Every Good Marriage Begins with Tears (62 mins)

UK/Bangladesh, 2006, directed by Simon Chambers

A moving account of two rebellious Bangladeshi sisters, born and raised in London, who are forced to go back to their parents’ motherland for arranged marriages. Through footage of some of their most personal moments, the film explores the conflicts between migrants to the West and their children. It also dispels some myths about Islam’s treatment of women, and puts a human face on one of the communities that is being targeted as a result of the US-led ‘war on terror’.

Summary ( Mark Deming, All Movie Guide) : Two sisters living in England whose family raised them in the traditions of their native Bangladesh have very different perspectives on the issue of arranged marriage in this documentary from filmmaker Simon Chambers. Shahanara Begum is in her early 20's and has embraced life in the West with gusto -- she speaks freely and wears loud, skimpy clothes. But Shahanara's lifestyle has turned her father against her, and hoping to pacify him, she agrees to marry a man that her family has chosen for her. However, when she discovers after the ceremony that he's decided they will live in Bangladesh rather than London, she abandons her new spouse and goes back to her other boyfriend. Meanwhile, Shahanara's younger sister Hushnara Begum is quiet and dutiful, and when her folks inform her they've decided she will wed a man in Bangladesh she's never met, she meekly goes along. However, as Hushnara's wedding day draws closer, her misgivings grow stronger and stronger. Every Good Marriage Begins In Tears takes its title from an old Kyrgyz saying; the film received its world premiere at the 2006 Sheffield Documentary Film Festival.

 

For a review, see http://joibangla.blogspot.com/2009/05/every-good-marriage-begins-with-tears.html