Bonnie Anderson
Special to The Morning Star
Hotel Salvation is showing at the Vernon Towne Cinema, presented by the Okanagan Screen Arts Society Society, July 16.
This beautifully rendered Indian film is the debut of young director Shubhashish Bhutiani enacting a subtle family comedy-drama that anyone who has spent time with an aging parent can easily relate to.
A 77-year-old Daya Kumar has a dream and becomes convinced that his end could be near. He tells his son Rajiv this news as he wants to breathe his last in the holy city of Varanasi, India, and end the cycle of rebirth, by attaining salvation. To abide by his father’s dying wishes, a resentful Rajiv drops everything to make the journey with his demanding father.
Daya and Rajiv check into Mukti Bhawan (Hotel Salvation) in Varanasi, which is a guesthouse devoted to people wishing to die there. As the days go by, Daya starts to thrive in the hotel setting. Giving his father this chance at salvation tests the family bonds and Rajiv is torn between his responsibilities back home and trying to keep his life together while abiding by his father’s wishes.
Hotel Salvation is a film of great tenderness and a bittersweet celebration of all the things we miss when we stop looking around, acknowledging that leaving everything behind is sometimes the most natural and essential thing of all to make us realize just how amazing life can be. This melancholy story evolves with dry humour and a heartfelt warmth as father and son make peace and find love and understanding.
Hotel Salvation screens at the Vernon Towne Cinema July 16 at 5:15 and 7:45 p.m. A pre-show intro by resident filmmaker Matt McDowell and live music before the early show by Les Copeland are also on offer. Advance tickets are available at the Bean Scene Coffee House or Towne Cinema box office.
Okanagan Screen Arts Society is pleased to be in a position to offer a bursary for the 2018/2019 term to students in the arts in their quest for higher learning at a recognized post-secondary institution. Applications may be obtained at the Vernon Towne Cinema Box Office, or online at okanaganscreenarts@gmail.comand must be received by Aug. 17.
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