Been awhile since I sat down to a subbed foreign film, though I used to watch quite a few. Today I enjoyed The Lunchbox, an Indian film that came out quietly at the end of 2013. Starring longtime Indian actor Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur of recent Homeland fame, it is the story of a misplaced lunch. Every morning Ila makes lunch for her husband, which is delivered by India’s famed lunch system. However, it starts making it to the wrong desk, and is delivered instead to a nearly retired Saajan. Ila was hoping her extra effort at cooking would grab her straying husband’s attention. While it doesn’t reach her husband, it does revitalize Saajan. He and Ila start passing notes through the lunchbox delivery system.
The film is sweet and touching, in a quiet way. Ila and Saajan begin to confide in each other, Ila about her inattentive and wandering husband, Saajan about his loneliness since the passing of his wife. The two continue to grow closer without ever having met, and the ending is poignant and sincere. A very endearing film.
Jons Movie Takes 