitn" (to pretend)
Madge joins an exclusive club where she
fails to pass herself off as Princess Margaret. When she asks to be seated at
a table with a rich bachelor, it turns out to
be Norman, who is having no success
romancing the women there.
Madge has had several unsuccessful marriages and, like Norman, wants fun, adventure and a new man.
"lend" (hip)
Prior to arriving at the Marigold, Muriel
was living in a flat alone. She was bitter, and the doctor tells her that the only
alternative to a six-month wait for a hip
replacement is to be "outsourced" to India.
Here, the operation can be scheduled without delay.
"fraydlekhkayt" (kindness)
or "guthartsikayt"
Muriel's doctor takes her to the home of the hotel cleaner, where she is surprised
to find the young woman grateful for her
kindness. The cleaner simply acknowledges her, and Muriel confides about her life and
service managing a family household and
raising their children, which ended in an
abrupt dismissal.
"mevayesh zayn" (to humiliate)
Jean is attracted to the retired judge. She
makes a rare excursion to follow him, but is
humiliated when he explains that he is gay.
Graham is reunited with his former lover, who has lived a generally happy life in an arranged marriage of mutual trust and respect. After confiding his contentment to Norman, Graham dies peacefully of a heart attack.
"Epes tsu essen?" (something to eat?)
The meals at the Marigold Hotel are too
spicy.
"oylem" (audience)
According to Nicholaus Mills (Special to CNN), "The popularity of 'Marigond Hotel'
tells us that unlike the critics, today's
audiences don't find the struggles of the
old and middle-aged less worthy of their
attention than those of the young. But the
charm of the film isn't confined to its
depiction of the elderly trying to make the
most of the rest of their lives."
"aktyor' (actor)
The Times of India and The Telegraph in
England have categorized the movie as
little more than entertainment for people
in their 50s starring actors in their 70s.
"aktrise" (actress)
Actresses Maggie Smith and Judi Dench
are both 77 years of age.
"khasene' (marriage)
Once a reluctant investor provides the
needed funds to keep the Marigold Hotel
open, Sonny and Sunaina confront his
mother, who concedes to his marriage plans.
"devartn" (to expect)
"der aroyskuk" (expectation)
Evelyn: Nothing here has worked out quite
as I expected.
Muriel: Most things don't. But sometimes
what happens instead is the good
stuff.
(quote from the movie)
"fliplats"(airport)
Jean and Doug prepare to leave the
Marigold Hotel and return to England, but
a traffic jam stops them from getting to the
airport...Jean leaves him (literally and
figuratively) to get there in a one-person
pedicab.
'tai" (tea)
Evelyn: Yes. [It's a builder's tea]
Evelyn: We dunk biscuits into the tea and
letting it soak in there and trying to
calculate the exact moment before the
biscuit dissolves, when you whip it up into
your mouth and enjoy the blissful union of
biscuits and tea combined. It's more
relaxing than it sounds.
(Quote from movie)
Orderly: My wife is from Mumbai.
Muriel: Well, don't blame me; you married
her!
(Quote from movie)
"zok" (sock)
At the end of the movie, Norman can be
found washing socks and Carol reads the
Kama Sutre in their room.
-----------------------------------------
Marjorie Wolfe's favorite line from the
movie: "Everything will be all right in the
end...if it's not all right, then it's not the
end."
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