IN SEARCH OF CINEMA

KABULIWALA (1961)

2012-01-30T19:45:00.000+05:30

Unfortunately or fortunately Ihaven’t read neither the original/translated timeless classic of GurudevRabindranth Tagore, nor seen the early Bengali version of the film prior towatching this Bimal Roy production. This Hindi version was inspired by the tremendous success of TapanSinha’s Bengali film by the same name, starring Bengali cinema’s thespian actor Chhabi Biswas. The Bengali film managed to grab National Best Film Award four yearsprior this one. A spark of thought clicks in mind for a moment to read the story prior towatch the film but than I don't want to ruin the surprising benefit as a poor reader anddecided to read it once I finish the film. The result was a film that was ascommercially and critically acclaimed. I leave further analysis, commentscomparisons between the films to few Bengali cinephile buddies.

DirectorHemen Gupta and Mr. Balraj Sahni as Kabuliwala (in one of the most movingperformance of his career) successfully managed to brought the essence and soulfulemotions of Tagore’s timeless humanitarian tale on screen with few changes in original storyand adding one or two interpolations to highlight the key relationship. Both ofthem deserve applause and award. The first person narrative by Mini’s father inthe story is replaced here with linear and straight narration showing us thehomeland and Pathan’s tender relationship with his daughter Amina to cater thenaudience. But what is praiseworthy thing about direction and acting from almostall cast is that it never for single scene becomes unnatural or oversentimental melodrama. Thanks to doyen like Mr. Sahni and that sweet girl whoplayed Mini. The film evokes and makes us felt even smaller details of thestory on screen in so moving way.

I said it many times and wouldlove to repeat once again without an iota of change that if I have to choose asingle genuine Hindi film actor devoid of any theatricality or camera consciousnessseems so natural and realistic in his act on screen, it’s Mr. Balraj Sahni.Though he didn’t get more versatile roles and usually ended up playing melodramatic character roles in later part of his career, whatever he had done in ‘Do BighaZameen’, ‘Garm Hawa’ and ‘Anuradha’ is contribution unparalleled to Hindicinema.

The film has a few glitches like Balraj's messy Pathan make up, stretching twosongs towards the climax including Mini’s dream sequence and that addedunwanted scene of Pathan’s saving the girl; the film is deeply movingexperience that tugs at audience’s hearts making us felt the eternal worth ofthe visionary’s literature.

PS- Oh i just googled image of Biswas as Kabuliwala and he justs befits the Afghan compared to all so genuine gentleman look of Mr. Sahni! Eager to see the Bengali version, provided English subtitle :(

THE HUMAN CONDITION TRILOGY (Japanese) (1959-61)

2012-01-27T23:23:00.003+05:30

“True human beings always findkindred spirits.”

Director Masaki Kobayashi madetwo brilliant and unlikely Samurai cinema that pushed less on samurai swordaction and more on dark chapters of Japanese social history and his humanitarianapproach. In both ‘Hara Kiri’ and ‘Samurai Rebellion’, the protagonist is thehelpless victim against the forces of corrupt power ending up facing thesacrifice of self and family. But much before he made these two films andbrilliant supernatural ‘Kwaidan’ which won him many fame and laurels, he madeone of the most ambitious epic of lifetime. With duration of more than nine andhalf hours consists of three films, each consists of two parts, Kobayashiended up making one of the greatest monumental anti-war epic and a personal transformative journey of a soldier ever made from the land of rising sun.

The Human Condition is tale and journeyof one man’s unflinching and unconditional humanity confronting theunquestionable oppressive authority parallel to his existential despair andpersonal conflict in the time of Second World War. Though three separate films,it narrates the autobiographical account of its protagonist Kaji guided by hismoral conscience, showing us the different transformational phases of hislife making and breaking him into the man. The condition of Kaji is humanity ingeneral; he’s an idealist struggling for the better world beyond the man madeborder. Before noting my individual observations about the film I must mentiontwo men who contributed something as extraordinary as its filmmaker. As onecan’t imagine Toshiro Mifune without Master Akira Kurosawa, Tatsuya Nakadaiwithout Masaki Kobayashi seems so incomplete. And like other two filmsaforementioned the director-actor combo works so brilliantly for this one. Thisis undoubtedly Nakadai at his best but for me his act in ‘The Sword of Doom’remains just irreplaceable one for bringing on screen the meanest Samuraivillain I’ve ever seen in Japanese cinema. Apart of Nakadai, the other strongreason to watch the epic is the camerawork by Yoshio Miyajima. There are amplescenes and frames which deserve standing applause from all B&Wcinematography lovers.

“It’s not my fault that I’mJapanese…yet it’s my worst crime that I am!”

‘The men should be treated asmen’ believes Kaji in the time when humanity is the last word heard. Againsthis wish, he’s appointed as the labor supervisor in a colonial territory. Theplace is small Manchurian village with iron ore and labour camps full ofChinese POW. The man is dangling between two unlikely choices- following hisduty governed by ruthless men at power and his inner voice. His confrontationwith one of the labour group leader draws him into tussle with senior officers.To achieve higher production goal, the company enforced 20% increase inproduction. The condition are worst and the600 sick and half dead laborers are unfit to work and yet a brute officer Okazaki exploits harsherways to achieve the goal. Kaji is a man who listens to his conscience and yethe’s helpless to keep his promise and trust for Chinese workers. On one hand hehas to follow the enforcement of authority on power and on the other hand hehas to maintain his humanitarian concern. And amid all this, one of the trustedChinese laborer tried to escape drawing Kaji into a big mess. It’s walking onthe razor’s edge and still he manages to keep his sanity and conscience cleanat the cost of personal sacrifice.

There are many moving scenes towitness here- the one where we see the train full stuffed and baked POW in themost inhuman and uncivilized way. POW getting out of train and rushing to thefood is one of the moving scenes of the film. Another one is beheading sceneand there are many more to follow. Usually in the epic, we see moments thatstretch the melodrama unnecessarily but Kobayashi maintained absolutelygripping and tight narrative with flawless editing. The B&W camera work isstriking one with some of the brilliant extreme long shots, low angles, andcanted shots and close ups showing POW marching ahead or working in mine andpits on Steep Mountain.

“Our real enemy is army.”

The drama and humanitarianjourney of Kaji in second part shifted from iron mines to Imperial army’s basictraining camp for newly recruited privates. Kaji proves himself acute leaner inbarracks with his sharp shooting ability and discipline and win favors ofsenior officers but at the same time also witness the military oppression thatturns two of his fellow privates victimized. A weakling named Obara commitssuicide. It’s not his inadequacy of infirmity or inflicted punishment thatguides him to commit it but one of his senior’s intolerable personalhumiliations. Kaji’s attempt to justice is denied by the senior officers. Thougha junior private Kaji is promoted as trainer to his seniors and few other newrecruits and he applied his own radical ways to maintain his humanity andpacifist approach intact but veterans tried their level best to disobey andinsult Kaji on the face testing his patience to the limit. Towards brilliantclimax we see the advancing Soviet army’s tank invasion destroying trenches andkilling soldiers. Kaji survives but with a big guilt where he by mistake kills oneof his fellow soldier. It’s big satire pointing us that even so upright andconscience driven man draws insane and out of control in the madness and horrorof war. The film ends with Kaji’s contemplation of guilt- ‘I’m a monster butI’m going to stay alive!’

Compared to first part, this oneis bit slow and dramatic one but it never falters for a moment to capture theworthlessness and absurdity of war where ruthless military training psychologically andphysically torment and break men to commit suicide or pushes them to be victimson front. The film also finely represents the ambiguity and disillusionment ofan upright soldier. On one hand the protagonist Kaji detests army life whilelonging company of his beloved and on the other he wants to stay thereaccompanying his fellows keeping his humanitarian flame intact amid all odds.

The stunning camera work andbrilliantly choreographed war action in the climax is the highlight of thefilm. The memorable scenes of this part are the one where Kaji’s wife came tomeet him in forbidden training camp. They spare a night together and it’s oneof the most intense love scene, one has to watch Nakadai’s expressions here.

III

‘When it’s kill or be killed, youchange.’

Kaji’s journey continues withguilt and scars that never healed. The Japanese military unit was wiped out bySoviet troops but Kaji and two soldiers survived in enemy territory.Unwillingly Kaji has to kill a Russian man to survive. Along the journey hemeets other refugees starving for food and we witness the struggle of existencefor mouthful of rice. The miserable condition, death and dead bodies ofsoldiers scattered around indifferent forest. What is more inhuman to know forKaji is that few of his own men raped the young Chinese refugee. ‘Nothing ismore pitiful than the women of defeated nation,’ said an old lady to Kaji onceand words keep ringing the hard reality. In order to save other refugees Kajiand troop finally surrender to Russians but his noble deed again puts him in ajeopardy hard to overcome. He’s declared war criminal for speaking the truthleading him to freezing Siberia with a wishwhich becomes a pipedream like O’Neill’s ‘The Iceman Cometh’.

Compared to gripping first partand bit melodramatic second, drama here is more stretching one but Kobayashimanaged to bring some moving brilliant moments. The awesome canted shots,natural locations add something to the disillusionment of the war. And Kaji isa paragon of virtue; so rare to maintain for a soldier, his frequent monologuesaddressed to his beloved Michiko in dire conditions is something like prayer tothe soul…his grace…his redemption.

OUR HOSPITALITY (1923)

2012-01-26T01:16:00.003+05:30

‘Love thy neighbor as thyself.’

(written on a wall frame hangingon Canfield home)

My fourth Buster Keaton film and‘the great stone face’ again made me bow my head for his unique spirit andunparalleled contribution to silent cinema. With moments of fun, romance, action, adventure and thrill it spreads sogenuine entertainment even after almost century of its making. The film isKeaton’s satire with a plot of family feud that ran from generation togeneration. Men of one family grew up killing men of another family simplybecause their forefathers had done so. The Canfield and McKay family killed thekey members of each other’s family as film begins. After death of his father infeudal tussle, the baby Willie McKay grew up at his aunt’s home, unaware aboutfamily feud. Twenty years later a full grown Willie returns to indulge in aromance only to ignite the spark of old vengeance with loads of action,adventure and fun bringing moments of ‘the real motion picture’.

Perhaps in the history of cinemanone of the professional actor performed adventurous stunts with such a senseof timing and daring caliber as Keaton. If you feel ‘The General’ is brilliantexample of Keaton’s talent, watch this one which is almost a never-to-miss netpractice of it. What’s another adorable quality apart of his self performedawesome stunts is the way he brought authenticity of machines in his cinema used as brilliantprops. Whether it’s 1830’s first pedleless bicycle or the model of first locomotive 'Stephenson's Rocket' here, he represented curious inventions and rare artifacts of last century’ on screen from the their still confinement of museum and gave them motion like noneother.

For all those Keaton fans, hereis load of brilliant moments to witness. If the journey of train with adjustabletracks, bumps and curves followed by pet dog is just fun odyssey than hisclimactic stunt around waterfall saving his girlfriend is something as historical to the motion pictures.One of the best Keaton film.

A cinema beyond ratings.

KOSMOS (Turkish) (2010)

2012-01-09T01:29:00.001+05:30

‘I turned my heart and despairedof all the labour. I did that to stop my heart expecting any reward for mylabour. For what has man for all his labour and for striving of his heart? Icould not find the answer.’

Amid wild blizzard, a strange mancame running from snow-clad mountain to the town and by chance saves the lifeof a drowning boy. The man soon becomes a queer unexpected guest for theharmonious small Turkish town called Kars.He is bizarre and loner and doesn’t speak much but when he does occasionally,he utters something so prophetic. The only thing he does is roaming, observing andhealing the men from their trauma with some unearthly powers. The father of thesaved boy gives him shelter and helps him to find the job for survival. But theman is belong to different dust, he’s no more concerned or inclined to labour;as he’s the outsider who listens to his heart than head or hands. The town istransition in volatile political and military border shift and amid all this astrange break in robberies in the town becomes a talk of the town.

Here is a remarkable cinema whichis existentially introspective, spiritually rich and visually so poetic thatprobes deeper into the spirit of humanity. I won’t waste my words since after along time I find a kind of an elusive and weird protagonist who’s as internallyenigmatic and as externally mythical and yet deeply moving. Kosmos is maybe aangelic messiah, distant star or enigmatic riddle of humanity but an experienceto feel on screen. The symbolic density in the frames and soothing backgroundscore are high pointof the film.Rarely do we see the blizzard and natural snowfall captured in theentire film so elegantly juxtaposing and suffusing with the protagonist of thefilm. The film is visually so poetic and it’s so beautifully shot with classylong shots and frames with high contrasts. One may fall in love with snow-clad cityof Kars withits old ruined buildings, mountain, river, bridge and rail tracks. The naturalelegance of frames reminds me of visual auteur Terence Mallick and itsenigmatic existential protagonist reminds me the cinema of Werner Herzogespecially the two brilliant films he made with enigma called Bruno S.

This is my first film of DirectorReza Erdim and the man is equally impressive as his other contemporary fellowcountry filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan. The only weakness of the film is editingand narration which seems so complex in one and so spoon feeding one inanother. But than it would be cynical if you won’t appreciate the higher pointsover the lost and missed ones!

Ratings-7.5/10

CARNAGE (2011)

2012-01-08T01:17:00.003+05:30

Roman Polanski’s this latestoffering is surprising deal for all of his fans. It is satirical, mockinglyfunny as comedy of manners and lacks many of his usual traits. It is anadaptation of successful drama penned by Yasmina Reza based on sharedconversation between four characters from beginning to the end. Perhaps it’sthe shortest full length film Polanski has ever made and shot on single setfrom start to finish. But what is special is that the film reminds me abrilliant film made by one of the most stimulant filmmaker. It was Luis Bunuel’s ‘The Exterminating Angel’ where onefine evening the invited guests of high society gathered at host’s party andthan all of them are unable to leave the venue for reasons best known tosurreal Master. The night, morning and days follow and gradually they start droppingtheir bourgeois sophisticated pretentious masks one by one showing us the irrationaland animalistic behavior surmounting the unstoppable chaos.

Polanski’s this part comic andsatiric drama has two couples as lead and they meet to resolve their children’squarrel. The meeting slowly degenerates into irrational silly arguments. Thewhole drama lies in a conversation of all four characters played by fineensemble cast consists of Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christopher Waltz andJohn C. Reilly. It’s talkative from beginning to its very end and so some mayfind it a bore. But than the key part of the film is communication where subjective reactions and personal remarks leadingwhat is agreeable to disagreeable making us think hard whether they’re decentpeople acting out of temper or superficially fair minded ones? And than what happens in that conversationroom is miniaturization of whole human society, isn’t it?

Out of all four leading cast, Ijust loved performance of Kate Winslet and Chrisopher Waltz, the man is purelya catalyst in the whole drama with his interrupting cell phone conversationbreaking the civilized façade and pushing enough satiricalhumor with his lines and expressions. As Polanski fan, will consider this filmquite an average show compared to most of his brilliant works. Hope he willcome back with something as striking as some of them! We don’t want Polanski,Woody Allen and Clint Eastwood to retire but then neither do they!

Ratings-7/10

A SEPARATION (Iranian) (2011)

2012-01-04T23:20:00.004+05:30

One of the most talk about Asianfilm of last year that created ripples all around the globe winning manyprestigious awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actors in morethan one Festivals and going to compete in upcoming Golden Globe and Oscar thisseason. Well, the film deserves all that for more than one reason. First itcomes from politically-culturally oppressive and socially repressive countrywhere making cinema with individual artistic freedom means full stop to your personaland professional career. Some of the most humanitarian filmmakers of currentworld cinema have to bear the ire of Iranian Ministry of Culture and IslamicGuidance for bringing output of their independent voices. Finest directors likeJafar Panahi and Mohsen Makhmalbaf faced imprisonment and exile for makingfilms; so and so even director of this film Asghar Farhadi was banned frommaking this film. Though he managed to make such a refined film with his all savedmoney of his earlier successful film and with financial support of APSA, acultural promotional initiative to support cinema of Asia-Pacific.

Sorry for being carried away byhistory but I feel that it’s crucial to point out how amid all suchreligious-cultural-moral Gestapo of the country, the individual artistic voicesof cinema keep making finest humanitarian documents. As the film opens, we noticean urban middle class couple’s reaction while arguing and unwillingly signingthe legal papers of separation. The reason for separation is explained too andit seems quite surprising but not improbable. We come to know from theirarguments that both of them earlier decided moving to another country forbetter education of their only daughter and now when they got the Visa thatgoing to expire within forty days, the husband refused to move as there’s noone to look after his old father’s deteriorating condition under Alzheimersdisease. The wife is adamant to go even though the daughter and his father wantto stay with the old man. As wife packs her bags leaving the home to move hermaternal home, the husband has to take the responsibility of eleven year olddaughter and the suffering father. For daily house chores and to look after hisfather the husband hires a young lady at home under his absence. Managing theold man suffering from dementia is damn difficult task for that hired ladyunder her pregnant condition and her kid daughter. An unwanted accident occursthat spurs the moments to multiply more. What happens next is drama interwovenwith hide and seek of truth and lie that puts almost all of the characters involatile emotions and morality.

The film is so simple and sublimeand yet so complex and introspective meddling with subject of mutualrelationship like marriage in its beginning followed by engrossing dramabetween characters. It shares human expressions and reactions to certain subtleand unwanted situations and captures the simple story in its entire complexityof cultural and religious milieu. Though I feel certain emotional manipulationin the middle where director boiled up conflict through much repetition ofconfrontational drama between two husbands engaging audience from the cause andthan revealing the secret fact as surprise near climax. The open ending of thefilm is again scores on emotional hypothesis of the unwanted aftermath.

I wonder how so naturally theIranian actors performed! Whether the husband, wife, daughter, the hired ladyand her husband or small kid…each and every character immaterial of small orlead role exude natural and realistic expressions and resonance without beingdramatically loud or over the top. And no cinema of the world challenge the wayIranian filmmakers use children in their story, point of view andcharacterization. Child actors seem so mature and adult while adults behavelike children! Worth to mention the beautiful camera work and fine editing addingmore feel and touch to the film like this.

Surely one of the best of last year.

Ratings-8.5/10

THE IDES OF MARCH (2011)

2012-01-02T00:31:00.004+05:30

The worth watching politicaldrama of the year that will bag its nominations in more than one category inupcoming celebrated award season of the year. This time more than actor, GeorgeClooney delivered as a director and screenplay writer and he deserved words ofappreciation for bringing an engaging political drama with performances tonotice. The film is inside story of an election campaign for presidential post.The rivals of prime candidature are Pullmanand Morris. We see the shifting loyalty of politics ruled by selfish interestand number games. Here is a dedicated man named Steven taking his campaign dutyand job with utmost sincerity and pulling it hard from every corners to let hisside of man win the election. And the film is more about struggle of Steven,played brilliantly by Ryan Gosling than his side of presidential man Morrisplayed by George Clooney. Steven did a silly mistake that sparks a controversyand misunderstanding about his loyalty. He’s the trustworthy idealist trappedbetween his conscience and dirty politics.

Though the film has tout ensemble cast consists of actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, MarisaTomei, Evan Rachel Wood and Clooney himself; it’s Ryan Gosling who stealsthe show from all. He is an absolutely promising actor to watch from last twoyears; so consistent and intense in his performances and versatile oncharacters. Once again he nailed a well controlled act that surely deservesOscar nomination this year. the film is more on shifting drama than politicalthriller which could turn boring if not handled well, thanks to its tautediting, it surely an engaging affair.

Recommended watch of the year.

Ratings-7.5/10

CHAMPION (1949)

2011-12-30T00:33:00.004+05:30

‘This is the only sport in theworld where two guys get paid for doing something they’d be arrested for ifthey got drunk and did it for nothing.’

The small town youth Midge Kellyand his lame brother Connie came in search of employment to LA. With hismasculine built and bully temperament Midge knows only one thing- to fight. An opportunityleads him to boxing and soon from small town hitch hiker prizefighter hebecomes the unbeatable champ of boxing ring. He grows on making his name and fame andcarried away by wrong priorities. Under company of beautiful dames and moneyspinning success he cut off his old loyalty. The title of championship persistswith a heavy personal price tag.

By all means the film is definitelyworthy enough to watch for the knock out performance by Kirk Douglas as Kelly.Must say this one of the most terrific and passionate performance of his earlycareer. Along with fine acting talent, the man has amazing natural gift of muscularprofile compared to most of Hollywood stars ofthe era and the film like this brought that to the public notice. The film wasspectacularly successful and established him as the man to watch forward incoming time. Apart of him, all rest of the cast performed so well, especially ArthurKennedy who played his lame brother Connie.

The film is fine mixture ofsports drama and moderate noir. There’s no doubt that the film would surely remainan inspirational one for Scorsese while making ‘Raging Bull’, as he shot thefilm in B&W with those brilliant slow motion and close up shots of bloody ring action. Though nominated for bestactor and best supporting actor category, the film won sole Oscar for Bestediting category.

Ratings-8/10

HOLLYWOOD ENDING (2002)

2011-12-29T00:07:00.003+05:30

Can we imagine any other genius filmmakerof Hollywoodwho publicly calls his cinema ‘an artistic masturbation on screen’? With allhis eccentric, narcissist, hypochondriac, neurotic self that throws oxymoron and one liners, Woody Allen is still a darling man of Hollywood making cinema of his kind; an absolutely stress removing treat. Like most of his films, Woodyplayed himself here as Val Waxman, a filmmaker who got an offer to direct afilm after a decade long period and it came from his ex wife and his richfinancer fiancé. The film is about New York City and who knows streets of NY better thanWoody! But at this very juncture he suddenly turned psychosomatically blind assome strange way of God. He doesn’t want to lose the chance to regain his nameand fame as filmmaker and so he goes on directing the film on sets with hisblindness on, faking that he’s alright.

