He wondered why his father never taught him to brush his teeth or not scratch his balls in public. Balram the main character in The White Tiger had a moment when he realized he wasn’t all he could be. It was not the typical movie from India that I watch. If cynicism was salt and the movie was popcorn, the salt would render it inedible.

But if that is your type of movie, you will love it.

This story examines the caste system with the tale of Balram who leaves his tiny village to work for an affluent family. He cherishes this way of life and his masters thinking they will take care of him forever. When they tell him he is one of the family, he really does believe it. Adarsh Gourav was so convincing as the impoverished servant, I had to look him up so see what other work he had done.

Another thing I had to do was suspend my African American beliefs so that I could appreciate how other people live. It was difficult not to measure it by my values instead of allowing the story to play out. It is one of the things I have begun to appreciate about stories from other cultures. Even so there were times I wanted him to punch them in face and run. This movie is in English, but use the subtitles because they talk fast.

I was impressed that Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico) in addition to starring in the project, also produced it. I am always about #girlpower and women being able to tell the stories they want to tell.

The other movie I enjoyed was Intouchables with Omar Sy and Francois Cluzet which was based on a true story. In this story, Cluzet plays Philippe, a quadriplegic who hires an unlikely full time caregiver, a young man, Omar Sy from the projects.

These men share their ways of life with each other. Philippe introduces Driss to classical music, opera and art. Driss teaches Philippe how to smoke weed, go to massage parlors and date. Sy is big right now because of Lupin, but this film was made in 2011, which reveals his talent has been around a while.

It is a fun movie, in French so you won’t be able to multi task while reading subtitles.

Both of these movies, The White Tiger and Intouchables are available on Netflix. They will break up the series binging with some lighthearted thought provoking movies.