Hardcore Woody fans may find muchrepetition in theme and plot with common traits of messed up maritalrelationships, caricaturized characters, stretched up situations and over thetop drama but than even excess is fun to watch when there’s somebody uniquelike Woody doing it on screen. It’s quite an average Woody but one can’t denyhis fine writing skills. The conversation on restaurant table between Woody’ssplit self persona and his ex wife is just outrageous fun to watch. Can’tresist sharing few lines here:

Ellie: Our marriage wasn’t goinganywhere.

Val: Where do you want it to go?Where do marriages go? After a while they just lay there. That’s the thingabout marriage.

Ellie: We had sex. But we nevertalked.

Val: Sex is better than talk. Askanybody in this bar. Talk is what you suffer through so you can get to sex.

Ratings-7/10

DAY OF ANGER (1967)

2011-12-28T00:39:00.002+05:30

'Him...and his pistol! There can be an experience of a lifetime in a gun. But it's not enough to be able to draw faster than the other guy if the other guy knows a trick that you don't know. In my days, we had to either learn the tricks...or we gave work to the gravediggers.'

My second spaghetti western madeby this Italian Director Tonino Valerii and it’s absolutely entertaining affairfor any spaghetti western lovers. Valerii worked as Sergio Leone’s assistantand imbibe many of Master’s skill in his works. Lee Van Cleef was the JohnWayne and Clint Eastwood for small budget westerns and the man most of thetimes live up to the expectations. This is one of that western where he’s interrific form as ruthless gunfighter Frank Talby who kills anything comes inbetween his goal. He arrives in a western town named Clifton as unwelcome stranger who helps ayoung bastard named Scott who works as sweeper and collects garbage of thelocal town. Under mentor Talby, Scott grows his manlihood and maturity but thecamaraderie between them unsettles the unchallenged power of rich and powerful menof the town.

The film bears trademark westerntheme of gunslinger-disciple and one may find many traits of Leone’s westernhere in portrayal and execution of well choreographed action and camera angles.Riz Ortolani’s score for the film is high point of the film and it deserves to be heard evenafter the film is over.

Ratings-7.5/10

MY NAME IS NOBODY (1973)

2011-12-26T00:18:00.002+05:30

‘If a man is a man, he needssomeone to believe in.’

They said that he could draw hisgun three times before the other fellow even starts reaching his own in holster.Everybody knows about Jack Beauregard; the greatest gunslinger and the onlyhope of law and order in the west but his staunch admirer cum follower youngman knows more than anybody else. He dreams of letting him face the wild bunch of150 sons of bitches on horsebacks!

From almost silent and tensefilled opening in saloon shots to awesome climax action where one man facingthe group of 150 horsemen on railway track leading to surprising twist this is a kind of spaghetti western demands tobe watched on big wide screen. The film was of seed of Producer and MasterSergio Leone, materialized on screen by director Tonino Valerii. The film hasfine repeat value as it combines action, comedy and fun running on screen inequal proportions making it perfect entertainment for any age. The camaraderiebetween two unlikely men different in age, mood and attitude is the worthwatching chemistry between legendary Henry Fonda and young Terence Hill.Needless to say it has brilliant camerawork capturing fine panoramic wide shotsand slow motion action shots. Maestro Ennio Morricone’s background muchresembles to his immortal score for Leone films.

Absolutely entertaining and amust watch for any Western fan.

Ratings-8/10

HEERA PANNA (1973)

2011-12-22T19:58:00.000+05:30

There comes a period in everysuccessful superstar’s career when under the intoxication of success andstardom he starts taking things as granted, making wrong choices and sillydecisions being over confident, try to do things he is incapable of that turns his progressive graph downward. Theevergreen star started losing his charm with this debacle under his own bannerand direction with this film and than he never turned back and continued hisdownfall journey to the limit that his films not sold tickets of even hisopening first show. And yet he kept making cinema, if for nobody than forhimself!

After his second directorialventure and success of ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’, Dev Anand took the control ofwhole production and filmmaking in his own hands and started writing, directing,producing and acting altogether and ended up scoring zilch in all of the departments.Perhaps he made this film partly to keep his discovered muse closer to him andpartly to project his self proclaimed Narcissist image on screen. Withabsolutely pathetic script, loud overact, odd chemistry with his aged look, theaudience started rejecting their admirable star after this film. The film isdrab purposeless affair on screen and Dev indulged more in showing skin of Zeeniebaby. He’s playing international photo journalist who is interested takingsnaps of bikini babes, driving his ridiculous car painted with names of allmetro cities of the globe.

Unfortunately the film fell shorton many departments including the acting by the cast. Except Kishore-Lata’sclassic duet ‘Bahut Door Mujhe Chale Jaana Hai’ even R D Burman’s score for the film is too ordinary for bannerlike Navketan. What a debacle and yet Dev made another bigger box officedisaster in company of his Zeenie baby titled ‘Ishq Ishq Ishq’. Both the movieand Dev’s possessive infatuation with Zeenat turned flop soon after itsrelease. The rest is the fading glory of Dev and his once upon a time shiningbanner that gave not only box office hits but memorable films to Hindi cinema.

KALA BAZAR (1960)

2011-12-21T19:18:00.001+05:30

The year is near to end and there’snot a single rejoicing film that makes this year memorable one for Bollywoodcinema! So Popular Hindi cinema entertainment terribly falls short of creative ideas and concepts thisyear and carry on pushing remake factory packaged with glamorous wrappers of currentbollywood stars. This Christmas, the audience habituated tomediocre action cinema flocked to see their screen sensation King Khan playingthe new version of Don and than get ready to see one more handsome hulk playingthe new version of Agneepath. The common denominator of both of these muchhyped releases is that both has brand stamp of Amitabh Bachchan who set thestatus of angry young man or anti hero when audience is fed up with theromantic superstar of the era. Bachchan brought to screen the man of street inaudience friendly cocktail made by Mehra-Chopra-Desai brigade. Perhaps thefirst dare act to play shades of anti-hero on screen was attempted by thespianAshok Kumar but the popular star of the era who first romanticized the antiherocharacters on screen bade farewell to this world leaving legacy unsurpassed.For many admirers and fans like me the loss of this eternal evergreenphenomenon called Dev Anand this month was the saddest Sunday of the year.

I grow up watching his cinema,listening his memorable songs, fascinating his oozing flamboyant charm andserenading romance, his style and persona with that irreplacable smile, hisactive energy and his many facets of star, actor, director and above all theman who never retired. Maybe he’s making film out there too! As per his namehe’s truly ‘an angel of happiness’. Revisiting his cinema is a small gesture topay him tribute. Soon after Dev Saab’s death, I was just thinking aboutarranging a retrospective of his films for a week but somehow that didn’tmaterialize due to busy schedule at job and other responsibility. Anyway Ibegin my tribute journey with one of his long due film for me that belongs to hishome banner Navketan. The film was written, directed by his younger andtalented brother Vijay Anand lovingly known in industry as ‘Goldie’.

The idealistic Nehruviansocialism and Gandhian principles were the order of that era and the filmencapsulated that in the story. The theme represents love as igniting sparktransforming a petty cinema hall black marketer man to the road of redemption.He faced trials and tribulations of law and society but than as idealistic sidesuggests that everything ends well that begins with a noble intention. ThoughGoldie handled the film so well, the melodrama in the second half seems quitecliché of that period revisiting today that stretching the film in the secondhalf; but it was the flaw he improved so well in his later films with sharpediting skill. Both director-actor combo took the same theme to the next level sixyears later in their most ambitious project and a landmark Hindi cinema-‘Guide’ based on R K Narayan’s Sahitya Academy winning novel. Undoubtedly theircomplementary combination worked as asset and magic to Navketan films. Togetherthey became unbeatable team that gifted some of the finest Hindi films toIndustry for a decade with titles such as ‘Nau Do Gyarah’, ‘Tere Ghar KeSamne’, ‘Jewel Thief’ and ‘Johnny Mera Naam’.

The film begins with one of theoriginal shot which most of the critics considered as just footage but it isabsolutely false assumption. We witness on screen the hero & his toutsblackmailing tickets of one of the most successful and popular epic ‘MotherIndia’ at Libertycinema hall in Mumbai. There are no more takers of heftily charged blacktickets and than suddenly one after another all the mega stars-singers and crewof era starts coming to cinema hall in their vanity vehicles to attend thatpremier show waving their hands to the camera where Goldie was standing behindthe camera fitted with zoom lens to capture this originally executed shot forhis upcoming film.

Goldie a.k.a. Vijay Anand washeavily influenced by Hollywood Noirs of 50s and so one can witness the starkB&W frames, hero dwelling in some or other sort of street jobs and grippingediting for which he's famous. He also made some of the finest mystery thrillers with Hitchcokiantwists. He paid homage to his idol in one of the scene here where DevAnand standing next to large Hitchcock poster selling black tickets of ‘NorthBy Northwest’ in Mumbai’s famous Metro talkies. The film finely captured postindependent 60’s Mumbai with happening urban romance, and also the socialreality on poverty and unemployment on Mumbai streets.

This is the rare Navketan filmwhere all three talented Anand Brothers acted on screen together and all ofthem played their parts so well. Waheeda’s successful run into Guru Dutt campwon her entry to Navketan banner too. There’s no doubt that her on screen chemistrywith Dev is something worth to watch in more than one film. Rest of the castconsists of Nanda, Madan Puri, Rashid Khan and Lila Chitnis, who remainedofficially default melodramatic mother of Dev Anand films gave her commoncontribution. S D Burman’s timeless compositions for Navketan is history for anyNostalgic Hindi film music lovers. Rafi’s two all-time soulful classic numbers ‘KhoyaKhoya Chand’, ‘Apni To Har Aah Ek Toofan Hai’ belong to this film; though Iequally love Manna Dey-Asha’s light romantic duet ‘Sanjh Dhali Dil Ki Lagi’.

THE BIG GUNDOWN (1966)

2011-12-15T22:43:00.000+05:30

There are three Italian Sergiowho defined Spaghetti western entertainment with their low on budget high onaction firecrackers on screen. The first one becomes the most popular name whomade Clint Eastwood the iconic legend with his trilogy westerns. The second oneand quite lesser known one is Sergio Corbucci who made some of the brilliantwesterns still unnoticed by mass except ‘Django’. What is John Wayne to JohnFord, Eastwood to Sergio Leone; Franko Nero remained to Corbucci. The third andperhaps the least known one is Sergio Sollima. Indeed a wonderful discovery forwestern lovers!

This is my first Sollima film andit’s absolutely gripping entertaining treat for any spaghetti western cinebuff.The film pitted two men poles apart from law and we see engaging cat and mouseplay between an unofficial lawman named Corbett and a notorious and wantedMexican outlaw named Cuchillo accused of rape and murder of a 12 years oldgirl. It has surprise in the middle and that push the boiling action to newdirection. Lee Van Cliff is the man to watch here as Corbett and this is one noadmirer should miss. Ennio Morricone’s score for the film is not as brilliantas his other achievements but nevertheless it gives you feel of Dollars trilogyof Leone. Sollima’s western has fine rustic and raw feel in visuals andlocations unlike American studio set made westerns, catch the classy climax toknow what I mean. This is kind of western which I love to watch again and won’tget bore for single minute. The movie is enlisted in Quentin Tarantino’s Top 20Spaghetti Westerns.

Love to explore more of Sollima.

Ratings-8/10

THE SKIN I LIVE IN (Spanish) (2011)

2011-12-14T23:22:00.003+05:30

One of the talked about film ofthe year by

Spain

’smost acclaimed contemporary filmmaker and Festival circuit favourite Pedro Almodavar. Beneath the thrilling and mysterious drama here’s a film which isunpredictable and bizarre in experience. The plot is abnormal and contrived one with surprising twist to get you hooked. Aplastic surgeon experimenting with patient’s burnt skin and challenging thenatural order by experimenting Transgenesis on his subject. Than it shiftsgears into flashback and we witness the common traits of Almodavar cinema- accidents, drugs, familysecrets, tragedies associated with it and complicated characters suffering fromsexual disorder and mental trauma and guided by passion and obsession. There’slot of intrigue in the film in the middle and I won’t ruin the surprise andtwist by revealing it as spoiler.

Almodavar filled the screen withlot of flesh and graphic nudity and considering the skin as one of the senses,it’s sumptuous visual food to notice. Elena Anaya is dame to watch in seasoned hands of tailor of aesthetic skin show but still there’s no alternative for Almodavar’s muse on screen- Penelope Cruz! But what is fresh is to see Antonio Banderas back in form to a role befitting his suave enigmatic persona other than mindless actionflicks. The only drawback of the film is it wavering and shifting of theme like the character’s skin without much room for character elaboration. I was expecting a surprisingtwist or shock in the end but it ended up as considerably quite predictableaffair without much conflict.

Ratings-7/10

CROSS OF IRON (1977)

2011-12-13T17:42:00.002+05:30

‘I believe God is a sadist butprobably doesn’t even know it.’

Perhaps one of the most underratedSecond World War masterpiece made by the cinematic poet of violence. Afterseeing this film Orson Welles was so overwhelmed that he instantly cabled SamPeckinpah to let him know that it was the best anti war film he has ever seen aboutthe ordinary enlisted man. The film portrays the setting of 1943, Second WorldWar where German soldiers are fighting on Russian front under the able andvaliant leadership of Corporal/Sergeant Steiner. A new appointed selfish andover ambitious officer Captain Stransky takes the charge as a new commander. Theconfrontation between the two sparkles the fire untamable as one is courageousman of honor don’t care damn about winning medals, the other is pure wicked manpaving his way to win favors and bag undeserving medals.

Watching Peckinpah films and hisaging heroes reminds me another master American wrier Ernest Hemingway and hisheroes. The myth and culture of American macho hero is predominant part of boththese Masters of their own fort and their contribution is perhaps wellappreciated much after their death. Well one can write a whole essay on Sam Peckinpah’sheroes (won’t call them just ‘protagonists’) and their association with violence.Here Steiner is a disillusioned and stoic courageous soldier trapped in theworld of ruthless violence of war and selfish seniors craving for ‘cross ofiron’ medals compelling him to favor their unscrupulous act; and still hemanaged to remain the man of integrity. Though he’s fighting the war likevaliant soldier he hates the blind ambitious rat race. He is the real man ofhonor who has to sacrifice himself along with others in the hostile situationnot only against enemy but towards home too. For James Coburn perhaps this isthe meatiest and memorable role of his career.

As for Peckinpah fans, Violenceon American Cinema is divided in two general categories- pre Peckinpah and postPeckinpah. Master’s penchant for slow motion action portrays the intenseexperience. Just like his brilliant westerns, he managed to brought the brutaland godforsaken side of war violence with striking visuals. The film alsodepicts the psychological damage and paranoia that horror of war can inflictupon soldier. The awesome climax is pure Peckinpah touch of exploding chaos andviolence on screen and there’s no match for ‘Bloody Sam’. The exciting thrillunder the bridge, the unpredictable affair with lady soldiers followed by landminesin Russian trenches and the shattering final nemesis of Steiner’s platoon. Evenin the final frames Peckinpah showed you the nihilist and unpredictable horrorof the war making man almost animal; and Peckinpah knew no language suits himbetter than anger, blood and bullets. Hopeless angry Steiner emptying hismachine gun to Triebig is the scene hard to forget. The final freezing framesare brilliant satire about war and the two faces of war heroes.

Highly Recommended.

Ratings-8.5/10

IN TIME (2011)

2011-12-12T19:35:00.002+05:30

This is kind of sci-fi thrillerwhich results from miscarriage of a brilliant idea with poor screenplay andpathetic direction and execution. It has a fine and unique concept from whichone can make brilliant and entertaining sci-fi thriller if scripted well ortreated better. It begins with showing us the futuristic world where time iscurrency, time is mode of payment and time is what human beings are running forwhen one grows 25 years old. There’s no aging post 25 and so mother, daughter,son or grandson seems just 25 years old but only rich are fortunate enough tosee the second and third generation. A protagonist running short of time savesthe life of a stranger who has more than century of time on his sleeve (ya,Hollywood shows your time balance account in electronic digits on sleeve) Soon the stranger transfers his time to sleepingprotagonist and commits suicide. The timekeeper (the vigilante cop who’smanaging time in the world) is now hunting for the protagonist to get the timeback.

Now everything seems fine andentertaining upto this juncture in the film. What we see next is Hollywood’s routinechase and run thrill then onwards where there is no conflict and no intrigue,even thrill and tension is terribly missing as the film is absolutely tilted oneway to the hero and heroine who’re able to outsmart others anywhere anytime,they’re distant cousins of Robinhood stealing time from rich and distributingto poor, the rest is all mindless mediocre action from Hollywood Inc. I don’tcare damn about Justin Timberlake or Amanda Seyfried but what a waste of promising actor likeCilian Murphy!

Quite a disappointment!

Ratings-4.5/10

KURONEKO (Japanese) (1968)

2011-12-10T01:12:00.001+05:30

From the man who gave us eerie Japanesepsychological horror ‘Onibaba’, here is another equally brilliant supernaturalhorror offering not to be missed. It begins with a bunch of hungry and thirstywarriors came around a secluded hut surrounded by grove where two ladies livealone. They not only ravaged the house for food but also gang raped the younggirl. The house is set on fire as soon as they left. Next is haunting horrorjourney in company of stray black cats, deceptive specter full of appearancesand disappearances, a series of night affairs began with chance, guided by lustand ended with revenge trap. Don’t consider it as entire spoiler of the film;since this is just what one third of the film is, the rest is still anintriguing thrill of more than an hour.

Just like ‘Onibaba’, KanetoShindo maintained a haunting atmospheric set up in fine B&W frames. Thepaddy field and a round pit of ‘Onibaba’ replaced here with a dark narrow pathand a house surrounded by bamboo clad jungle. The natural set up adds unusualwild and raw tense feel into the frames and action. In both the filmspassionate love is used as catalyst factor progressing the drama and action. It’sthis treatment and style which sets this supernatural revenge fable intosomething unique and unforgettable classic experience on screen.

Ratings-8/10

SATAH SE UTHATA AADMI (1980)

2011-12-08T01:16:00.001+05:30

‘Pure image has norepresentational meaning associated with it.’

Call it disillusioned modernpoetry on screen…or an intellectual food of thought nobody interested toconsume (forget the digest)! One can register any other spontaneous numbers of adjectives asthe mind pleases but this is something so unique and unusual cinema which isperhaps unparalleled to the history of Indian cinema. The greatness of any filmlies in the kind of quality of attention and sensibilities it evokes whilewatching it, contrast to that Mani Kaul’s this film invokes intellectualstimulation and vibrations about perspectives of art and life. Just first tenminutes into the film and the poetic narrative angst and fragmentary imagesmake you think hard about the disturbing pretentious reality of mundane world andabsurdity of life; raising pertinent existential questions about scrutiny ofself, world and time. Based on Gajanan Muktibodh’s book by the same title, thefilm is personal statements of several disillusioned characters portrayed indisunited voiceovers and narration. .

A poet named Ramesh is an artistfar removed from reality, his friendship with Keshav helps him sort out hispuzzling mental vibrations about art and life. The poet is seeking wayoutredemption from his puzzling struggle between internal and external affairsjuxtaposed between life (creation) and art (recreation). It’s difficult toelaborate plot any further because what you see requires lot of patience freefrom preconceived notions. Within a layered and scattered narrative the film portraysa very personal material consists of a surreal dream, a symbolic story oftermite eating bird and discussed the theoretical and perspective aspects ofpoetry of an artist struggling introspection to recreate the spontaneous momentof idea (thought) transformed into fantasy. The duality of struggle in the mindlies between language and expression.

Kaul is heavily inspired from thecinema of Robert Bresson and followed his traditions in his cinema. Like him hestrongly tried to avoid the forced or extended meanings into the image. Whowill understand the significance about purity of image in today’s pretentiousand consumerist advertising and voyeuristic television driven audience. Kaulavoided structural technicalities of conventional cinema. One may witness theexperimental elements of French New wave cinema too in the form. Rather thanconventional narrative, Kaul’s film is scattered narrative of fragmentarycollage coiled up by disunited voiceover, poetry, stream of consciousness, surrealism,dream, symbolic story, literary criticism, political satire and confessionalwritings of an artist. That tooportrayed with uneven, unadorned images captured with static camera shots usingavailable natural light and non acting performers (using actors like Bressonianmodels). Though all unusual accomplishments, what is major drawback of Kaul’scinema is his vehement and deliberate avoidance of human element. Bresson thoughmade films with detached portrayals of his non acting characters, ultimatelytill the end of the film made them more than human in spirit (read ‘Saints’) inhis cinema. Compared to that Kaul failed to uplift that element with his selfabsorbed world full of too personal expressions.

The maker of this avant garde andexperimental Indian film died just few months ago; for a day or twothe media and news headlines produced short obituaries proclaiming him as oneof the most original and experimental filmmaker India ever produced. The bigquestion is did the country care about him really when he was alive? The manhad made a few films in his entire career and ran pillars to post findingfinance to express his unparalleled ideas and cinematic expressions hard toavoid. What is terribly sad and unfortunate is that till day almost all of hisfilms including gem like these remain unavailable to public. Even this piratedversion which I managed to see after a long hunt is full of severe cuts and hasnear to ruin condition. We need Martin Scorsese to save our gems of Indian FilmArchives as the man remastered the original prints of many Indian films near toruin including Ghatak’’s ‘Titash Ekti Nadir Nam’.

Writing all this, I must confessthat still I’m kindergarten kid to understand depth of this sort of cinema asit demands multiple views to comprehend fully…wish someday I’ll be able tounderstand it more better way!

IS RAAT KI SUBAH NAHIN (1996)

2011-12-05T23:57:00.001+05:30

I seriously wonder is it the filmmade by same Sudhir Mishra who made films like ‘Dharavi’ and ‘HazaaronKhwahishen Aisi’? Perhaps this is the most pathetic film he ever ended upmaking. The film is a crime and drama of one night which opens quite well with an interesting premise and than it jumps to straight nosedive with crappy script,directionless and loud act show. The characters of Nirmal Pandey, TaraDeshpande and Smriti Mishra are so flat that they look more like objects than human; evenotherwise good actors like Aashish Vidyarthi and Saurabh Shukla are also seems so loud and over the top in act. In fact all the characters here do not talk…they just shout to their highest decibel possible.

Mishra’s preoccupation with themeof street crime in Metro is visible here (undoubtedly Scorsese influence) andhis recent two films reflected that too. Here he tried to blend two differenttracks of plot; where he handled the internal gangster trouble part quite well initiallyand messed up for the remaining part butpathetically odd is the second and almost undeveloped drama of stretched extramarital affair between a long hair flat face hulk and his two nagging dames.The characters are so flat and bore that you altogether don’t care damn aboutthem within few minutes. Add to that poor editing, tedious continuity of chaseand messy situational tension, unnecessarily pushed songs that makes the filmalmost unbearable towards the end. The twist in the end is quite predictableone for the audience who get enough space and time finding loopholes.

Ratings-4/10

DUVIDHA (1973)

2011-12-04T22:29:00.001+05:30

Years ago I’ve read one of GirishKarnad’s play titled ‘Naga-Mandala’ based on a mythical Indian folk-tale that absolutelyresembles with the plot of Mani Kaul’s this Indian New Wave alternative cinema classic. And besides thatAmol Palekar’s retake of the same film ‘Paheli’ made with two budding stars ofHindi cinema made the plot and story of the film almost revealing factor. Sothe mysterious and intriguing plot of this wonderful folk-tale is not somethingthat is new for me. What is more unique is not the story, plot but thecinematic form.

This is my first Mani Kaul filmand I must say the man created unusually unique and experimental form to the Indiancinema that leaves all the baggage of traditional grammar of filmmaking. Fromminimalist approach to unusual narration, detached characters use of camera (flat,still and freeze frames) the ethnic textures of Rajasthani colors (especiallyred and white) on screen, everything here is more of a personal statement thana normal cinema. The film is too original and avant garde in form for Indiancinema but for normal cinema viewers it’s too early and too difficult toappreciate and comprehend his art in a single viewing. However I found manystylistic resemblance of his film form with two French Masters Jean Luc Godardin exploiting many experimental stylistic devices and Robert Bresson for centpercent minimalist tone and using his actors just as detached non actors in thefilm. The film won him a National award for best direction. Eager to watch hisother gems.

IL POSTINO (Italian) (1994)

2011-12-03T23:29:00.001+05:30

‘Poetry doesn’t belong to thosewho write it, but those who need it.’

An enchantingly beautiful cinemafull of positivity vibes about life that offers a bit of everything- poetry,politics, romance, sublime friendship, subtle humor, religious puns, soothingbackground score, natural landscape visuals, touching performances and aboveall fine metaphors of life. Afisherman’s son Mario has curious inclination towards life and external worldthan being fisherman like his hard working father. He’s quite learned man andso turned to a post man’s job at a remote Italian small town clad withbeautiful landscape of mountain and seashore. Here arrives a world famous poet PabloNeruda on exile due to his communist leanings. Mario has to serve as deliverypost man to him and he’s curious to know the reason of poet’s huge female fanfollowing. As the sublime friendship between the poet and him grows, he’sfascinated with the idea of being poet as he feels that poets are loved bywomen. Mario is man of imagination lacking talent but the delightful company ofpoet and his poetry helps him to see life in different perspective with use of metaphorsabout life around that helps him to win the heart of his sweetheart. The exileis over and the poet returns to his homeland. Years passed and the poet returnsto find the man who writes him a most treasured poem. The sublime end touchesanybody’s heart where we witness the greatest poet yearning for a lost poem ofhis life!

Il Postino is an simple andmoving Italian film full of heart and soul at right places that keep spreadinggenuine smiles and emotions on your face without any sort of unnecessarymelodrama or overtly complex characters. Massimo Troisi deserves a posthumousaward for this swansong performance of his life. It is sad to know that the manneeds a heart surgery during the shoot of the film but his priority was towardsfinishing the film. It is tragedy that he passed away due to heart attack immediatelyafter the shooting of the film is completed. I must say this is one of the mostbreathing natural act I’ve seen in Italian cinema; with his honest face andbody language devoid of any direct or indirect screen presence consciousness heliterally brought the naïve and innocent heart of postman so naturally on thescreen. Philippe Noiret as poet Neruda is charismatic too and acted with somuch ease.

At one point of the film, Mariosimply said to Neruda, ‘This whole world is a metaphor for something else.’ Sotrue!

Ratings-10/10

GANDU (Bengali) (2010)

2011-11-29T23:33:00.001+05:30

In one of the interview I watchedon you tube few months back, India’s budding new wave filmmaker Anurag Kashyaptold the interviewer that the whole world has already explored the cinema andscaled new heights that our cinema has never dreamt of and we have yet not evenstarted exploring it! The serious question is whether conventionalentertainment loving cinema going people of India is mature enough to see andaccept this! Even if answer is yes and no in uneven votes, the next question isdoes the men presiding the chairs of Indian censor board let pass thisexperimental phase of Indian cinemas to the audience in this so called freedom of expression nation without theirpreconceived notions of being moral Gestapo of Indian art!

Here comes a striking and groundbreaking Bengali film which pushes the boundaries of typical conventionalIndian cinema. It scales new heights with its exploding sensory experience forany typical Indian cinemagoers. It’s cinema of extremes with transgressive andsubversive stuff where ‘the form’ not the content has higher hand. Director Qaushik Mukherjee a.k.a. Q almostmade a film with his auteur stamp where from direction to camera work, editing tomusic he maintained his artistic control of the whole film. Though one may findthe few sparks of Aronofsky’s ‘Requiem for a Dream’ or socially shocking cinema of Gasper Noe in hiscinematic style, undoubtedly he’s thenew Indian filmmaker to watch in coming time in terms of creative, technicaland stylistic innovations for Indian cinema, I hope that it will be same forthe content too!

Gandu is good for nothing directionless frustrated young loser who’s wannabe rapper. He hates his mother, hates living in home and stealsmoney from the man whom he hates the most. He’s an outcast who’s passing his days instreets, trying drugs, watching porn and masturbates in his room, dwell into voyeuristic pleasure in cyber cafe and above all roaming withhis Bruce Lee obsessed street buddy named Rickshaw. As for the first film, Qhas not let a stone unturned throwing the audience in the what is called‘taboo’ for Indian film. The profanity of language, explicit sexual scenes arein abundance. Kudos to all cast who dared to do something like this for Indianscreen! Much appreciated ‘Delhi Belly’ seems kid and more commercial onecompared to this one. Oh and though I don’t know Bengali, I just loved itsawesome and unique soundtrack, surely a bomb for your ears in terms of lyrics!

Fewdays ago I’ve seen another striking film made with shoe string budget but fullof brilliant creative ideas named ‘InkLab’ and though there’s more anti-national and objectionable material in uncutversions of Indian commercial cinema, censor board found the film tooanti-national and unsocial. Thanks tothe age of internet and torrents that makes cinema free from the clutches of socalled moral police of Indian censor board in the nation of freedom of speech andexpressions. The film was extremely opposed by Mumbai Police and denied to showin Naya Cinema Festival leaving the audience frustrated.Here’swhat Q retorted with anger, “I don’t think Indians even deserve to watch ‘Gandu’.If we don’t have a channel of distribution, why would ‘Gandu’ need a Censorcertificate in any case? If we get a film with cuts, it’s not the version thatpeople want to watch either way. That apart, even with cuts, we will not get theaters to screen the movie. So, what’s the point?”

Ratings-7/10

THE DEBT (2010)

2011-11-28T16:28:00.001+05:30

After a long time an edge on theseat espionage thriller by Hollywood.Three Mossad agents were on mission to abduct a diabolic Nazi surgeon doctor Vogelin Berlin and bring him to Israel to puthim on trial. They managed to kidnap him but things took different turn thanonwards. After almost two decades of the mission’s accomplishment, thingsstarts turning different way from where they left the truth. As one agentcommitted suicide and another on wheelchair, it’s Rachel who has to set thingsin order. Director John Madden grippingly unfolds the plot and story in pastand present and weaves a suspense around it and at the same time maintained theemotional and relationship tension and drama between the trio.

Jessica Chastain is a fine talentand she has similar characteristics of Natalie Portman; both in look and actand she maintained brilliant internal tension of young Rachel with thatdiabolic and emotionally manipulative devil doctor. Helen Mirren is a kind ofactress who’s aging so gracefully with her brilliant acts. Though she is inmain lead here, she doesn’t have much screen presence as aged Rachel and yet shemaintained her character with all respect. It would be much better if SurgeonVogel’s heinous crimes were explained in more elaborative way and there wouldbe tenser climax! Nevertheless not a letdown one for any thriller lovers.

Recommended watch.

Ratings-7/10

BURN! (1969)

2011-11-22T20:40:00.001+05:30

‘It is better to know where to goand not know how than it is to know how to go and not know where.’

‘If a man gives you freedom, itis not freedom. Freedom is something you, you alone must undertake.’

Starring Marlon Brando in one ofhis most underrated and remarkable role, Italian director Pontecorvo’s thisfilm is a strong statement than just a cinema of pleasure. Though the film ispart fictitious, it has enough sparks of political and historical text thatprobes questions about western imperialism and their selfish exploitation ofthe natives. America, Australia or Mexico white men exploited thenatives and their lands while filling their countries’ coffers with gold andmoney. In the name of progress the power has been curbing and rewriting notonly history but the progress and civilization too as per their suitable tastesfor the time immemorial. The man who made a masterpiece like ‘The Battle ofAlgiers’ documented and narrated the film from start to end without beingjudgmental to any race and yet finely managed to balance the weightto both struggling black revolutionaries and the ambitious and powerful white colonizers.

The film opens in a remote Caribbean island called Queimada, ruled, burnt and exploitedfor three centuries by Portuguese colonizers. Here comes a provocative suavediplomatic English man named William Walker with British military plan andcampaign to spread revolution solely motivated by financial and political gain.Most of the black and mulatto slaves are serving in sugar plantations areseverely exploited under Portuguese colonizers. Walker pushed a courageous black rebel namedJose Dolores into a leader and made him General after overthrowing theauthority. But soon the white men show their real skins. Ten years passed andnow Walkerreturns to island with a new mission, this time as a facilitator between majorsugar company and established Government and the only eyesore is rebellion Jose. The power made revolutionaries as instrumentfor their own means and annihilate them when he no longer serves them; thescapegoat and martyr here is Jose Dolores.

There’s real American freebooter man named William Walker, who made private unauthorized expeditions to control the LatinAmerican colonies and become Nicaraguan president in mid 19^thcentury and soon executed by American military. However the director here tookmany liberty in portraying historical facts and characterization here andmade him a British middleman wanted to end foreign domination and establish free tradein Portuguese colony.

The film ends so strikingly. Near to end, selfishand guilt ridden white man fails and frustrates to understand why the rebel is deliberatelylove to die even though he provides him freedom and than next to the death ofhim we see the rebel begets another rebel! A black slave begging for the white man’s bag and than stabs him as he's going to join the ship to England.

Aah...What else i can say about Marlon Brando. His effortless method acton screen brought to screen a suave white diplomat in all flesh and blood. Thisis one more shining example of his best performed roles without a doubt.

Ratings- 8.5/10

ZELIG (1983)

2011-11-21T01:05:00.001+05:30

‘If you are not in the mood formy obsessions, than you may not be in the mood for my film.’

Surprisingly altogether differentand yet wonderful film made by Woody Allen. The film is a mock documentary abouta fictional phenomenon man set in 1920s and 30s. He's a bizarre human chameleon who transforms himself into different personalities. The great intellectual American writerssuch as Saul Bellow, Susan Santog, Irwing Howe saying things about this enigmaticstrange man named Leonard Zelig who created such diverse impressions playingshifting personalities everywhere he moved.

Unlike his early mock documentary‘Take Money and Run’, this is not just comedy but a film made with certain seriousintents. Undoubtedly this is one of the brilliant writing and maybe prelude toWoody’s wonderful film ‘The Purple Rose of Cairo’ where fantasy and realityinterweaves into one. Here the protagonist is suffering from psychologicaldelusional reality about himself; personally he’s nobody and non existentialloner who wanted to seek attention and favors. Behind his identity disorderhe’s the man with an extreme urge for social security and acceptance. ‘Wantingonly to be liked, he distorted himself beyond measure,’ wrote F. ScottFitzgerald about Zelig.

Those who’ve seen David Lynch’s‘The Elephant Man’ find queer resemblance here. The performing freak who’sseeking to be loved and cared by society and not mocked. It’s only Zelig’s psychological doctor played byWoody’s better half and wonderful actress Mia Farrow who devotedly cares, loves and cures her patient that became the curiosity of the age. Soon after his cure, hewas claimed as immoral man or criminal for things he had done prior to curedstate. It is the same society who found him too amusing earlier now found himhumiliating and again found him adorable after his aviation stunt ruiningHitler’s speech? Now who’s the real chameleon here?

The film is not all that serious,there’re few moments of fun too but not off the hook! Especially the scene whereunder hyptonotic trance Zelig confessed things to his beloved doctor oraddressing to the public. Narrated in third person voice over narrative, the film isas authentic as documentary should be. The production and other technicaldetailing of the film’s periodic setting are just pitch perfect and Woody’sfavorite cameraman Gordon Willis captured the tone of 20s and 30s B&Wsilent montage and stock footage so authentically and gracefully with fine details. With surprising restraint Woody kept himself as Zelig,almost excluding himself from whatever amount of personal traits and stocks that made himfamous icon on screen.

Needless to say must watch forall Woody admirers.

Ratings-8/10

HANA-BI (Japanese) (1997)

2011-11-19T23:49:00.001+05:30

A distinct and unusual style andform of narration- editing pervades in the film. Mute or slow motion violencepunctures the screen while narrating a fragmentary plot about a sincere copwhose wife is going to die soon due to cancer. He got loan money from notoriousJapanese criminal syndicate ‘Yakuza’ and the goons keep on messing his lifewith threats. Meanwhile a mid age colleague cop gets shot on job and now hislife on wheelchair is drawing surreal drawings…some beautiful…some suicidal!

What is the most beautiful aboutthis otherwise ordinary film is the way director and actor Takeshi Kitano usedthe form to say something so ordinary in extraordinaryway on the screen. Rarely do we see the combination of violence and visual aestheticsruns hand in hand like poetry on screen. Those creative surrealistic paintingsthat his colleague cop made are absolutely treat to your eyes. The real artistbehind them is none other than Kitano himself who made most of them when he wason hospital bed as paralytic patient for short term after meeting a severeaccident. The soothing and emotive background score is another evocative partof the film and Kitano made us feel the sublime joy and melancholy of husbandand wife in their wandering moments of togetherness in the lap of nature, faraway from madding crowd! The end is something so dark and yet so graceful; thishappens rare in cinema.

So far my most impressive Kitanofilm.

Ratings-7/10

THE SWORD OF DOOM (Japanese) (1966)

2011-11-16T00:59:00.001+05:30

‘The sword is the soul. Study thesoul to study the sword.’

Undoubtedly one of the classicviolent Japanese masterpiece ever made. Kihachi Okamoto deserves the positionJapanese Sam Peckinpah! He brought to screen the antagonist to watch from the verybeginning to the very end. From basket hat clad stranger who finishes an oldman praying on mountain pass to the irrepressible swordsmen on brutal killingspree, Ryunosuke is one hell of gifted but cruel swordsman I’ve ever seen onSamurai cinema.

Unlike moralizing cinema Kurosawa,Okamoto captured the film almost like nihilistic violent ballet. Here is anoutcast man who kills without purpose and he enjoys it. The dazzling cameraworkof Hiroshi Murai brilliantly captured the striking swords action with thechilling dead calm muteness of sound serves as tension motif. The longbloodiest duel in the climax brilliantly captured incredible light and shadow.

Forget the legendary ToshiroMifune (though he’s present here)…it’s Tatsuya Nakadai who’s man to watch here;with a slaying sword, that bloody wry smile and nihilistic body language hebrought Ryunosuke as the villain not tomiss. His unchallenged sword remains doom for others and finally for himself. Imust say this is one of the brilliant villain acts I’ve ever seen in Japanesecinema. The bloody mayhem in the climax is one of the most fierce and violentone to witness. Ryunosuke’s uncontrolled evil soul symbolizes his sword and theclimax where he’s destroying the shack followed by massacring the group ofswordsmen is something as strikingly and impressive moment as the final ofKurosawa’s ‘Throne of Blood’.

Ratings-9/10

THE GREAT SILENCE (1968)

2011-11-13T19:47:00.001+05:30

Sergio Corbucci made some of thefinest B genre revenge spaghetti westerns and along with ‘Django’, this is mysecond Corbucci film which I enjoyed even better than the first one. It’s quiteearly to say watching just two of Corbucci films but I must say this is perhapsthe best of Corbucci! The film stars Jean-Louis Trintignanat as silent strangerwho is the fastest gun with a personal vendetta. He is hired hand to avengejustice by a young widow in the godforsaken land of outlaws, bandits and bountyhunters running on killing spree. The other man to watch is cunning and sadisticevil bounty hunter named Loco played brilliantly by Klaus Kinski.

Quite rare and unusual towestern, the setting of the film is snow-clad frozen west land called Snowhill. Ennio Morricone’s haunting distinctive score, Trintignant’s muteness,Kinski’s ruthless evil company, enough action and killings and above all that tensionfilled cold blooded mayhem and massacre in the climax leading to shocking end…itall works damn well on screen and treat for any western fans. Quentin Tarantinorated it as one of his personal favorite western too.

Highly recommended to all westernfans.

Ratings-8/10

NANOOK OF THE NORTH (1922)

2011-11-13T15:46:00.001+05:30

The first documentary film evermade in the history of the cinema! Maybe adventurous drifter Robert Flahertydidn’t know that this silent B&W document would become timeless landmark inthe history of motion pictures and he bestowed as ‘the father of documentaryfilmmaking’. The making of this film had passed through utter hardships and illfate of wrecking the cruising boat and subzero temperature. Not only that whileediting his first shot film he dropped the cigarette ash and burned the wholeprint of the film. He ventured once again to explore north of Arcticand shot the film focused on a Eskimo family helmed by man named Nanook. Muchof this is already explained in the beginning preface of the film by Flaherty.

The film portrays the detailing insightinto the daily life of the chief hunter named Nanook and his family survivingagainst all odds and hostile nature and still managed to live fearless, lovableand happy-go-lucky life. The journey of slow clad region documented fewmemorable images- how without bait Nanook caught fish with agile precision of merestick and harpoon, the walrus and the seal hunt, the making of igloo walls withice slabs and the transparent ice window to reflect the light along with somelight moments Nanook spared with his kid teaching hunting lessons with ice toyanimals. The film is special since it heralded the realistic documentaryfilmmaking movement in cinema.

DIAMONDS OF THE NIGHT (Czech) (1964)

2011-11-13T01:25:00.001+05:30

Jan Nemec’s this film is one ofthe most original and exceptionally experimental cinema I’ve seen in a long run.The film has almost negligible plot about two young boys who managed to escapefrom a moving train of Nazi concentration. They keep on moving in woods savingtheir existence from threat of bullets until they meet their nemesis in form ofold and almost retired motley crowd of gunmen. The confused open ending is rareexception with two alternatives offered by the filmmaker.

The escape journey of theprotagonist boys is constantly punctured by frequent and repeatedly interruptedby baffling images of their memory or mental vibrations and both of theseintercuts runs parallel and this is the most intriguing and unusual part of thefilm. The struggling stream of consciousness of the boy in front of strangelady is the mind-blowing moment of the entire film.

The film bears absolutely unconventionaltreatment in the form with baffling narration focusing the mind rather thanaction, intercuts and repetitive editing, camera work shot with shaky handheld,random and overexposed shots in natural light and ambiguous ending. The film isheavily abstained from verbal dialogues or explanations; even the twoprotagonists did utter just a few negligible lines to each other. The uncompromisedpure minimalist approach bears much resemblance to Bresson films and it hassatire and striking images that reminds me of Bunuel films especially thesurreal frames showing the ants on human body and the old man enjoying boozeand company in front of boys facing wall with hands up!

Recommended to all those who loveto explore truly the experimental or avant-garde European cinema.

Ratings-8.5/10

THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931)

2011-11-12T16:29:00.001+05:30

Cash or his heart, one or theother!

Ha Ha, I’ll bring you both!

It was a year of greatclassics…Chaplin’s ‘City Light’, Fritz Lang’s ‘M’ and two horror masterpieces‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Dracula’. Adding to these entries is William Wellman’s ‘ThePublic Enemy’ portraying the rise and fall of notorious 1920’s Chicago gangster TomPowers played by James Cagney in his career launching role. Tom and his fellow MattDoyle grows and rise from small time working class burglar kids to big mobsterswith the notorious company raising from Putty Nose to Paddy Ryan and NailsNathan stealing things to selling blackmarket booze in prohibition era.

The film has lot of clichés andmelodramatic trademark rift between two brothers on opposite sides of law witha dear mother in between but there’s humanizing factor too and there’re numberof memorable moments all comes from Cagney. From hitting grapefruit to hisgirlfriend on dining table, machine gun attack outside Paddy’s home, being hitand stumbling Tom in rain uttering ‘I ain’t so tough’ and collapsing in thegutter and the final frames where he returns to his home for all awaitedfamily. Cagney brought to screen the pure energy of attitudinal tough guy withhis dominating presence in each and every scene and that’s kind of referencefor all screen’s upcoming tough boy hoodlums.

And as for those who’ve seenMichael Mann’s ‘The Public Enemy’ starring Johnny Depp as Dillinger, let metell you there’s neither connection nor comparison between two films; however Ilike Mann’s film partially, this is an absolute must watch for its classicappeal and the man named James Cagney.

Ratings-8/10

THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY (1980)

2011-11-10T12:25:00.002+05:30

Not as shocking and brutal andyet as striking one as other British classic gangster film ‘Get Carter’, ‘TheLong Good Friday’ is an absolutely compelling watch for many reasons- JohnMackenzie’s topnotch direction, edge on the seat taut editing, intriguing plot,distinctive background score and brilliant performances by almost all leadplayers.

The film has intriguing andpuzzling beginning where lot of things happens unrelated until you witness thelead man Harold facing his volatile time. His ten years calm and unchallengedrule in Londongets a threat at the time of his most ambitious business deal. The bomb blastskilling his near and dear ones one after another and there’s no lead available.He’s facing an unknown enemy when he’s trying to be a decent man and that onceagain opens up his gangster side. Bob Hoskins as Harold is tour de force actand as temperamental helpless casino owner cum mobster shifting to be abusinessman he brought both suave and menacing sides of his character onscreen. Helen Mirren as his smart young wife, Derek Thompson as Jeff, EddieConstantine as American businessman and surprising debut cameo of PierceBrosnan are things to watch.

The abattoir scene, Jeff andHarold’s final scene and the climax at night car race followed by the end wherecamera just recorded the facial expressions of Bob Hoskins is something I wouldlike to watch again and again.

Ratings-8/10

ERIC CLAPTON: NOTHING BUT THE BLUES (1995) (Documentary)

2011-11-09T15:28:00.002+05:30

One of the essential andbeautiful documentary cum musical journey on Blues guitar Maestros made byMartin Scorsese who along with his brilliant cinema also made some of the fine documentarieson legendary artists of music. The film was made for PBS TV; and it’s an absolutelybrilliant concert cum tribute by the acclaimed man of blues Eric Clapton payingtributes to all his inspirational great Blues legends like Robert Johnson, MuddyWaters, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King, Freddie King, Jimmy Rogers, Sonny BoyWilliamson, Buck White. Clapton is heavily influenced from the legacy of theseblack Masters which he mentioned extensively in his autobiographical accountalso, which I managed to read a year back.

The modern blues and jazz movementstarted in the streets of Mississippi Delta where the different styleof African-American black guitar players coined a subgenre called ‘DeltaBlues’ and followed by the cities of Chicago, Memphis and Texas. The film managed to bring all those rare B&W footage with old blackMasters of blues. And there is no better man than Clapton to pay tribute; hegoes on playing goose bump guitar which is an absolutely mesmerizing experiencefor any of his fans, the man is something that made guitar proud of! Theweeping guitar sounds that made Clapton stands apart of from other contemporaryguitar players was all come from his heavily influenced style of three greatMasters of Blues guitar- Robert Johnson; undoubtedly the king of that erafollowed by Muddy Waters and the great modern master B.B.King. He paid tributehere playing ‘Standin’ Round Crying’, ‘Crossroads’, ‘Malted Milk’, ‘Somedayafter a while’, ‘Reconsider Baby’, ‘Everyday I have the Blues’ and one of myfavorite ‘Have you ever loved a woman’ with stunning riffs of personal improvisationsthat demands standing ovations for bringing the heavenly feel full of soul andpassion!

Strongly recommended for all ECfans and for those who’s interested in Men’s music compared to Boys’ ;)

Ratings-10/10

RED ROSE (1980)

2011-11-08T00:50:00.001+05:30

If you love the nostalgicserenading romance of yesteryear's superstar Kaka aka Rajesh Khanna on screen or not, this one wouldbe quite a surprise treat for you. Abstained from his popular romantic ormelodramatic image, here he played unusual and abnormal role of his career as amisogynist man who loves to spare bed with his young dames and than murdering hispreys. The film is well made psychological noir by writer, director BharathiRaaja and it is remake of Tamil film ‘Sigappu Rojakkal’ made by the samedirector starring Kamal Hassan and Sridevi. Raja has almost treated the filmwith suspense and thrill. The camera angles, mise en scenes, montages, cuttingand editing reminds you Master Hitchcock and the use of fluorescent colors and jarringbackground score reminds you Argento films.

No other Hindi film as far as mycinema experience is concerned use the brassiere sans woman in the film likethis film; it bears Indian censor board’s A certificate. The audience rejectedthe film at the box office being unhappy to see their idol star in suchunsentimental act devoid of his trademark style romantic persona. Though I mustsay the film is bold and quite a way ahead of its time and undoubtedly Khannagave one of his restrained act of his career; those who’ve seen both Tamil and Hindiversions praised Khanna’s act better than young Kamal. However Raja didn’tresist temptation to use Khanna’s two musical romantic tracks to give filmquite relaxation from tension. The role of Sridevi is played here by PoonamDhillon supported by actors like Om Shivpuri, Satyendra Kappu, Aruna Irani andRoopesh Kumar.

Ratings-7/10

LE NOTTE BIANCHE (Italian) (1957)

2011-10-28T01:14:00.006+05:30

‘My God, a whole moment ofhappiness! Is that too little for the whole of man’s life?’

I’ve re-read Dostoevsky’s ‘WhiteNights’ prior to watching this adaptation and even in second read it seems one of the most beautiful andsentimental love story about two drifted souls where sweet and wishful dreamsof four nights punctured with reality’s break of dawn. The nameless dreamer ofthe story is a solitary young man lives in his own world of whims and fancies.This pensive man meets a sympathetic girl waiting for her lover night afternight at canal railing on night. What follows are nights where two lonelyhearts encounters each other and share their gloomy past to each other andbecomes almost as desirable lovers. It ends with anguish for one and bliss foranother…the romantic dreamy nights of rain, snow fall ends with break of dawnthat shatters this fine romantic dream in the climax.

Luchino Visconti’s screen adaptationof the story is almost faithful and honest to the original one with minor changesof cinematic translation. The expressionistic B&W camera work so beautifully captured the setting of streets, the bridge, the mist, the night lights, the rain and the snow fall, Dostoyevsky’s regular setting of St. Petersburg here recreated with fantasy and reality hand in hand like an opera by Visconti and Nino Rota’s slow evocative score pushes itforward. Marcello Mastroianni as dreamer is as perfect and as effortlesslynatural as always. The film is brilliant one compared to poor Bollywoodadaptation ‘Saawariya’ made by Sanjay Leela Bhanshali; and I wonder whetherhe’s inspired from this film or the original story because it seems that he’sinspired from the first but credited the story in his version.

Visconti’s adaptation keeps thespirit of the story alive but still there’s no alternative to the originalstory as the philosophical underpinnings of the dreamer is missing in thisscreen version.

Ratings-7.5/10

THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET (Czech) (1965)

2011-10-22T17:54:00.003+05:30

Most of the popular opinions onbest holocaust films generally begins with either ‘Schindler’s List’ or ‘ThePianist’; here’s one of the quite lesser known masterpiece and moving humanitariandocument from the cinema of Czechoslovakia that worthy enough to stamp with themost moving drama ever made on horror of holocaust. Its heartbreaking personalstory of two juxtaposed protagonists set in the backdrop of small town who asfilm progresses slowly turning into bifurcating humanity under oppressiveFascist power of Second World War.

A jobless protagonist Tono is a carpentertrying to push his hard luck but otherwise very content and unaffected man fromwar. His nagging and ambitious wife pushing him to earn more money with littlehelp of quite selfish brother-in-law who happens to be an army officer. Tonogets a permit letter to be the new manager of a shop on main street managed byan old Jewish widow who’s suffering from hearing problem. To narrate whathappens further is insult to reveal for the film like this which not in asingle frame unnecessarily pulled the drama, plot or story or heightens themelodrama and yet touches the true chords of our heart to give you anunforgettable experience that we expect from the great films.

The film has absolutely greatdirection and the Directors-screenplay writers Jan Kadar, Elmos Klos andLadislav Grosman deserves standing ovation. It has fine opening and maintainedbrilliantly the shades of Neorealist cinema; classic B&W camerawork whereone can witness the brilliant use of mirrors and doors in images. It has fewlighter moments too but what is most striking element to watch is the sublimerelationship between the Tono and Mrs. Lautman. He is everyday common man whoseconscience shifts between moral responsibility and guilt and she’s angelic oldmother unaware about the horrors and living her last phase of her life with hershop, Sabbath and a stranger. The dramaand tension runs unexceptionally in last half an hour leading to tragic climaxof disillusioned chaos between both of them. And this landmark film has two excellentand most naturally performed acts by Josef Kroner as Tono and Ida Kaminska asMrs. Lautman is thing to envy even for the most professional and criticallyacclaimed actors of all-time; another strong reason to watch it before you die.

A cinema beyond ratings.

GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN A MATERIAL WORLD (Documentary) (2011)

2011-10-21T00:35:00.003+05:30

With their arrival they made bothhistory and hysteria and created the creed for the generations of music loverscalled ‘The Beatles Mania.’ The four Liverpoolyoung boys were almost in their twenties and they achieved the name, fame,money and kind of celebrity status that any accomplished music talents of thattime could dream and envy of! Made by one of the acclaimed filmmaker MartinScorsese, ‘Living in a Material World’ is one of the finest biographical andmusical tributes of one of the genuine fellow Beatles and lead guitarist namedGeorge Harrison. Its epical documentary in two parts with length of three hoursthirty minutes running time and it deserves that as it’s about The Beatles!

The film has loads of materialfor the Beatles fans- the unseen stage, shows and rehearsal personal footage,rare photographs and conversation sessions with George’s closest friends PaulMcCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Brian Epstein, Yoko Ono, Director TerryGilliam (with whom he produced ‘Life of Brian’) and it captured the ups anddowns of his life as well as The Beatles. George was a catalyst and calmfacilitator in the band between the dominant Paul and John who were sodifferent in attitudes. The film documented the maniac hysteria towards theband and their music. It was time when music was religion and mad followersconsider them equal to God which brought ire of media and Orthodox Church.George made and wrote some of the wonderful songs ‘Let it Be’, ‘While my guitargently weeps’, ‘Here Comes the Sun’, ‘Something’ to name a few.

The most interesting part of thedocumentary is George’s personal Indian spiritual-cultural-musical connection,especially Sitar Maestro Pt. Ravishankar and mediation and mystical mentorMaharishi and ISKCON. It is treat to watch George crooning and strumming guitarand Sitar in company of doyens of Indian classical Music- Pt. Ravishankar,Ustad Allahrakha and Ustad Bismillah Khan. We see George sharing his committedviews to Indian spirituality that turned him quite dismissive towards thematerialistic things in the later part of his career post-Beatles. The experienceof this reflected in their later albums of Beatles along with his solo albumtitled ‘All Things Must Pass’. There’s a point oftime when George completely absorbed himself into abstract mysticism andmeditation of his Indian spiritual encounter but at the same time there’s othermundane things that he’s attached too-especially the other three Beatles andthe phenomena of their band. Somehow the intensity and individual talents offour guys confronted with one another that brought rift between them and one byone they started quitting after White album.

As I’ve read the autobiography ofClapton, I must say that among all interviewed men he seems too honest in hisviews about his closest friend in this documentary. Out of all four Beatles,Clapton admired him so much and mentioned him as one of the finest contemporaryguitar player of its time. His amateur affair with George’s wife Pattie broughtus one of the most soulful Clapton number ‘Layla’ but it was shocking surprisefor genuine George; later Clapton married with her though he maintainedfriendship with him. Ringo is another genuine friend who remained concerningfriend till his death. The only drawback of the film is last half an hour whichis quite stretching one.

Worth watching stuff for any Beatlesfans.

Ratings-8/10

FORBIDDEN GAMES (French) (1952)

2011-10-16T16:36:00.002+05:30

Just fifteen minutes into thefilm and it started giving me emotional goose bumps. Rene Clement’s this simpleyet heart stirring humanitarian document set in time of Second World War is oneof the most sublime antiwar films I have ever seen. A number of films beingmade depicting the absurdities of war from eyes of innocent kids buta few of them captured it as effectively and as naturally as this film. Clementgot something so breathing natural in terms of acting and expressions andpoint of views from both the kids especially that five years old little girl BriggitteFossey in her debut role of Paulette makes it a paragon case study to use childactors in cinema.

As film opens we see a five yearsold sweet girl Paulette moving with his parents and in moments aerial attackkills her parents. She keeps moving with her dead dog and meets a boy twice herage named Michel. He takes her to his low class peasant family and two createsecret world that reflects the death they see around. They’re collecting deadanimals, insects and birds and made a cemetery in a dejected barn. Maybe thisis their ‘Forbidden Games’ especially Michel’s stealing of crosses. Soon theirsecret gets revealed with biting reality of separation.

The impact of great film lies inits indelible images that you carry once you finish the film and that stays inyour mind for long. The film has many of them- i.e- the kids secretly digginggraves for dead animals, at the funeral around the church the kids noticingdifferent sizes of cross and naming it for different animals, the slow panningshot of secret animal cemetery made by kids at the mill with stolen crosses andtags for animals, the captured emotional expressions of girl especially whenthe boy gets caught and beaten up by his father followed by frustrations ofdisillusioned Michel noticed by an owl. And above all that heartbreaking finalframes where the girl moving to orphanage at railway station hears somebodyuttering Michel and we see those cute yearning eyes and facial expressionssearching him around that can break any strong heart. How can I resist tears inmy eyes! What an effective and soul stirring cinema!

Cinema beyond ratings.

MAMMA ROMA (Italian) (1962)

2011-10-15T00:52:00.000+05:30

‘Explain me why I’m nobody andyou’re king of kings.’

The desperation of oedipal mothertheme is perhaps never explored on screen with such an intensity of acting anddepth on screen. Anna Magnani deserved standing ovation for making Mamma Romaso breathing natural on screen; the only other film and brilliant act of motherthat I immediately recollect is Kim-Hye-Ja in ‘Mother’. Mamma Roma is middleaged whore trying to leave behind her ugly past for the sake of his teenageson. She’s so desperate to make her son’s life respectable one but the old pimpturns up too shatter her pipe-dream with reality hard to resist.

This is my first Pier PaoloPasolini film and I wonder how such a masterpiece could remain unknown to mefor so long! Pasolini was a film critic, writer and political theorist andpro-Marxist much before he started making films. Throughout his artistic careerof writer and filmmaker, the man became the most controversial figure in

Italy

as real threat to fascism. The man was unfortunately murdered in 1975, shortlyafter his most controversial and blatant film ‘Salo’. Though Neorealist in it’seffect and portrayal, Pasolini’s this film is way different in approach fromother Neorealist Masters like Rossellini and De Sica and the viewers can getthe clue from the very first opening of the film- the wedding toast, MammaRoma’s boisterous laughter, songs and three piglets.

I found Pasolini more subtle,symbolic and innovative artist compared to other Neorealist masters even thoughI watched this single film! Let me share one observation in this respect. There’sa profound long shot where Mamma Roma keeps on walking on the road at night andsimultaneously talking with whomsoever passes on the road. Pasolini repeated ittwice in the film. Does she really talk to them or to herself? Well I thinkit’s brilliant and innovative use of narration showing internal reality of theisolated protagonist as equal to monologue that provides operatic feel withoutshowing us the melodramatic flashback. Towards the tragic end, we see the sonon striped prison bed symbolically represents Jesus Christ figure and the lastframe of the film suggested Pasolini’s inscrutable angle towards religion. Throughoutthe film slow evocative score keeps running uplifting its despair and irony sosublimely.

Worth to say withut exaggerationthat this film wouldn’t be same without the terrific performance of AnnaMagnani. She’s the woman to watch in each and every frame from the beginning toend. Both Anna Magnani and Pasolini deserved standing ovation. This is the landmarkof Neorealism and Italian cinema; and I think it’s high time for me to exploremore of Pasolini.

DELICATESSEN (French) (1991)

2011-10-13T00:21:00.001+05:30

‘Cinema since the New Wave alwaysseems to be about a couple fighting in a kitchen. I prefer to write positivestories.’ – Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Everybody has heard and read andseen magic realism, this is what I would call magic surrealism! Rarely do wesee such a cocktail fantasy blending many genres of sci-fi, black humor andromance served to stimulate your senses. This is a unique film aestheticallyrich with mind-blowing visuals, weird-sweet characters and above allextraordinary use of sound mixing to suck the audience into an unusualeccentric experience.

It brilliantly opens with arestaurant named Delicatessen occupied by a weird tenants and a menacingbutcher who slashes human flesh. Enters ex clown of circus in search of a job;maybe a next victim of the cannibal butcher! But the man surprisingly startedromancing with a bespectacled sweet young daughter of the butcher who cancommunicate with underworld rebel syndicate of human rats planning to stealcorn and adding more hilarious chaos of fun to screen. The clown is sheer treatand so is watching that butcher…and those multiple failed suicide attempts arethings to watch again and again along with edge on the seat chaotic climax inthe bathroom.

The film was the debut fulllength film co-directed by the man who made absolutely wonderful ‘Amelie’. Worthto mention the extraordinary camerawork by Darius Khondji’s with awesome use ofmise en scene and montage.

An absolute feast to your eyesand ears and mind…watch it ASAP.

Ratings-9/10

VIVA ZAPATA! (1952)

2011-10-12T08:56:00.001+05:30

‘The field is like a woman. Youlive with it all your life; it’s hard to learn she isn’t yours.’

What can you expect from filmwhich scripted by writer like John Steinbeck, directed by Elia Kazan andstarring Marlon Brando and Anthony Quinn! For me watching ‘Viva Zapata’ is asunforgettable experience like watching some of the greatest films of Hollywood ever made. Thefilm is an epical saga of Mexican rebel Indian bandit named Emiliano Zapatafighting against ruthless and corrupt autocratic power to get justice for hismen.

It’s set on the period of 1909 Mexico wherethe land and field of aborigine Indians were usurped by autocratic power and adelegation of Indians came to a Mexican city to meet their despotic president Diazwho ruled as General for more than 34 years. There’s one rebel man who listensto his conscience and went against the ruthless power and became a banditfighting for the injustice. He soon gotsupport from a man named Madero who wanted to establish peace and democracy. Zapatawas appointed as army general and next we see the end of Diaz’s tyrant rule.The law and order of new authority orders to disarm the men fighting forjustice but Zapata refused as he believes that one can only demands justicewith a gun in his hand. Madero’s honest intentions to establish peace wasoverruled by conspiracy of other officials. Zapata and his men had no optionsleft than fight with do or die spirit with lot of personal sacrifice.

So far I would rate this one asmy favorite Elia Kazan film till day and the man brought to screen the methodacting as central to his films. Undoubtedly he’s ‘the godfather of TheGodfather’; as Brando’s three brilliant films of early career rests in Kazan’sdirectorial account and Brando is in crackling form as roaring tiger Zapata. Hischaracter gets a full circle from an opposing rebel to bandit to General andfinally a president to see another rebel in front of him! All rest of thesupporting actors immaterial of small or long screen time enacted their partsnaturally, especially another brilliant actor Anthony Quinn and Jean Peters. Ithas absolutely classy camera work with brilliant angles and shots that youexpect from the finest western films of it’s time.

Undoubtedly the film is centpercent classic Hollywood which is absolutely perfect and faultless that scoresin each and every department of filmmaking -plot, screenplay, dialogues,performances, camera work, editing and off course the direction. No wonder whyit is one of the favorite films of Sam Peckinpah!

Ratings-10/10

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (2011)

2011-10-10T00:21:00.003+05:30

Well, like many of crazy WoodyAllen fans, I’m also keenly awaiting to watch his latest offering. Quiteopposite to its popular opinions and ratings, I would have quite mixed views about it.

The protagonist inhabits in twodifferent worlds where reality and imagination coalesces to give us pleasantsurprising experience; an element Woody used in many of his films so far. Hereis a confused writer suffering from mental block comes to Paris with his fiancée and fall in love withthe city. He soon fantasizing about roaming in 20^th century Paris every midnightwhere he encounters the company great writers and artists like F. ScottFitzgerald, Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Faulkner, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali,Bunuel, T S Elliott and started romancing with Picasso’s girlfriend.

Through popping and introducingthe greatest artists of 20^th century and perhaps while payingtribute to many of his admirable icons Woody made the plot and script quiteflippant one which fumbles and scattered with its slow pace and tad onedimensional characters. Perhaps those who’ve read the authors or knew certainfacts or style of these men will like and enjoy it better than averageaudience. Besides the film has a lot of use of French language withoutsubtitles and don’t have a tone of comedy, wit or intellect that his fansexpect from his well made films. Except Owen Wilson there’s not a singlecharacter which I found impressive one.

Yes, Parisnever seems so beautiful in any of color films I’ve ever seen. Woody poeticallypays his tribute to the city of Paris.We’ve seen his preoccupation with New York inmany of his early films and the opening three and half minutes picture postcards frames of this film reminds me instantly one of my all-time favoriteWoody film ‘Manhattan’.Thumbs up for Darius Khondji’s camerawork and classy background score.

Average one in my opinion, theother Woody fans can watch and share their opinions…

Ratings-6.5/10

DETOUR (1945)

2011-10-06T22:05:00.003+05:30

'Fate or some mysterious force canput the finger on you or me for no good reason at all.'

One may probably find the name ofthe film in many critics’ Best Noir films top ten list and it deserves thatplace too. Perhaps this is the shortest noir film I’ve ever seen with length ofone hour seven minutes running time; needless to say it’s crispy and grippingone.

When everyone was making noirswith heavily paid stars and actors backed up by big studio and producer,Director Edgar Ulmer made a unique low budget noir pushed by pulp fiction plot,quite unknown actors all set in a car and road. For the most part of the filmwe see the car and what’s happening as trap and consequences inside as well asoutside it. The first half an hour of the film and there’s moment of jolt whena strange dame joins the car headed to LA. The protagonist is a piano playercum hitchhiker who is in a fix confronting two strangers in ride and theiraccidental deaths that put him as prime suspect of murders. It would be a bigspoiler if I reveal anything further about its plot. Watch it to check its cultstatus in noir films.

Ratings- 7.5/10

A BRONX TALE (1993)

2011-10-06T17:29:00.003+05:30

One of the well made underratedgangster film and a directorial debut of Robert De Niro. The influence ofmentor Martin Scorsese is visible, the opening of the film reminds me of one ofthe great gangster film ‘Goodfellas’. It begins with a nine years old kid who grows up adolescent watchinga gangster mob boss named Sonny close to his neighborhood and got fascinated byhis power. ‘Nobody’s cool than you Sonny’, he tells to himself sitting andwatching him on his stoop. Once he saved Sonny and soon becomes Sonny’s luckyboy. His upright bus driver father tries to make him out of it but hisfriendship with Sonny grows stronger day by day. Sonny wants to keep the boyaway from the shit and but at the same time the boy’s got crush on black girland is in the wrong company of some jerk off buddies.

De Niro built slow but intense gangsterdrama around the boy’s struggling conscience and choices between the gangsterwho told him, ‘working man is a sucker’ and his working class father who toldhim, ‘working man is a tough guy’. Along with the drama he also successfullycaptured the mood of shifting and swinging sixties with street life of bluesand doo-wop, baseball and boxing ring, cool money, violence, hippy bike ridersand black power and racial confrontations.

Two thumbs up for the cast andcharacter portrayal, screenplay and dialogues, watch that scene where Sonny isexplaining the young boy about Machiavelli’s ‘availability’. De Niro plays theconcerning working class father and he’s okay in his act and the boy reallylooks like De Niro’s real life son. But the most impressive man of the film isplayed by Chazz Palminteri as Sonny and he’s the man who penned the screenplayof the film. If nothing one has to watch the film for his screenplay and act,must say worthy to watch.

Ratings-8/10

MAN OF THE WEST (1958)

2011-10-05T23:25:00.000+05:30

Anthony Mann’s this classic technicolorcinemascope western was doomed at box office and didn’t get critical appraisalwhen released; it was only Jean Luc Godard who hailed it the best of Hollywood he’d seen thatyear. Maybe audience didn’t like to seemid age Gary Cooper or the western macho hero who seems so helpless andnon violent on screen until climax.

Gary Cooper played Link Jones,the man who left behind his violent past with gang but he’s confronting themagain after a train robbery. He’s civilized and non violent now but the brutaland ruthless gang lead by his old associate-uncle Dock Tobin is too hard tohandle. His struggle to be human or turn animal is more pushed to the later sideby sexual tension between a woman who loves him and Dock. Though Cooper isaverage on act, the film bears barn storming performance by Lee J. Cobb as gruntingvoiced Dock Tobin. Mann’s auteur camera encapsulates the ghost town of Lassooin grand western style especially in the climax confrontations.

Must watch for all classicwestern fans.

Ratings- 7.5/10

I’LL SLEEP WHEN I’M DEAD (2004)

2011-10-05T19:03:00.000+05:30

Mike Hodges made his presencefelt with his shocking and hard hitting gangster film ever made in Britishcinema. But along with ‘Get Carter’, he made few other brilliant thrillers toowhich remained unnoticed for many cinebuffs. I’ve seen his ‘Croupier’ couple ofmonths ago, which is an extraordinary film starring Clive Owen in one of hisbest performance. Owen is in lead here too and Hodges brilliantly executed thisserious vengeance thriller with his unique style exploring sound and imagerather than dialogue or narration and still built the tension so damn well. Hebrought to screen the striking uninhibited brutal side of crime world andindifferent seedy side of the city at night capturing those dark alleys,streets, walls, roads and other exteriors like classic noirs.

Will Graham is a fierce man whodoesn’t talk to any living things for days and weeks, surviving as a wilddrifter in his van like a ghost or vigilante trusting no single soul. He’sstepping back to the city and the world of crime he abandoned three years ago whenhe comes to know about his younger brother’s gruesome suicide death. Now he’sgot one sole aim to discover the reason behind it which is disgustingly anddisturbingly shocking one physically as well as psychologically. The plot isjust peripheral, just watch the film how Hodges dealt with its treatment with style; the first half and hour is just establishing the mood and tone. Watching‘Croupier’ and this one, I must say Clive Owen gave his two most memorable andstellar performances collaborating with Hodges. This is his fine minimalistact, just like Jim Jarsmusch and Jean Pierre Melville films.

Ratings-7.5/10

KES (1969)

2011-10-02T11:29:00.001+05:30

Rarely do we find such kind ofmaturity and intense vision of the director in his first film telling the storyof working class boy, but Kenneth Loach’s this debut film is absolutely worthy enoughto enlist in some of the finest British films ever made. Based on Barry Hines’novel ‘A Kestrel for a Knave’, it shows us the grim life of 15 years old ladnamed Billy Casper suffering from abuse and exploitation both at home andschool. At home it’s his working class elder brother who’s bullying him and atschool his strict and exploitive teachers and principal. One day he catches aglimpse of flying hawk and soon he raises, nurtures and trains the hawk,calling it ‘Kes’. The bird is the only positive high and motivation amid allhis frustration and oppression meddling with job, school and family. How amidall darkness of reality the lad grows up following the intuitive bird thatpreparing him for the skill and spirit to fly against the wind.

Loach executed the film asnatural and realistic as possible avoiding sentimental clichés, giving enoughtime and space to develop each scenes and documenting the postindustrial ageand shifting social milieu and generation without being loud or overdramatic. DavidBradley as Billy is one of the most memorable kid performance I’ve ever seen.There’s many memorable moments- the football game between boys, PT teacher’sfrustration and sadist punishment, the boy caned by the principal, Billyexplaining his hawk training in the class. And the hawk here isn’t just anothersilly pet that he’s rearing, he knows well that it’s an instinctive bird andlike a mature young philosopher he’s explaining his teacher- ‘Hawks can’t betamed, they’re manned. It’s wild and fierce and it’s not bothered aboutanybody. Not bothered about me and that’s what makes it great.’ The bird isnothing but a symbol of intuitive freedom that the kid yearns.

Ratings-8.5/10

RUSHMORE (1998)

2011-09-30T21:45:00.000+05:30

Wes Anderson’s this low budgetindependent American comedy brought lot of attention for its dry humor wherecharacters are losers, oddballs and frustrated souls all packed in one. Though he brought outturn of the screwball fun to the screen in flashes, I don’t find it as amusingand delightful fun to watch as ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’. What I'm missing terribly here is brilliant writing of his later films and vibrant characters full of life with all whims and fancies.

Max Fischer is a geek student andhe’s students’ magazine Editor, French Club President, Vice President of Stampsand Coins club, Debate team Captain, Baseball Team Manager, Astronomy SocietyFounder, Fencing Team Captain, Choirmaster and coveted with all otherdesignations tags of extra curricular activities in the prestigious Rushmore Instituteexcept being good in study. And now he wanted to explore his romantic side byhaving crush on his lady teacher. He got a rival too in form of Herman Blume,another oddball. After telling lies and character assassination to win thefavor, he messed up so many things. Soon he expelled from the institute due tohis weird new ventures and poor academic record.

Jason Schwartzman played Max andhe brought the 15 years kid doomed by social skills. It has presence ofwonderful Bill Murray; though I respect him as an actor, I didn’t like hischaracter here much; the only impressive character I found is played by OliviaWilliams as Miss Cross. Quite an average show for me.

Ratings-6/10

THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (2001)

2011-09-29T22:51:00.000+05:30

Now this is what I would love tocall ‘One of the finest and cutest entertainers ever made on American family’. Oh,I love to watch anything with so refreshing humour even second time any givenday! After a long time watched a film where not a single moment makes me feltbore or dragging one. It has everything you expect from a well made film- brilliantlywritten and narrated script based on amazing family characters. It’s a tale of disintegrated doomed Tenenbaum family reuniting to ignite the spark of relationship under one roof after 17long years.

Wes Anderson sketched the wonderfulcharacters with their personal traits, idiosyncrasies, and secret stories unknown toothers. And its fine comic writing and timing without being too loud, too crass or toodark anywhere and yet successfully bringing the genuine humor on screen. Must say its not possible without absolutely stellar cast-Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelica Huston, Own Wilson, Bill Murray, DannyGlover and absolutely the brilliant act by Gene Hackman as Royal Tenenbaum and his worth mentioning love-hate servant Pagoda played by Kumar Pallana. Will soon catch Anderson’s two other wellacclaimed earlier films- ‘Bottle Rocket’ and ‘Rushmore’ and I'm damn sure it will be worth watching and enjoying.

Ratings-8/10

DRIVE (2011)

2011-09-29T01:03:00.003+05:30

One of the most popular andcritically acclaimed film of this year and slick and intense thrillermade by independent filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, who brought notice to theworld winning Best Director at Cannes this year. Refn exploited lot ofcommercial elements of routine Hollywood action thriller and builds the coolthriller on a pace editing, stylistic camera work and bringing suave and reticent kind of professional driver who’s part a garage workman andpart a car stuntman for movies. Follows up a woman with a kid and hubby inprison living next door, conflict for money, a dummy robbery to set the things right that wentastray and than one man’s finish it up job. Quite a set up for Hollywood thrillentertainer but than Refn made a sincere effort here and represent allcommercial factors of Hollywood drama in moreinteresting and refreshing manner of film noir. One can see the shades ofTarantino influence in many of the scenes here.

It has exciting beginning that builds the drama in the middle by introducing characters of black and white and than it givesfull throttle for half an hour to the thrill ride of action, violence and climax. Much of thefilm’s intensity brought by its main character performed with quite enigmatic intensity by Ryan Gosling. The man impressed me with his brilliant act in ‘Blue Valentine’ last year. Though i don't find the film that brilliant as IMDB popular charts or some of the critical opinions back it but nevertheless the slick thriller and entertainer to go for one watch. Won't say recommended or must watch because I’m sure most of you will going to see it immaterial of reading this review or not.

Ratings-7/10

SUBMARINE (2010)

2011-09-27T19:19:00.000+05:30

Usually I hate to watch sillyteen romance or comedies but I would love to watch something refreshing and delightfullike this coming of age British comedy drama about an atavistic teenager. From itsvery beginning it sucks you into the character of Oliver Tate. Everyone atschool bullies him and teased him calling gay. He is absolutely normal thoughbut contemplative one who prefers his own company and loves reading adictionary He got a crush on sweet but quite unromantic Jordana. He has two missionsof immediate attention- to lose his virginity and save his mother from affairwith next door mystic weirdo neighbor Graham the ninja. His father is marinebiologist and the noble man who neglected reflecting upon self acceptedimperfection to relationship with his wife. Oliver understands this becausehe’s more like him.

Told brilliantly in first personnarrative and smartly written and directed by Richard Ayoade, the film isfinest feel good film, I’ve seen after long. Alex Turner’s soulful renditionsare so refreshing and soulful that I like to download and listen OST of thefilm for a quite some time.

Recommended refreshment.

Ratings-7/10

THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER (1962)

2011-09-26T23:09:00.005+05:30

‘I was always trying to get lostwhen I was a kid. I soon found out that you can’t get lost, though.’

I was just sucked into this filmthe moment I heard its title first time and the film sticks to my belief morethan what I expected out of it. Based on short story of Allan Sillitoe, itshows the directionless rebel young man named Colin Smith. He was imprisoned toyouth reformatory on charges of burglary at bakery. There he meets a Governor whoseeing his prowess, pushed him to win the long distance cross country run.Intermittent flashbacks of Colin’s memory show us the glimpses of his lifebefore he landed up to the reformatory- death of his labourer father, hisyouthful disillusionment and failure to be a sole breadwinner for his family,his directionless unemployed hang out with a friend and a girlfriend and theftat bakery.

Director Tony Richardson finelycaptured Britainof shifting 60s when unemployed and disillusioned rebel youth though heading inmundane pleasures and moving away from familial and patriotic bonding hates confirming to the authority. Without being melodramatic and too dark, the filmkept intact the spirit of positive vibes throughout the film including its brilliantunconventional ending. Instead one can see the moments of light hearted funruns parallel to the disillusioned young man’s struggle to defy the authorityand search his own identity by channeling the aggression and emotionalreadjustment of his anger and mental restlessness to running.

It’s just second film of this somewhatstoic faced actor Tom Courtney and the man remains so damn natural in hisexpressions. “It’s not that I don’t like work, it’s that I don’t like the ideaof slaving me good self so the bosses can get all the profit. It seems allwrong to me….Thing is, I don’t know where to start, though,” he told to hisgirlfriend. And I think that’s the story of every thinking modern generation asit was in 1960. Worth to mention is fine Black and White camerawork and thatunconventional and effing brilliant end!

An absolutely worth watchingnugget of British cinema.

Ratings-8.5/10

THE TREE OF LIFE (2011)

2011-09-25T15:06:00.003+05:30

My heart leaps up when I behold

A Rainbow in the sky:

So was it when my life began;

So is it now I am a man;

So be it when I shall grow old,

Or let me die!

The Child is father of the man;

And I wish my days to be

Bound each to each by naturalpiety. – William Wordsworth

Perhaps nothing can sum up the experience of watching thismodern masterpiece than the visionary poetry of the great romantic. But firstthing first. I must say I have never seen something so beautiful in my life-forget the ‘Baraka’, ‘Heima’ and whatever the most beautiful thing on screenyou’ve seen. Everything seems just pale compare to this height of visual treat.It takes you to the different world and gives you unforgettable unique experience; films like these arebenchmark to the magic of cinema encompassing all other arts. Though I watch iton bluray digital print, I have a huge regret of missing the film on bigscreen. The film is modern avante garde in terms of visuals. Every frame is eye-catchingwallpaper and absolutely sumptuous food of aesthetics. It gives me goose bumpsin many frames, especially the tour of genesis/evolution. Emmanuel Lubezki’s gracefulcamera work and Jack Fisk's production designs are the benchmark for generation to follow.

Back to visionary humanitarian auteurTerrence Malick. We all know that this is his most ambitious project and hetreated it with all his soul and heart at right places. It isn’t as abstract assome claimed it since it has clearly no story or plot in his two and half hourslong duration. Most of the time characters utter only internal monologues basedon memory. The film is spiritual journey exploring life and to decipher itstrue nature from eyes of poet. The root of the film is absolutely based onthe Book of Job and Malick clearly gave clues in the very beginning. Characters or actors or plot are fragmentary and wisp in the wind here, since the film is about humanity ingeneral rather than anything specific or particular. It begins with deathof a beloved child and follows up with the recollections of childhood memory bythe sibling brother who’s now a grown up mid age man reminiscing about thoseinseparable moments of memory of internal and physical growth in the life and shadows of his father andmother. Than on it takes you to the tour of life, its evolution and than fixingit to one particular family again to witness the course of life in its minute details of the growth of a child- reflecting the curiosity and innocence of child, encountering the different forms oflife, witnessing deformed one and death, feeling abstract emotions of life withwonder and shocks of inscrutable nature and lord almighty. The film is absolutelyspiritual experience not to be missed.

The child’s shift between thestrictly disciplinarian spartan father and unconditional love of mother isquite genuine lesson to learn between our struggling confrontations between theskeptical mind and graceful heart full of faith, between logic and emotions and betweenthe evolutionary survival of the fittest and compassionate humanity at general and like manythings Malick gave clue about this too in the very beginning- “A man’s heart has heard two ways through life. The way of nature andthe way of grace. You have to choose which one you’ll follow. Grace doesn’t tryto please itself. It accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. It acceptsinsults and injuries. Nature only wants to please itself and get others toplease it too. It likes to lord it over them to have its own way. It findsreasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it and love issmiling all through it. They taught us, that no one who loves the way of graceever comes to bad end.”

The only drawback of the film is it's length, as in the final half an hour, the film seems too stretching one and it won't give me something which i call 'a height of leap', what i found in cinema of Masters like Bresson and Tarkovsky and that's the only major or minor drawback. It maybe possible that i can change my opinion about this in my second viewing as I don’t think one can comprehendfully the film of this canvas with just a single viewing. No, it’s not because it’s too abstractand too symbolic but because it’s something so universal and timeless which maybe grows on you and opens up new vistas after witnessingit the second time.

The film of the year.

Ratings-9/10

HUSBANDS AND WIVES (1992)

2011-09-24T19:15:00.001+05:30

‘I will always have this penchantfor what I call kamikaze women. I call them kamikazes because they, you knowcrash their plane, they’re self-destructive. But they crash into you, and youdie along with them.’

Unlike other legendary comediansWoody Allen’s real life and reel life persona is not different one on and offscreen. His public and private lives most of time converge into one. He’s no longerdifferent from the eccentric, confused, obsessive and skeptical man herepresented on screen. Here he’s playing a professor infatuated with his 20years old young student and it was the same year Woody’s twelve years longsuccessful relationship and marriage with Mia Farrow went into mess withrevelation of fifty six years old Woody’s sexual relationship with Mia’sadopted twenty years daughter. So real on and off screen!

The film is one of most maturework of Woody in 90s. It’s less funny and more confessional one and ironicabout the theme of marriage and separation between two couples. It begins withone couple’s split witnessed by another blessed one and ends with another one’ssplit where the first one is again reunited. The narration shifts between selfconfessional interviews along with their encounters with affairs, crush andinfatuation based on unfulfilled desire and need. Woody represented wonderfullythe idiosyncrasies of his characters and this is one of those films to watchseriously. Both Mia Farrow and Woody are so honest and natural on screen alongwith wonderful supported acts by Judy Davis and Sydney Pollock. Quite strangeto see Woody preference to shot the film with kind of shaky handheld camera andpeculiar cuts running throughout the film.

Recommended to all Woody fans.

Ratings-7.5/10

SUNDAYS AND CYBELE (French) (1962)

2011-09-23T22:23:00.004+05:30

Here is a cinema that transcendsfrom screen to soul…a cinema that uplifts the spirit of humanity. I just wonderhow can such a classic touchstone of French cinema remained quite under knownto the world! Maybe because it didn’t reach to its due audience under New Waveof French cinema thrust by Godard-Truffaut. Compared to Truffaut’s most soughtafter French classic ‘The 400 Blows’ this one is far great film in my opinion.However two things are common that both of the film are beautifullyphotographed by the legendary man of camera- Henri Decae.

How many time we come across afilm where knowing somebody’s real name become such a surprisingly pleasant andblissful journey that is so heart stirring. The film portrays the sublimerelationship between a guilt-ridden soldier and an unwanted girl in the missionaryorphanage. Both of them are lost children in their own way, searching the joy andlife into each other’s company. The man pretends to be his father and swears tomeet her every Sunday. As their relationship starts healing their inner wounds,it bites by harsh reality of silly society that views their relations withdifferent eyes.

It’s a moving cinema told insimple and minimalist style by Serge Bourguignon and the man deserves big hugfrom my side for making such a beautiful subtle cinema. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film the same year. The acts of both lead players is something sonatural, especially the adolescent girl whose heart cracking cry made my eyeswet in those final frames. The film reminds me another sublime Indian filmbased on similar bonding ends as tragedy, though in lesser extent and even inthat film the ending mime-act made me wet my eyes brilliantly enacted by Kamal Hasan.

However exaggerating it may seem, letme say honestly that it’s a cinema beyond ratings.

THE YELLOW SEA (Korean) (2010)

2011-09-22T17:53:00.002+05:30

The man who made promising debutwith irresistible thriller ‘The Chaser’ back with another offering. A taxidriver struggling to settle his huge gambling debt and rough guys turned up toget the money so frequently. He was offered a contract killing task by agangster in order to settle his debt. He has to settle two tasks in Seoul withinfew days- to search his unreturned wife and kill the man. Before his amateurplan to kill and search his missing wife fixes the things, he led himselfdragged into crime mess.

Director Na Hong-jin passed the first hour of the film so well and I was so excited to see what's next after that edge onthe seat thrill experience of that messy and twisted murder scene. But it’s adisappointment, the film loses its track in the second half and it absolutelyloses the spark and thrill of ‘The Chaser’. Compared to that this one seemsmediocre straight action entertainer with typical car chase and car banginglike Hollywood commercial films. However, Hong-jin continues his trademarkchase and graphic violence with ample knives and hatchet sequences. Seriouslythere is so much competition among Korean filmmakers to push the limits of brutalbloodshed and unimaginable graphic violence on screen that they do not left athing for others. Hope next time Hong-jin return with something as brilliant ashis debut!

Ratings- 6/10

THREE MONKEYS (2008)

2011-09-20T23:40:00.001+05:30

An effortlessly moving andcontemplative mature cinema from independent Turkish filmmaker and artist namedNuri Bilge Ceylan. The plot of the film is nothing more than reading a modern shortstory about agony of untold truths. All three protagonists of the film-thefather, the mother and their young son struggling with their own personalbitter truths and ill fate under one roof. They slowly chose to live their detachedand disoriented existence of family against odds and slowly turning their eyesand ears closed, surviving and accepting the unwanted reality of their lives.

Ceylan introspectively reveals his cinema to us inslow pace with minimalist mood and hushed tones of his gloomy characters. Setagainst them lies a beautiful artistic cinematography and believe me the expressiveand aesthetic frames looks like visiting photographic art gallery. He also usedbrilliant minute use of sounds whether it’s moving fan or moving train, thunderin the sky or ring tone of mobile everything adds something to the internalrestlessness of the characters.

The intensity of internal turmoilis felt more with silence than futile words or dialogues and Ceylan gave us characters that don’tlook like screen models or card boards. All three actors performed so damn naturallywith a special mention of Hatice Aslan who played the mother; the lady hasbrought so much depth to her character with her priceless sublime expressions. The onlyminus point of the film is its bit stretching second half moving towards end, but that would bepardonable for something so introspective and intense. Love to explore more ofCeylan…

Ratings-8/10

OPEN YOUR EYES (Spanish) (1997)

2011-09-19T23:38:00.001+05:30

‘We never appreciate the goodmoments until they’re over.’

Are moments of good memory thatgives you pleasure more significant than the harsh unacceptable reality? Here’s astory of a handsome man who disfigured his face in an accident as soon as hefell in love. He is rich and ready to pay whatever amount to get his facelift from topdoctors around the world but didn’t get result. Where one science fails other leaps up andsoon he starts living the life looming between the unacceptable realityand perceptional virtual reality based on memories.

Director Alejandro Amenabar’s this intriguing andcomplex film baffles and involves active participation of the audience becausehe brilliantly played with versions of virtual reality (dream and memory) withstruggling reality of the protagonist’s deranged mind and face. Undoubtedly the film isimpressive and intelligent filmmaking combining psychological thriller withsci-fi that we have experienced in the cinema of Christopher Nolan and David Fincher during last decade. Both Penelope Cruz and Eduardo Noriega played their parts so well. I haven’t seen its Hollywood remake ‘VanillaSky’ starring Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz, which some of the viewersconsidered better one but I think watching the original always turns out as thebest option.

Ratings-7.5/10

Z (French) (1969)

2011-09-19T00:01:00.001+05:30

‘An ideological illness is likemildew and requires preventive measures. Like mildew, it is due to septic germsand various parasitic agents. So the treatment of men with appropriatesolutions is indispensable.’

‘Any similarity to actual personsor events is deliberate.’ How many films clearly proclaimed this loud and clearin its opening title? Z is not a film but a stimulating and engrossing experienceto witness how brilliant a political drama and thrill can go without any sortof conventional gimmicks of filmmaking. This is my first Costa-Gavras film andI’m just overwhelmed by it. He made must one of the best political thrillerfilm I’ve ever watched eschewing all conventional traits.

A concerning peace-activist doctoris going to make an important speech addressing the citizens amid allprovocative and militant crowd and irresponsible ruling government. He is ofthe opinion that spending huge money on arms and military increase corruptionat high places at the cost of sacrificing the basic needs of citizens. Thegovernment does not subscribe to his ideology and unsupportive towards him.Just after the speech, he is attacked by militant hooligans and soon died. Theforce of police stands as lame duck silent spectator at the venue and the eventis declared an unwanted accident to the public. A witness to the event wasfound with the aid of a smart journalist photographer. A dedicated inquest judgetakes up the investigation to know the crux of the assassination plot againstthe wishes of double faced government. He remained stick to his task amid allthreats and came to disturbing conclusion that leads to conspiracy sponsored byPolice and Government nexus. But here comes the unconventional and disturbingend - the well scrutinized report of judicial trial and testimony of indictmentis thrown into dustbin and the judge was dismissed when a new military ruleintervenes and takes the charge. It has its own priorities devoid of ethics,justice and administration.

Gavras represented the shockingchaos and volatile urgency on screen with raw and unadorned realistic action tothe screen- the shifting time of revolution driven by politically motivatedyouth, the uncontrolled extremist mob that can fire violence on streets withslightest provocation, the hypocrisy of corrupt Government, the ruthlessexercise of power to silence the voices never shown to celluloid so vehementlyand effectively. It keeps shocks you and disturbs you from beginning to endwith tension filed fast pace narration and editing. The film won academy awardfor the best foreign language film and also won jury prize at Cannes. Yves Montand is impressive in hisshort cameo and rest of the cast performed so well including Jean LouisTrintignanat as fearless inquest judge who don’t succumb to any politicalpressure and determined to go to the crux of the case. Worth to mentionabsolutely brilliant camerawork of Raoul Coutard; this film wouldn’t be thesame without him behind the camera.

Ratings-10/10

POLICE PYTHON 357 (French) (1976)

2011-09-18T01:10:00.005+05:30

An absorbing cop thriller with engagingcat and mouse thrill, starring and establishing Yves Montand as French HarryCallaghan. But apart of Clint Eastwood look-a-like jacket there’s no similaritybetween either two cops or films. The title of the film derived from thedefinite cop gun named ‘Colt Python’ (357 magnum) which was regarded as ‘RollsRoyce of revolver’.

Marc Ferrot is dedicated cop whois under grief of his beloved’s murder and he’s the one who’s investigating it.It is his ill fate that the poor fellow has unknowingly messed the scene ofcrime under drunken state and left enough evidences against him instead of realkiller. And so he has to get rid of all his beloved’s memorable gifts andphotographs since any of clue can prove him prime suspect. He has toinvestigate his own way, the police way and at the same time keep himself outof persons who witnessed him with the murdered woman.

The film is not typical whodunitmurder mystery. We see the enigmatic woman, her affairs with two men and thanwe see the murder and the murderer and it was not pre planned one but from spurof the moment one. And than begins the tension between two cops- one themurderer, the other investigator. And we know who’s who that confronts eachother everyday in Police HQ and still they don’t know who’s who and that’s whatmakes it real interesting thing to watch. Director Alain Corneau applied manytwists as the film reaches towards its shattering climax. For Montand its absolutelymemorable lead role of his career and his real life wife Simone Signoret playedknow-it-all wheel chaired old woman so impressively in her short screenpresence. Recommended to all French crime/noir fans.

Ratings-7/10

THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (1996)

2011-09-17T00:25:00.001+05:30

In 1817 great French writerStendhal overcame from powerful shocking emotions while watching the artisticpaintings in one of Florencechurch. He wrote about this phenomenon in his diary. Symptoms of Stendhalsyndrome are severe depression, hallucination, nausea and personality disorder.Now that’s quite a topic to explore for this Italian Hitchcock. Dario Argentoexplored the strange neurosis and psychosis like no other in his giallo cinema and this one is no letdown. While visiting the museum a young lady inspector named Anna felt the same andshe’s followed by a rapist-murderer stalking her and soon making her captive rapedher and marked her face with blade. Getting a chance she severely disfiguredthe murderer and fully attempted to kill her. Everything is back to normaluntil once again things getting in disorder around her.

As watching many of Argentofilms, I must say that this is one of the most violent and disturbing bloodgore that he has ever depicted on screen. many of his trademark trait ofmysterious killer is missing here, instead we see the rapist/killer within fewminutes of the film’s beginning but there’s reason for it and you’ll know why,when you see the film. The film has eerie sound composed by legendary EnnioMorricone and that cacophony of whispers creates really spooky feel along withbrilliantly selected haunting artistic sculpture models and paintings inbackground and foreground. There’s no doubt that Argento is auteur horrorartist in creating that mood and feel. But apart of that film seems too averageand predictable affair much before climax. The other weak point of the film isagain Master’s flat expressive daughter Asia Argento as lead.

Ratings-6.5/10

TRAUMA (1993)

2011-09-14T00:46:00.003+05:30

Back to undisputed Slasher MasterDario Argento and though popular IMDB rated it too average, the film is not atall disappointing one for all hard core Argento fans like me. ‘A dark secret, atwisted mind and an insane desire to revenge’, said the tagline of the film. Ananorexic teenager girl ran away from clinical hospital after witnessing themurders of her parents by a serial killer. She’s deeply attached to her motherand so trying to commit suicide. Enters the hero to rescue and next are moregruesome murders by a neurotic headhunter killer who prefers beheading hisvictims on rainy nights.

Throughout his career Argentokeeps on making his signature giallo/ slasher movies exploring the variety of neurotickiller and edge-on-the-seat suspense. He filled the screen with some of thebizarre images and this one is no exception- extreme close ups of lizards,decapitation of heads with weird device, voyeuristic kid following the actionof neighborhood stranger, anorexia, occult and the trauma of bad memories. Argento’sdaughter Asia Argento is quite letdown in her act and expressions and it’s realpain to ears to heard her English dubbed pronunciation here but than who caresabout actors in B genre cinema when the director is auteur like Argento or DePalma.

Ratings-7/10

WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (1956)

2011-09-12T18:48:00.004+05:30

With his first sound film ‘M’and thefirst path breaking serial killer film ever made in the history of cinema, German Master Fritz Langmade one thing very clear that it’s not just another serial killer murder mysterybut something more than it which juxtaposed the enigmatic killer with the other dark and ugly reality of the society. Here once again he remained stick to that promise. Thefilm is brilliant and gripping noir, a kind of that you expect from makers likeLang. It begins with two deaths- the first one is murder of a young woman andthe other is natural death of the senior News Media conglomerate named Kyne. Hispampered and good for nothing son, Kyne Jr. is now heading the company thattook years to build its name by his father. As soon he joined he introduced thechaos of competition in his office. However, Senior Kyne’s admirable reporterEdward Mobley untouched by it keeps on analyzing crime beat on television withfocusing on a homicide case. He plays a bait by provoking the maniac killer onhis show telecast but by doing so he puts his own and his loved one’s life indanger.

As said earlier, along with thethrilling noir, Lang unashamedly covered the changing ugly face of rat race newsreporting and power struggle where everybody is searching for scoops and exclusivestories and trying hard to secure their wishful positions in the eyes of theirboss. They don’t mind going any moral or immoral means to secure it. And thereal and responsible, dedicated and deserving men who worked desperately tosearch the truth remains uncredited in the end. So the worthyjournalist Mobley quits the job and the unworthy pushers rules the forthestate. He again raised a point who’s the real criminal and who’s more immoral here! It would have been much better end, if Lang had remained stick to this end but maybe topull the mass audience or maybe on the insistence of RKO studio-producers, he turnedit to the happy end with news of Mobley's appointment as editor of published in newspaper. DanaAndrews is the man to watch and he brought Mobley what he should be in a noirlike this! Perhaps Lang’s most underratedfilm noir.

Ratings-8/10

MANORANJAN (1974)

2011-09-09T18:22:00.001+05:30

As per the title, it’s absolutelyentertainer than anything else and quite a cult hindi musical entertainer ahead of it’s time with adult certificate. The film was directorial debut of Yahooa.k.a. Shammi Kapoor. Many common misconceptions considered the film as a plagiarized version of Billy Wilder’s ‘Irma la Douce’, however that’s apartial truth. As a matter of fact, both Billy Wilder and Shammi saw theoriginal French play on the West end. Here is what Shammi said about hisdirectorial debut- ‘Both Billy Wilder and I had watched the play in London and both of us wereinspired by it. And both of us came out and decided that we would make a movieon the play. Billy made ‘Irma la Douce’ and I made ‘Manoranjan’. The movie wasnot a success as it was ahead of its time to our Hindi cinema. Heroines asprostitutes were not acceptable in those days…but I enjoyed making the movie.’

Sanjeev Kumar played ConstableRatan who’s seedha-sada chaddiwala hawaldaar joined his new duty on red lightarea known as Manoranjan Street.During the raid on hotel he unknowingly caught his senior officer and soonsuspended by him. He joined the company of Dhup-Chaon played by Shammi, theowner of Dhup Chaon Café and started working as pimp of number one hookerplayed by sensuous and sultry Zeenat Aman. He soon fell in love with her andwanted to marry her but the hooker is so happy to be what she is. Poorlovelorn constable has to play disguised Nawab to win her heart to reform.

The film is complete mindlesshilarious farce filled with some adult innuendoes and adult dark humor; nothingshocking or objectionable from today’s standards. Unlike other films of itstime, it doesn’t represent the oldest profession of the world as unacceptablebut romanticized it where hookers are enjoying their lives for what they’re andlove to remain so. The film avoided any sort of serious moral or socialstatement. Most of the fun comes fromthat Nawab act played so wonderfully by Sanjeev Kumar and it has whackydialogues in Urdu penned by brilliant Abrar Alvi (the man who scripted many of Guru Dutt masterpieces) and the language was neverused so farcically funny in Hindi cinema with words like dil-e-bhitari,ghanta-e-chaubish, jawani-e-haribhari, jism-e-dilkash.

Sanjeev was remarkable actor andhe’s the man to watch here displaying his comical timing, however thecamaraderie between Shammi and him is treat to watch compared to today’s Bollywoodbaffoonary. Must say Zeenat was much more than all Mallikas of today andundoubtedly she’s the first urban pin-up hindi actress with her erotic screenappeal. There’s quite four songs in thefilm and Panchamda composed them up to the expectations. Out of all, two were quite brilliant JuniorBurman compositions. The duet number of Kishore Kumar- Asha Bhosle ‘Aaya hun main tujhko le jaoonga’ is an absolute RD style rhythmic number where variations of flamenco meets upbeat percussion and creates magic with that 32 bits thumba intro. Another melodioustrack of the film us ‘Chori Chori solah shringar’ and Asha’s vocalperfectly matches with Zeenie baby’s urban sensuousness flavor of those days.

Ratings-7/10

MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE (2009)

2011-09-08T16:52:00.000+05:30

‘Razzle them. Dazzle them. Razzledazzle them.’

That’s what Werner Herzog hasbeen doing on screen since the day he started film-making. Inspired on true story this is anotherunexceptional under noticed Herzog film that he has made recently. Complex andunusual character and chaos are Herzog’s panache. The protagonist of the filmis complex and unusual young man who stabbed and killed his own mother and than held two unknown hostages in a barricaded house to keepthe cops out of his home. The mother was too caring and over protective one andhe loved her too. So than what went wrong with the man or what made him turnedto this madness. One does not expect the direct and easy answer to that fromHerzog film! Through several flashbacks and situational incidents of his lifetold by his fiancée and a play director, we see the enigma of this inscrutableman who loves flamingoes and who claimed to have seen god. He started gettingstrange, they said, either after his river rafting expedition trip to Peru withfriends or that passionate role playing of classical Greek tragedy that drawnhim to brooding crime.

‘Some people act a role, othersplay a part’ said Michael Shannon and at other point he said, ‘I’m not going todiscover my boundaries. I am going to stunt my inner growth.’ And he played hischaracter so brilliantly. There’s not much to deliver as Herzog deliberatelyskipped explaining him directly in the most part of the film and still throughhis body language and expressions Shannonmakes an impressive act. There is one absolute Herzog moment in the film whichI loved so much. Watch the moment where Shannon ridiculously try that futileact of moving down on escalating stairs running upside and watching thoseunending round frames he said that it’s tunnel of time and perfect stage forcosmic melodrama. What a brilliant punch!

Only one complain-can’t it endbetter than this! As some of Herzog masterpieces are just irreplaceable for itsstriking end-part.

Ratings-7.5/10

OPERA (1987)

2011-09-06T23:51:00.002+05:30

Another mind-blowingfilm that proves why Argento is called the unavoidable Master of Italian Horrorcinema. He left no stones unturned to make is one of the most engrossingthrilling experience for his audience and used all his signature gialloelements in abundance and I must say this is one of the fast paced, taut andgripping horror that he has ever made. The film opens with ravens watching,disturbing the lead singer singing the opera of Verdi’s Macbeth. As soon as sheleft the stage, she met with an accident and died. The Macbeth opera becomescursed affair even with replacing a new young girl and we witness the murders andslicing of throats in signature Argento psycopath.

It has some of the mostinnovative horror and torture traits- eyes kept open with needles to make thegirl feel the horror, the affair with gold bracelet, a bullet through keyhole,a nightmare, poetic justice of ravens, POV shots and surrealistic images too. Theidea of pins-under-the eyes torture device came from a joke of Argento himself.He said it would annoy him when people look away during the scary scenes in hisfilms. He would jokingly suggest taping pins under people’s eyes so theycouldn’t look away from his films.

Besides this is one of the mostgore and gross Argento where some of the frames are too heavy for common audience.The soul stirring opera is turned and ripped apart upside down to your ears andeyes to give you chilling and eerie horror. There are two things which are irritating in the film- the use of heavy metal background juxtaposed withwestern classical opera soundtrack and the absurd ending.

Must say one of his best works I’veseen so far…highly recommended to horror/thriller or rather simply any Argento fans.

Ratings-7.5/10

RED ROCK WEST (1993)

2011-09-04T22:36:00.002+05:30

Director John Dahl made one ofthe most compelling femme fatale thriller ‘The Last Seduction’ with awesomeperformance of Linda Florentino as a bitch hard to forget. This is his earlyfilm to that and it’s fine stirred cocktail of noir thriller withenough thrilling jolts to get you entertain in company of Nicolas Cage, LaraFlynn Boyle and the real old badass of all-time Mr. Dennis Hopper.

In search of money and a cleanjob, a drifter moved on his car towards western small town of Red Rock. Call it a chance or accident, he gotmisunderstood for a hired killer by a bar owner. He was offered money and jobto kill his wife and he accepted it. He landed up next to his wife and revealedthe plot and got the double offer to kill his hubby. The man just needed moneyso he made a plan to run away with it from town but fate made a different planto bring back him to the town and now he has to face the real hired killer, theman, his wife and cops.

Nicolas Cage plays that drifter,who’s a nice guy stuck in a mess and still trying to stay as clean as possible,Dennis Hopper as hired killer is once again in crackling form and it would havebeen better if there’s more of him in the film. Director John Dahl hooked ourattention in interesting and engaging twists and turns and engaging action inthe later half.

Ratings-7/10

THE CAT O’ NINE TAILS (1971)

2011-09-04T11:30:00.001+05:30

Once asked about being called the‘Italian Hitchcock’, Dario Argento said, “Maybe I have inherited Hitchcock’saudience, but certainly not his themes. Between me and Hitchcock there aredifferences of morality and neurosis. Hitchcock is a puritan while I am ananarchist, even too anarchist for my own good.”

The film is one of the earlyArgento thriller before he made his much acclaimed ‘Suspiria’ or ‘Deep Red’ andthough it’s not his best, the man never failed to entertain me! It begins withan old blind man accompanied by a small girl walking on road at night and hearssome strange talk in the car. The following day the news of theft in laboratorymakes him nosey to know the truth. He encounters a young journalist and as soonas both of their company gets the clue or lead, the murders keep happening around andthere comes a moment when the danger starts looming on their face.

Argento kept the gripping paceand made us hooked to signature giallo, he maintained the tension and suspensethroughout this whodunit but near to the climax, the film starts losing it’shold and the unraveling of suspense seems so frivolous one amid all puzzlingdrama. Though its not as shocking Argento, I must say there are certain scenes whichproved as macabre and neurotic as Edgar Allen Poe’s work, especially thecemetery scene where the reporter and blind man tried to get the clue from awoman’s grave.

Ratings-7/10

KEKEXILI: MOUNTAIN PATROL (2004)

2011-09-03T00:06:00.004+05:30

Rarely do we see the combinationof unusual thrilling adventure journey based on true story set in arresting and captivating natural landscape. This chinese/tibetan film is absolutely visualtreat to senses and at the same time striking journey of heroic Tibetan men ofindomitable spirit. On 4700 meters high wilderness mountain plain of asnow-clad Kekexili, the machinegun clad poachers every year hunt nearlythousands of antelopes to trade their wool skins in international market. To protectthe remaining extinct species and to combat the poachers a voluntary civil Tibetanpatrol was formed in 1995 helmed by a retired Tibetan army man named Retai. To cover the story of killing between poachersand patrol men, a news reporter from Beijing becomes part of the patrol men’sjourney.

The film is absolutely stimulatingand struggling journey to senses where situational ups and down of patrolmenare dominated by indifferent fate and inscrutable nature where human decisionsare favorable or unfavorable at times with their paid price. Throughout thefilm we don’t find action of any unnecessary bloodshed or violence and at thesame time it maintained the spirit of Tibetan culture intact. Director Chuan Ludeserves praise for bringing this riveting, impressive and yet detached real humandrama and the cinematography is something which can challenge any well shotwesterns.

Highly recommended.

Ratings-8/10

THE STRANGER (Italian) (1967)

2011-09-02T17:54:00.001+05:30

‘Lying is not only saying whatisn’t true. It is also, in fact especially, saying more than is true and, inthe case of the human heart, saying more than one feels. We all do it, everyday, to make life simpler. But, contrary to appearances, Meursault doesn’t wantto make life simpler. He says what he is, he refuses to hide his feelings andsociety immediately feel threatened.’ – Albert Camus

Perhaps no other book made asstriking impact on me as Albert Camus’ ‘The Stranger’ a.k.a. ‘The Outsider’. Iread it first time almost twelve years ago and it shocked me. I read it againfew years back and it stimulated me and made an indelible impression on mymind. Director Luchino Visconti’s this screen version is line by line authenticadaptation of Camus’ existential masterpiece and its moving and striking one.Visconti remained stick to the original book without adding anything of his ownand it’s hard to decide whether it’s required in this otherwise so complete andcompact book of mere hundred or so pages. But still I feel that it would be great film if made by either Bresson or Tarkovsky- the Masters of cinemaabout indomitable spirit of human soul.

It is the striking andexistential tale of a solitary man who doesn’t know how to pretend what hefeels, what he thinks unlike all others of society. He refused to lie to othersand to himself. They’re shocked to see the atheist who didn’t express grief at his mother’s funeral... the day after her funeral he enjoyed the companyof his girlfriend on beach and on bed and still confessed that he doesn’t love her... his boss gave him a lucrative joboffer to Paris that could change his life and he replied he doesn’t really care simplybecause it’s impossible to change one’s life. And then under scorching heat and blinding sunlight one afternoon he committed anextenuating act of error by shooting a man onbeach. He’s convicted and whenlawyer asked him ‘would you explain to me themotive or reason of your act?’, he replied, ‘I think it was the sun.’ Thecourtroom trial and proceeding raised many existential questions about him butabove all it’s his refusal to satisfy the feelings of others that playedpivotal role that increase his guilt in the eyes of law.

Is he being tried simply for his crime or forhis personal emotions? His hard truth is somethingwhich is unacceptable in pretentious fake society that claimed himthe stranger…the outsider and give him death penalty. The lawyer called him avile soul, monster and Mr. Anti Christ but he’s exactly the opposite of allthat! The climax is full of ideological friction and struggle between existentialismand Christianity shared between the convict and thepriest. Marcello Mastroianni whoimpressed me in Fellini’s two masterpieces gave his consummate best with hiswell restrained and well expressed performance. He honestly attempted to be inthe skin and mind of Meursault on screen. He’s finely supported by Godard’smuse Anna Karina and all other satisfactory cast. Visconti maintained the spiritof Camus with minimalist approach with authentic setting and production. Theonly thing seems heightened is the courtroom trial sequence with loud oratoryof lawyer…perhaps the end part could be made better!

Ratings-7/10

BORSALINO & CO. (French) (1974)

2011-09-02T00:22:00.000+05:30

The film is a sequel to‘Borsalino’ made by the same director. It begins with funeral of FrancoisCapella (the character played by Belmondo in ‘Borsalino’). He’s the closeassociate of Roch Sifferedi’s and remained almost like his brother. Sifferedisoon found the man responsible for his murder. He’s Italian mobster namedFrancesco Volpone and threw him from moving train but the very next station hiselder brother Giovanni Volpone, the stiff rival gangster waiting for hisbrother and he sniffed the matter. Soon Senior Volpone made life straightdownfall for Sifferedi; and the rest is bloody vendetta, rivalry, lawless townand volatile hard time.

The brilliant camaraderie betweenBelmondo-Delon is absent here, as Belmondo died in the first part and so Delonis the solo man here and besides its quite serious gangster film unlikeentertaining and playful first half of the earlier one. However Dereymaintained high points of the film even though its theme is out and outvendetta film. Alain Delon’s enigmatic screen presence, authentic perioddetailing and setting and production of shifting thirties, classic backgroundscore and fine camera work, action, thrill and shocking violence and unimaginableclimax on the train! It has everything what we may expect from chiseled noir orclassic gangster flick.

Ratings-7/10

BORSALINO (French) (1970)

2011-09-01T11:30:00.002+05:30

French cinema’s two matinee idolsAlain Delon (as Roch Sifferedi) and Jean Paul Belmondo (as Francois Capella) starsas two conmen brawling with each other for a dame and than making a pair ofgangsters in period setting of 30’s Marseilles, directed by Jacques Deray. Theyplay small time crime sharing their cut in racing, boxing, fish market but an attemptto play big game with city’s shark becomes an open invitation to danger andfriction between them. Soon things settled and they become the unchallengedkings until another man rise in power by breaking the pair permanently.

The title of the film is misnomeras it has nothing to do with the plot or story except that the main characterswear fedora hats generally made famous on screen by gangster cinema andmanufactured by the company of the same name during 1920-40. Undoubtedly thechemistry between suave and sophisticated Delon and rustic and precariousBelmondo is absolute highlight of the film and they as memorable one asNewman-Redford in ‘Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid’. The other high points ofthe film are brilliant period production design, awesome camerawork; ClaudeBolling’s rocking score and Deray’s stylistic direction surely wishful thingsto watch. Maybe I would not exaggerate to say that the film like this surelyremained inspiration for big Hollywood directors who brought new dimensions to crimeand gangster films in 70’s ranging from Coppola, Scorsese and De Palma butthere are ample clues of it if one watch it carefully.

Must say one of the one of theunderrated gangster film of it’s time and surely a treat for me and for allthose cinephiles who remain unsatisfied no mater how many crime/gangster filmsthey’ve seen and still look forward to explore something classic of that genre.

Ratings-8.5/10

BRANDED TO KILL (Japanese) (1967)

2011-08-30T22:30:00.002+05:30

Compared to many Masters and auteur filmmakers of Japanese cinema, perhaps the name of Seijun Suzuki is quite less heard or less explored. There’s a reason for it, he made entertainment over logic kind of B gangster genre pulp fiction in the most productive phase of his early career and then didn’t make a single film for a decade or so. But what makes his cinema an original and individual expression is his visual style and play with form of the genre, his combination of irreverent humor to dark nihilistic side of his characters is something to watch in terms of creativity. It’s not exaggeration if I called him Jean Luc Godard of Japanese cinema. His innovation in style is something which took B genre action potboiler to some other level.

Content wise ‘Branded to Kill’ is typical Yakuza/ action movie where guns and bullets, horny dames and urban professional gangster, passionate romance and climactic nemesis plays their routine parts…and one may think ‘what’s this all fuss about Suzuki!’ But in terms of form and style he’s something so unconventional and impressive one and perhaps a reference material for makers like John Woo, Jim Jarmusch, Quentin Tarantino and even Wong Kar Wai. His fractured narration, cutting and editing of images, out of the box camera angles, extreme close ups and frames which looks like modern-pop-art illusion. His fractured and fragmentary narration runs in noir touch where his lead man a.k.a No. 3 killer’s one failed mission and a passionate affair with a woman puts him into peril of another killer who’s stalking him and psychologically breaking him to his nemesis in almost later part of the film. At the same time he’s queer, playful and funny. i.e.-the gangster fetish for smell of boiled rice, his desperation to be No.1 and I just laugh out loudly watching ‘This is the way No.1 works...he tires you and then kills you’.

Recommended to those who want to explore the filmmakers who broke the conventional form of world cinema.

Ratings-7/10

ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS (Italian) (1960)

2011-08-29T09:30:00.007+05:30

‘In my hometown where I was born…I left my heart there forlorn.’

What a movie! Stamped as overwhelming tragedy from beginning to end with its two hours forty nine minutes epical running time. It’s emotionally powerful, intensify the characters and uplift the melodrama and tragedy like Shakespeare’s classic tragedies where man’s predominant flaw responsible for his doom and also like Greek Masters where fate is responsible for tragedy. The film was made by Luchino Visconti, the torchbearer of Italian Neo Realistic cinema. However he kept the shades of neorealist cinema intact, it’s an idealistic film about a family consists of a widow mother and his four sons who came to city of Milan to make their fortune along with their fifth brother and soon one after other tragedy keep striking its notes and bringing the doom to such a fine family.

Visconti gave space to each brothers and the poor mother who till climax unaware about the doom and all the cast gave their consummate best to the film immaterial to their screen presence. But the three key figures of the film juxtaposed to one another are Rocco played by then so young Alain Delon. Simone played by Renato Salvatori and the whore named Nadia who becomes the reason of love and hate between two brothers. Rocco is represented as a saint, always forgiving and sacrificing for the sake of his ill fated brother Simone and family and Simone is the only brother who completely gone astray with emotions of jealousy and possessive love that he can’t resist and than he’s slowly trade into the path of alcohol, debt, rape and even murder.

Annie Girardot, as Nadia is the most brilliant performance of the film in my opinion. Being whore, she’s the outsider and outcast to the family, to the world and yet she is just irresistible figure who’s life torn apart by the jealousy of one brother and the brotherly love of another. She’s the real tragedy of the film. I can go on and on describing the best scenes of the film and there’s so many of them leaving their impact on memory for long time. The moral of the film was perhaps made clear in the climax where in the celebration the party of his boxing win Rocco expressed his wish to return his homeland and said to the youngest brother, ‘Remember Luca, ours is the land of the olive tree, the moon and rainbows.’ The final neorealist frames serves the metaphor of hope where the youngest brother Luca watching the photos of his admirable brother Rocco on newspapers hanging on street. Nino Rota’s evocative score is something to pay your ears in that final frame. It is said that Francis Ford Coppola was such a big fan of this film that he hired composer Nino Rota to score for his masterpiece ‘The Godfather’. But apart of that, the film is inspirational for many directors around the world.

Masterpiece that doesn't require ratings.

LE DOULOS (French) (1962)

2011-08-28T00:49:00.004+05:30

‘One must choose: die… or lie?’

One of the most exploding French noir and arguably one of the best Jean Pierre Melville film with mind-blowing double cross, multiple characters and their inscrutable and double face personas. So many intriguing things happen on screen in the first forty five minutes. We’re introduced to multiple characters, their double faces, lies and than we witness murder, burglary, an informer calling from public booth, shoot out on street and smart police interrogation blackmailing the key suspects. For the next hour, Melville kept us engaged and hooked to the screen with unimaginable twists and turns in company of French matinee idol Jean Pierre Belmondo and he’s playing real smart ass to watch by all means. Till its striking climax and the last frame the film keeps us hooked to thrill.

Melville brilliantly played game with the audience with shifting the narration between two lead players and by cleverly hiding the other side of the plot, characters and their motives. Melville films are technically flawless and distinctively stylistic and surely this one is no exception. B&W camera work, taut editing and that highlight single shot where camera panned up to 360 degree are just classic.

Ratings-8.5/10

BOB LE FLAMBEUR (French) (1955)

2011-08-27T00:32:00.007+05:30

“Before the New Wave, before Godard, Truffaut and Chabrol, before Belmondo flicked the cigarette into his mouth in one smooth motion and walked the streets of Paris like a Hollywood gangster, there was Bob.” –Roger Ebert

There’s no exaggeration when the same Ebert said in his ‘Great Movies’, “Modern heist movie was invented in Paris in 1955 by Jules Dassin with ‘Rififi’ and Jean Pierre Melville with ‘Bob Le Flambeur’. Melville pioneered the French noir cinema with this film and continued making some of the matchless noirs throughout his career. Melville brought moody, stylistically elegant touch to gangster genre. He carved a niche in matter of style and impression and made the gangsters and criminals meticulous and distinctively stoic but professional masters. They know their tasks and at the same time oozing magnetic charm on screen. Bob played by the silver hair Rogen Duchesne is a kind of gambler anybody love to dream! Though carried away often by his gambling stints and luck playing he kept visiting card tables, racing, night clubs playing waltz until the ultimate bait of casino safe heist worth millions. The meticulous planning and rehearsal of the heist followed with quite improbable but surprise twist in the climax.

What’s Greg Tolland to Orson Welles, Henri Decae is to Melville. His brilliant B&W camerawork and shot selections are undoubtedly things to witness here. The real location shots prominent in the opening and the first half surely impressed even Master like Godard. Decae was the man of indelible impressive frames of French New Wave cinematography with films like ‘The 400 Blows’ and ‘Le Samourai’. The waltz, piano and vibraphone background score runs throughout the film which is quite strange to witness in Melville films as generally in his color films the use of music remained so minimalist.

Ratings-8.5/10

THE SICILLIAN CLAN (French) (1969)

2011-08-25T23:48:00.003+05:30

Nothing can beat the style and thrill of French noirs. Director Henri Verneuil’s this taut, captivating crime thriller boast of brilliant casting lead by three consummate performers of French Cinema- the legendary Jean Gabin as Sicillian gang boss, the indelible and magnetic charmer Alain Delon and Lino Ventura as smart but queer trying-to-quit smoking cop. It begins with Delon’s arrest for bank robbery and soon followed by his classic escape sequence from moving van. Equally noticeable is the cop surveillance and engaging tension of jewel heist on flight’s take off and landing. The film reminds me Melville’s ‘Le Cercle Rouge’, another brilliant noir starring the icy-blue eye man. Ennio Morricone’s memorable score and Henri Decae’s color camerawork are another feathers on the cap.

Highly recommended for crime/noir fans.

Ratings-8/10

SAMURAI REBELLION (Japanese) (1967)

2011-08-25T01:39:00.003+05:30

Masaki Kobayashi’s Samurai cinema is less about sword action and more about humanitarian drama. His unflinching exploration to the disgraceful dark side of Japanese history and traditions in his Samurai epic ‘Hara-kiri’ portrayed grim and depressing picture of 17^th century Japan where thousands of samurais were deprived from means of livelihood and an innocent and devoted samurai was led to commit compulsive hara-kiri by the tyrant rulers of his own clan.

In the same vein, ‘Samurai Rebellion’ explored another dark chapter of 18^th century where a devoted family man’s spirit and patience is challenged by cruelty of his own clan’s double faced feudal heads. Inhumanity, rigid conformity of conduct and abuse of power pushed the man to voice his rebel and like the history of rebel it’s once again crumbled by the powerful authorities. Kobayashi’s insistence for structured rectilinear frames is something so unique both in ‘Harakiri’ and this one. Toshiro Mifune as Isaburo represented another of his memorable role moving towards ripe age and he’s finely supported by Tatsuya Nakadai. Though I liked ‘Hara-kiri’ better, this one too is recommended watch for all those who wanted to explore more of Kobayashi or to those who’re simply Mifune fans.

Ratings-7.5/10

A MAN ESCAPED (French) (1956)

2011-08-23T19:23:00.008+05:30

‘The image must exclude the idea of image.’

It’s said that Bresson made fourteen films during his career and every one of them is nothing less than masterpiece. What separates Bresson from all other Masters of world cinema is his absolute minimalist approach to the filmmaking where cinema becomes something so interior movement guided purely by the images and by his models. He called his non professional actors ‘models’ and these models are so detached from their expressions, style or acting in conventional sense. For Bresson sets and actors or theatricality is nothing but an absolute artificiality. Throughout his life he treated image in his films as soul of filmmaking and it’s so pure that even though his quite rigid untraditional baggage of filmmaking, it creates something so divine on screen that’s hard to forget.

‘A Man Escaped’ is so far my fourth Bresson film and if I’m not mistaking it’s his most accessible film for any viewers immaterial of artistic or common taste and perhaps his most positive film as far the end is concerned. Oops I revealed the secret…anyway that is made quite clear in the title itself! Bresson made it very clear in the very first frame of the film even before we see the image that-‘This is true story. I’ve told it as happened, unadorned.’ And he truly represented it so unadorned; abstained from all traditional filmmaking grammar.

I just love the way Bresson selected the faces of his models, Francois Letterrier here is an inscrutable and impassive man from the very first frame and even while looking at his face nobody can grasp what’s happening in his mind. We witness his first futile attempt to escape from car as the film opens. He was severely beaten and abstained from food for couple of days, and he's under solitary confinement and constant inspection and still his courage and spirit to escape remains as firm and solid as rock. Alone in his cell, he kept doing his work, slowly and steadily chipping his way to freedom.

With what alacrity or meticulous detailing the film showed us the man’s attempt, planning to escape and its execution in climax! It reminds me Dassin’s that unparalleled heist sequence of ‘Rififi’. He’s under constant threat of getting caught and being executed just like other cell mates and yet he kept intact the flame of his hope and spirit alive. There is always leitmotif of overt symbolism in most of Bresson films whether religious, political and existential dimensions and one may interpret it in varied texts here but apart of all, the film is so simple and heart-warming one for even for his common theme of the man’s freedom and redemption of human soul.

After seeing this film Jean-Luc Godard said that ‘Bresson is to French cinema what Mozart is to German music and Dostoevsky to Russian Literature’.

Need I rate something like this!

LEAVING LAS VEGAS (1995)

2011-08-22T12:18:00.003+05:30

‘I don’t remember if I started drinking because my wife left me or my wife left me ‘cause I started drinking!’

On the surface ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ is a cliché film about Ben, an alcoholic who came to Las Vegas to drink himself till death and Sera, a street hooker whose crumbling existence and loneliness paved a way to share company of this equally lonely man. Why Ben is drinking to such self destructive way is kept deliberately an enigma in the film. Though we got a clue in a scene where under drunken state he messed up at casino joint. Its difficult to say who’s angel to whom in their screwed up existence as both of them mutually accepted each other for who they’re and they don’t expect each other to change. But out of that cliché comes a soul stirring film which is like celebrating sadness or witnessing an opera. There are three men who deserves applaud for breaking that cliché- the lead pair of Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue and the director, screenplay writer and composer of an intoxicating jazz score for the film- Mike Figgis.

When we talk about method actors of Hollywood, most of the time we ended up with Brando, Pacino, De’Niro or Nicholson; and here is the actor who did serious research for his alcoholic addicted role. Cage said, ‘(Pablo Picasso) said that art is lie that tells the truth. What if you just want to tell the truth and not lie about it?’ To play his role of alcoholic, he went to Dublin for two weeks drinking binge for this role, he drank alcohol to the limit and got a friend who videotaped his body language and behavior, so that he could study the footage later. The number of awards showered upon Nicolas Cage for his performance in this film, including Oscar and Golden Globe trophies for Best actor are all deserving ones without a doubt.

Elisabeth Shue’s act of prostitute is something so graceful that even besides her skimpy clothes, skin show, she maintained her character with uncorrupt soul. She’s smart street hooker who knows how to perform the exact fantasy to his customers for few hours to get the bucks she wants and yet her existence was trapped by a paranoiac and exploitative pimp who sexually and physically abuse her. Much of her internal reality and subtle relationship with Ben is expressed through monologues on close ups. Her act is equally award deserving one and she won Golden Globe trophy too, however Oscar went to another deserving nominee Susan Sarandon for 'Dead Man Walking'.

Yet ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ is not the best film about a severe alcoholic addiction that brought the protagonist to self doom; one has to watch that in Billy Wilder’s one of the most underrated classic ‘The Lost Weekend’. But even though it’s so special film because in the history of Hollywood there’s nobody who dared and performed the alcoholic act to this level and this height as Nicolas Cage and because David Lynch referred Cage as ‘jazz musician of acting’.Period.

Ratings- 8.5/10

ADAPTATION (2002)

2011-08-21T19:42:00.008+05:30

‘You are what you love, not what loves you.’

Call it creative despair or writer’s block but sometimes nothingness becomes your material; maybe it gives you more time to self scrutinize yourself! Fellini made one of his masterpieces out of it; though complicated and deconstructive the film still remains one of the most personal expressions of himself as an artist. America’s one of the gifted screenplay writer, Charlie Kaufman tried to do something like that here. The film is too personal and self reflectional of Kaufman as an artist. There’s no wonder why the protagonist of the film here named as Charlie Kaufman and he’s screenplay writer suffering from creative block while adapting the script of the book about orchid flowers. He’s quite confused about its screen adaptation as the book has no story or plot. His personal repressed self and self locked existence led him to writer’s block. He’s constantly failing to meet deadlines and suck himself into the life of the lady who wrote the book. Compared to that his brother Donald, who’s living with him and attempting screenplay writing with the footsteps of his brother, completed writing one of the attention grabbling debut.

Now how can you create something unusual or out of the box from nothing? There’s a scene where Charlie’s wannabe screenplay writer brother Donald took him to attend seminar on principles of screenplay writing to solve his creative block. Charlie seeks an advice from the man named Frank Mckee…listen the question and an embarrassing and insulting reply on stage and than pay your ears to the personal meeting just after the seminar is declared over. Charlie waits for the man and than both discussed the problem. There lies the fine clue of the film about art and the detached self of an artist. But is it possible to create an original art without self expression? How can he remain detached to the project without personal expressions and yet bring originality? There's constant thrust between reality outside and reality inside which is your true identity! Kaufman is clever man and he turned out the screenplay ready with a personal and accidental tragedy but by deliberately using both Voice Over and ‘dues ex machina’ (any active agent who appears unexpectedly to solve and insoluble difficulty); both strictly denied by Mckee, the usual code of screenplay writing. Maybe to create something unusual, you need to break the usual notions guided to you!

It’s brilliant and well constructed screenplay…so fresh, so original with equally brilliant screen execution and direction…the team of Kaufman & Spike Jonze brought another film, hard to avoid for the lovers of unusual Hollywood. Compared to Kaufman’s other two popular films 'The Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind' and Being John Malkowich', this one quite straightly narrated, less complicated and least ambiguous screenplay and yet it has finely internalized the character journey. But beyond that what is absolutely high point of the film is the double acts of twin brothers Donald and Charlie Kaufman, absolutely juxtaposed to each other and yet with so subtly characteristically restrained performed by Nicholas Cage. He truly deserved award for this one. Both Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper finely supported their parts as well.

Highly recommended to those who still haven’t seen it.

Ratings-8/10

RED SUN (1971)

2011-08-21T16:25:00.003+05:30

Well, do we need a reason to watch Charles Bronson, Toshiro Mifune, Alain Delon and sizzling Ursula Andress altogether in this west meets east or western meets samurai film! The film was made by Terrence Young, the director of Bond classics such as ‘Dr. No’ and ‘To Russia With Love’ and he kept intact the entertainment with ingredients of action, fun and even showing you the assets of Ursula undress!

It begins with train robbery and double cross followed by the hunt for the man named Gauche who stole the treasure and a valuable gold samurai sword. There are moments of entertaining fun between chemistry of juxtaposed westerner Bronson and samurai Mifune. For Delon, it’s less meaty role and lesser in terms of screen presence. Not essential one for western afficianados, but no harm watching once for Mifune fans as the man remained committed to his profession even in this commercial Hollywood.

Ratings-6.5/10

DEEP RED (1975)

2011-08-19T11:23:00.003+05:30

My fourth Dario Argento film and I must say that this one is absolutely masterpiece by the auteur. Anybody who haven’t seen any Argento film, should begin their journey from this one and I’m sure he’ll suck to the master of slasher horror. It’s an absolutely nail biting thriller Argento made much before his much acclaimed ‘Suspiria’. He made a film where mystery, thrill and horror coiled into one to give you edge on the seat experience from start to finish.

An expert lady gifted with mind reading gets perverted sensations in return during a conference on parapsychology. Soon she became victim of killer’s slashing knife. A jazz piano player strolling on the road at late night witnessed the slashing and crashing scene at window; a typical trait of Argento films. During investigation he meets a possessive lady journalist but soon he goes on his own way to lead the case where he gets entangled in intriguing links about the missing painting, a children tune played on recorder and above all a suspicious man in a brown coat. Sometimes what you actually see and what you imagine get mixed in your memory like a cocktail from which you can no longer distinguish the flavor from another. Now that’s what Argento reflected in his debut film, but here played same stuff so brilliantly, it keeps the audience off guard with the witness’s version of truth, until he recalls the clue of memory in the chilling climax.

The plot, editing, background score, camera work and editing are just pitch perfect here. The pervasive use of red color in objects, lighting and background, the slashing of throats, the eerie extreme close ups, witchcraft, the haunted mansion; Argento didn’t give you moments to relax here. David Hemmings who played the lead as photographer in Antonioni’s masterpiece ‘Blow Up’, played quite similar role as a pianist who in pursuit to know the truth puts his own life into peril. Advice to watch an uncut/the director's cut edition with running time of 126 minutes and do watch it at night with earphone/headphone if possible or else you miss something!

One of absolutely best by Argento…so excited to explore more of him.

Ratings-8.5/10

PHENOMENA (1985)

2011-08-18T00:37:00.003+05:30

Dario Argento’s ‘Phenomenon’ a.k.a. 'Creepers' begins with his trademark haunting background sound and atmospheric setting of natural landscape, waterfall, a girl who missed the bus and murder. Cut and we see an entomologist studying the patterns of insects leading to the homicide investigation with the help of his pet chimp. Cut and a teenage girl with unusual power to communicate with insects adjusting in a hostel room with a partner. Next is nightmare, sleep walking, and personality disorder that leading to the mystery of psychopathic killer who conserves the body parts of his victims.

Using insects and larvae as props of degenerative horror, Argento combined the elements of fantasy and paranormal stuff to present his trademark horror. It reminds me of De Palma’s underrated supernatural teen horror film ‘Carrie’. The climax is absolutely bizarre show…the revealing face of deceased boy standing in a corner, the pool of degenerated larvae and body parts, the flies and the bloodshed. It’s just awesome and the kind that we expect from Argento; however what is annoying is the use of loud heavy metal sound with vocals in certain scenes. It’s second film of young Jennifer Connelly and it’s quite a thing to know from trivia that a part of her finger bitten up by chimp in the final scene at the end of the film, soon she ws rushed to the hospital to re-attach the finger. Recommended one for all horror/thriller lovers.

Ratings-7.5/10

DAYS OF BEING WILD (Cantonese) (1990)

2011-08-16T17:48:00.004+05:30

‘I’ve heard that there was a kind of bird with no legs. It could fly and only fly…when it got tired, it slept in the wind. This kind of bird only lands once…that was the time it died.’

Whenever I finish watching any of Wong Kar Wai film, the intoxication of visuals, the momentary treatment of time and the unforgettable sublime loneliness of characters linger on senses for a long time. Now that’s what I love to call ‘a cinema of elegance’. His preoccupation with themes of isolation and longing with lovelorn outsiders suck the viewers to a different realm like metaphysical poetry. “One day, he pointed his watch and told me, he would remember me forever for that very minute. It was the nicest thing I’ve ever heard. But now when I look at a watch, I’ll tell myself, I’ve to forget this man from that very one minute,” said Maggie Cheung, who almost remains the destined muse of unrequited love in Wong’s visual poetic canvas of romance and melancholy. Maybe those who've truly loved somebody selflessly, would know the intensity of unspoken longing!

The fragmentary plot revolves around emotional dislocation and ambiguity of temporal relationships of love and hate between all six characters. Centre to all is an unpredictable loner Yuddy (played by Leslie Cheung) who’s wild and romantic outside, agitated and restless inside searching the root of his existence. His random and fragmentary emotional relationships and ill fate throughout the film makes and breaks almost all the characters he acquainted. Wong’s dealing with the element of actual time and screen time is so experimental. In certain frames time just pauses, runs with screen time or jumps to years in a flash! As usual the background score is treat to ears; soulful acoustic guitar strumming in case of this one. Camera doesn’t speak or shout but whispers in Wong’s films. Close and low angle shots in low key light keeps us so close and yet so detached to the melancholy, and longing of the characters. That blue tinted landscape in slow motion from passing train is something! There’s quite a similarity between his master stroke ‘In the Mood for Love’ and this one; as both of the films depicts and portrays 60’s Hong Kong in nostalgic frames with moments of unspoken personal emotions, desire and memory like no other.

Ratings-8.5/10

DESTINY OF A MAN (Russian) (1959)

2011-08-15T00:00:00.002+05:30

Based on the short story by Mikhail Sholokhov, Director-actor Sergei Bondarchuk’s debut film ‘Destiny of Man’ a.k.a. ‘Fate of a Man’ is moving tale of a Russian carpenter Andrei Sokolov who falls in love with a beautiful orphan girl. He marries her and lives happily with her family of three kids until reality of second world war strikes him. He left his family to serve his motherland. On the front he was soon captured by Germans and turned into POW in Nazi concentration camp along with many others. His struggle to survive against tyranny and attempts to escape plays hide and seek with his fate and strong will to reunite his family. Luckily he escapes and returns to his native land to witness the ugly side of post war.

Shot in fine frozen and natural B&W camera, the film is noticeable for its Neorealist treatment, well restrained act and direction. Bondarchuk brilliantly captured the ruined buildings as documents of war and Andrei’s sublime relationship with orphan kid like those Neorealist Masters. It’s quite straight and simple film and yet one of the most moving antiwar document where humanity wins all the adversity of evil.

Ratings-8/10

KEY LARGO (1948)

2011-08-14T00:31:00.003+05:30

‘Your head says one thing and your whole life says another. Your head always loses.’

Fifties was time of classic Hollywood noirs and who knew that art better than John Huston and the man of the decade- ‘Humphrey Bogart’. Here he’s accompanied on screen once again by his muse Lauren Bacall and the by default gangster of the era, Mr. Edward G Robinson, here playing the fireball Johnny Rocco.

A lonesome hotel on the harbor holds up by the gangster for the secret deal and caught by the stormy hurricane. Bogart played disillusioned world war soldier paying visit to the father and widow of the dead soldier. He’s the wise guy in the eyes of gangster Rocco. Though his head gave up willingness to fight, he’s the man who doesn’t change his tune. The film is more a trapped drama on single setting until we witness the climax on the boat. Excluding the performances, the film is quite average noir by the standards set by Huston himself, simply because it’s the same year he gave one of his masterpiece ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’.

Ratings-7/10

JULIA’S EYES (Spanish) (2010)

2011-08-11T18:41:00.004+05:30

The suicide attempt of a blind woman turns out as murder. Her twin sister along with her husband comes to attend the funeral. Her inclination and investigation to know the reason behind her suicide drags her to queer findings about her sister. She too has faltering vision that slowly turning her towards blindness. As she keeps on her investigation against her husband’s will, she realized that somebody is sneaking on her too.

It’s an engaging and taut mystery thriller with its twists and turns that don’t give much time to think in the first half. The point of view of the blind protagonist kept the element of intrigue intact but unfortunately the film loses its grip in the second half and becomes so predictable and mediocre affair like usual Hollywood potboiler. The revelation of the killer made me think that what made him pushing the drama so long and so far without a reason. Nevertheless it’s an entertaining film and no harm watching once for some of its surprising elements and POV shots.

Ratings-6/10

THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE (1970)

2011-08-10T19:33:00.004+05:30

‘Horror is the future. And you can’t be afraid. You must push everything to the absolute limit or else life will be boring. The truth of horror is like a serpent always shedding its skin, always changing.’ – Dario Argento

An American writer in Italy witnessed a homicide on one late night in front of art gallery. He is helpless voyeur trapped between glass doors, what he see is a man with an overcoat and a struggling damsel stabbed with knife. The victim survives and the hero is told by the investigating cop that the attacker was the serial killer. While the police is doing its duty, the writer soon obsessed with the idea to know the truth; something that’s associated with the thing that doesn’t click to his brain.

The bizarre laughing voice on telephone, the mystical painting on the wall, the weird painter that keeps the cats for godforsaken reason…Dario Argento made his presence felt with this directorial debut almost treated in Hitchcockian thrilling tradition of ‘Psycho’. I recollect watching another brilliant admirer of the Master mentor, Brian De Palma who in his early career made some of the gripping thrillers without roping Hollywood stars. His ‘Sisters’, ‘Body Double’, ‘Blow Out’ are really exciting thrillers to watch. The chilling background score is trademark of Argento and though legendary Ennio Morricone done the job here, I missed the unusual and eerie score of his ‘Suspiria’.

Ratings-7/10

AS TEARS GO BY (Cantonese) (1988)

2011-08-09T17:20:00.001+05:30

It’s not exaggerating to say that the new wave of Hong Kong cinema started with advent of Wong Kar Wai. Attracting both mainstream and cult attention he brought dynamic changes with experimental and innovative approach in visual style and form of cinema. ‘As Tears Go By’ is the directorial debut of Wong and it’s one of the best Chinese gangster film ever made. The influence of Martin Scorsese’s ‘Mean Streets’ is visible but he created something which even the original should proud of.

His extraordinary visual quality of the film with use of primary color schemes especially blue, artistic play with fragmentary story line and spatial and temporal relationships, unusual use of camera angles, lighting and above all his signature stop motion frames makes cinema almost modern visual poetry. Along with popular trait of action oriented gangster film he mixed here a contemplative angle of subtle romance of unrequited longing and accidental but impossible relationship between anger on nose mobster and respiratory infected distant cousin. Must say, fine acts by Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau. The background score always remain a leitmotif of his characters sentiments, moods and melancholy; esp. the use of ‘Top Gun’ soundtrack ‘Take my breath away’ in this case.

In single line, the film is ‘Visual poetry of violence and romance and inevitable tragedy.’

Ratings-8/10

FRANKENSTEIN (1931)

2011-08-08T19:34:00.004+05:30

‘It’s alive! It’s alive! … Now I know what it feels like to be God!’

From the very opening expressionistic shot to its gothic climax, Director James Whale’s adaptation of Marry Shelley’s classic is just invigorating version to replace on screen even after 80 years of it’s making. It’s tale of Henry Frankenstein, a crazy scientist who looks beyond and challenges the God by his experiment to create a live human being from stitching together the parts of dead bodies. His assistant stole a brain from medical college but accidentally returns with an abnormal brain. Frankenstein’s fiancée, her friend and an old scientist and the mentor of Frankenstein tries to dissuade him but who can stop man from his height of madness. The being turns into mute monster and soon set the Bavarian town into mayhem.

It broke ground in two ways-(the creator) an abnormal scientist who challenges the authority of God and (the creation) a monster who is not entirely evil. The film has length of one hour and seven minutes but it has scenes which remain long lasting to the memory- the grave robbing scene, the tower like laboratory on mountain hill, the experiment on dead body on thunder stormy night, the most touching and heartbreaking scene of the monster and little girl where he first imitated throwing flowers and than throwing the girl and the final confrontation scene between the creator and the creation; the film is absolutely classic horror tale ever adapted on screen. Along with ‘Dracula’ released the same year, this film not only established the genre of horror in Hollywood but also saved the struggling phase of Universal Pictures..but above all it made Boris Karloff, the most memorable monster (?) in human form.

One of the greatest American films ever made. Period.

HARAKIRI (Japanese) (1962)

2011-08-07T10:38:00.002+05:30

The samurai’s blade is his soul.

An ex-samurai warrior seeks to die performing hara-kiri after downfall of his Master’s clan and came to know about an intriguing tale of another ex-warrior who came to commit the same. Though hearing the grim tale, the samurai strongly determined to commit hara-kiri provided fulfillment of his last favor but his all three alternative favors are refused. So before committing hara-kiri, he started the life story that raises many questions about the humanity.

Director Masaki Kobayashi’s showed the grim and depressing phase of 17^th century where thousands of samurais were deprived from means of livelihood and committed hara-kiri. It begins with elements of intrigue and unpredictability where narration intermittently shifting between flashback and present. And than it has mind-blowing climax. The only low side of the film is quite slow and lagging melodrama of the middle part. But that’s not the point, what is significant is that Kobayashi brought to screen the face of the samurai who’s helpless warrior hero in front of ruthless authority’s corrupt conscience. And what’s more disgraceful is that men at power failed to reflect upon even after listening the moving tale of one ex-warrior’s sacrifice and hara-kiri for family. If to go unwavering to one’s death is the way of the true samurai, than what’s code for the men at power who forced one to commit disgraceful disembowelment by bamboo sword!

The last half an hour of the film is just treat and that uplifts the whole film. With brilliant use of camera and stormy wind it creates haunting atmospheric tone to that sword duel before the unforgettable climax action. Tatsuya Nakadai, a fine actor who often repeated by Akira Kurosawa but suppressed under heavyweights like Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura in Kurosawa’s many films is the man to watch here and proves that he could be equal to Mifune if given a platform and chance.

Another Samurai masterpiece and classic from the land of rising sun.

THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE (Spanish) (1973)

2011-08-05T17:53:00.005+05:30

‘For me, every spectator is a potential filmmaker and, of course, without the spectator, the films would have no meaning, no reasons to be.’ – Victor Erice

‘Few films have had greater impact all over the world. But I would advice you not to take it seriously’, advised the man on screen to the audience. It’s 1940 and they’re showing James Whale’s ‘Frankenstein’ to the stunned audience in a small countryside village of Spain. However the advice did make the sense to mature audience, it did greater impact to the mind of six years old innocent and quiet Ana who went with her younger sister to watch the film in old ruined building used as cinema hall.

Director Victor Erice’s this debut film takes 20 minutes to establish and introduce the isolated existence of disintegrated family surviving under one roof. It involves the audience to observe without any preconceived notions. However most of the film is focused on the character of the youngest family member- Ana. She’s shy and innocent and at the same time so curious and serious about things. Opposite to her is the elder sibling Isabel who’s quite mature and smart. The parents are lost in their own detached world; the father absorbed his days in tending and exploring the beehive and the mother lost in her memories of distant lover to whom she writes letters. The closest to Ana is her elder sister Isabel who though helpful didn’t miss a chance to play with her innocent sister’s gullibility.

I haven’t seen such nuanced, contemplative and sublime portrayal of childhood fascination, impressions and its effects on child’s repressed mind in any of the films so far. The monster of the film unsettled Ana. When told by her sister that it’s spirit who can’t die, it made everlasting impression to inquisitive and innocent Ana. She started searching the spirit in the well and in the abandoned barn as directed by her sister until finally she starts talking to the spirit of wind under mysterious circumstance.

The film is absolutely a visual piece of art. Camera whether in still or moving gives us time to observe, frames so elusive and poetic that it made us feel and contemplate like painting. The minimalist approach and stillness of images remind me the purity of Bresson or Tarkovsky’s cinema. The image beautifully corresponds to it’s soothing background score. The film absolutely unforgettable experience for me and though it seems exaggerating I must say that I’m so suck into the film that I don’t think any other film will do impact to me for atleast few days.

EL DORADO (1966)

2011-08-03T23:15:00.002+05:30

John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in a western made by Howard Hawks…now that’s reason enough to spur classic lovers to watch this Technicolor saga of friendship and courage. Though there’s fine chemistry between these two legendary icons here supported by young James Caan; I’ve two complains to Mr. Hawks- Why did he chose such a pathetic role for brilliant talent like Robert Mitchum? Unfortunately Mitchum didn’t have much to perform on screen in this alcoholic lost in a love kind of loner sheriff JP battling against the dark side of Wild West. On the other hand Wayne is in usual crackling flavor- the man whose mouth is as firing as his gun.

Complain number two- why he made both the heroes crippled in certain ways and pushed the drama interrupting the rhythm and action of the film? The film is too straight and sober one, devoid of boiling conflict or awaiting confrontation, what we expect from western action entertainer. The same year released the film that stands as one of the most popular film of that genre making a nameless hero a new western legend. Need I tell the name of the film?

Ratings-7/10

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935)

2011-08-02T18:50:00.003+05:30

‘Everything about you reminds me about you, except you.’

First thing first- after a long long time I laugh out loudly watching these timeless original comedians…who else than Marx Brothers! This one is quite toned down film of their career with interrupting song-dance-music journey as musicals ruled in those days and yet the Brothers delivered a package of fun with their capable best of it’s time. They are stowaways on ship, poking fun to snobbish society of that time- the plot, theme that repeated and improved in their most of the films.

It’s always treat watching the mind-blow chemistry between the legendary trio except the only letdown talent of Zeppo. There are quite memorable scenes that I love to watch time and again. i.e- signing of contract scene between Groucho & Chico or stuffing the room scene. It’s absolutely great writing and brilliant timing and rhythm between them that created unsurpassable magic on screen. Its true classic and nevertheless I’m not much into opera, I just love watching playful piano of Chico and Harpo playing harp. Harpo remains always a man to watch with his trademark silence, horn stick and childish mischievous attitude- an absolutely crackling fun to watch.

Ratings-7.5/10

CASTAWAY ON THE MOON (Korean) (2009)

2011-08-01T22:12:00.002+05:30

Though having improbable plot, slow pace and complex characters, here’s light, funny and intense film; a kind of allegory on mundane compartmentalized life in a city queerly connecting with plausible romance. A frustrated working class young man tries to commit suicide under debt. He jumps into the river and (un)fortunately ends up surviving on drifted life on small island where he can witness the city but not vice versa. Undoubtedly there’s quite a similarity between this and one of Tom Hanks most popular film ‘Cast Away’! But here is another protagonist living voluntarily chosen secluded life in her apartment home adjacent to river. She loves watching the moon at night and accidentally found that alien like survivor. Her voyeuristic tendencies gradually drive her to come out of her self-imposed confinement to the threatening world outside.

Though it has quite contrived ending, the narration and intention of director is so positive and promising, it has moments of irony crossing with intense and sublime emotions. It’s quite refreshing to witness film like this from Korean cinema where most of the modern films are preoccupied with crime, vengeance and bloodshed.

Ratings-7/10

TOKYO SONATA (Japanese) (2008)

2011-07-29T16:49:00.002+05:30

Exploring my third Kiyoshi Kurosawa film this week and this one is 180 degree different from his crime and horror masterpieces. It is cent percent simple and moving film and a window to the world of a common Japanese bourgeois family. A mid age man working as an administrative director lost his job at downsizing company. He’s a responsible family man and sole bread earner for his family consists of two children and a wife. Though he’s struggling to get a new job, he keeps on pretending to go office everyday. He hasn’t informed his wife about it and still manages to give her monthly house expense.

Kiyoshi managed to make an emotionally warm and intense family cinema pushed by character driven drama of four characters belong to a single disintegrated family. And all of them are protagonists in their own ways- a jobless authoritarian patriarch trying to be deceptive about his shame and frustration, a school going boy struggling to learn piano & his directionless elder brother struggling to set his future volunteering for US military, the wife & mother who though knowing everything and both ends keeps on making up the family…and than a young piano teacher who’s getting divorce. Acting by all the cast is anything less or above the normal or natural. The film takes unexpected turns into the lives of three family members in the last forty minutes until we heard sonorous and healing piano played by the boy that touches the souls of audience as some divine emotional purgation.

Must watch is understatement!

Ratings-8/10

PULSE (Japanese) (2001)

2011-07-26T23:02:00.002+05:30

‘Ghosts won’t kill people because that would just make more ghosts. Instead they will try to make people immortal, by quietly trapping them in their own loneliness.’

What is more horror than the inner vacuum of human? My second Kiyoshi Kurosawa film and the man left me shocked and surprised to see how he’s redefining the cinema of horror to altogether different direction. He said in one of his interview, “Film for me is a medium point between a fictional story and reality. You start with a genre, which is fiction, and gradually move towards reality. Somewhere in between you find the film.”

On surface ‘Pulse’ a.k.a. ‘Kairo’ shows you, the young men haunted by distorted and blurry images of ghosts either on screens of their computer, television or cell phone. The frustrated victims disappear or committing suicides. But behind that bizarre horror, the film is an allegory of the world where indifferent technology rather than connects, breeds alienation and solitary existential trauma to us. Kiyoshi gave us a direct clue which is an allegory in form of a miniature model of world where a programming simulation running on computer screen- where if two dots get too close, they die, but if they get too far apart, they’re drawn closer. Do people really connect through indifferent technological mediums of communication or reflects their solitary and secluded existence?

Kiyoshi removed the thin layer of the world where ghost is reality; the ghost is no one but disturbing reality of human loneliness! What’s that ‘forbidden room?’ Is it the death…loneliness…human mind or the indifferent world? Kiyoshi brought unnatural bleakness to the city of Tokyo through his camera and shot selections where the cold isolation of death and loneliness maintains the deliberate use of darkness with low key lighting throughout the film making us felt the inner emptiness of characters.

One of the highly recommended horror films…especially for those who sneer their noses calling ‘horror’ just B or C genre? Is it really…with films like this?

Ratings-8.5/10

CURE (Japanese) (1997)

2011-07-24T17:15:00.001+05:30

Case- a series of brutal murders

Modus operandi- arteries cut with carved ‘x’ mark on neck

Reason and motivation for killing- unknown

My first Kiyoshi Kurosawa film and the man has brilliantly played an ambivalent game with amnesia and hypnotism that churns out an impulsive crime drama. After a long time it quench my thirst of watching an unforgettable psychological thriller. The drama that started with two opposite characters slowly distorting the thin line between sanity and insanity. Here’s a cop so lost in the case that his life became a misery and a convict with complex trait of memory loss who psychologically incites the minds of others to commit murders. What’s inside the head of the criminal? Is there a reason or just pure irrationality?

Kiyoshi provokes the audience to think hard just like the convict who asks the questions and like to hear from others under the spell of hypnotism and it’s this thing that excludes him from other filmmakers of this genre. The camera moves so slow, sometimes focusing on things for long like metaphor and it has fine cutting and editing of images too. As the film progressing it’s make you think whether you’re really watching a crime thriller or something else! There’s are films that begins like a crime film but not ends like it and ‘Cure’ is undoubtedly the thought provoking film that belongs to that category.

Desperate to watch other films by the same director!

Ratings-8/10