Antichrist (2009) - Incomprehensible !!!

This is not at all a review !!!
No one can review this Lars von Trier film, as the film would, I am sure, convey different things to different viewers in succeeding viewings.

 Some random thoughts ...

- Intensely horrific - the film stars only two characters (yes .. Absolute two), the fear or horror evoked is based only on the fear of being lonely or solitary. As far as I am concerned, it was genuinely horrific and definitely not a B-Grade exploitation. The viewer would naturally transcend himself/herself into the shoes of the protagonist and hence will feel engulfed with the fear of being lonely, under the circumstances portrayed.

- Very less dialogues - The film almost conveys everything via images and brilliant cinematography. Cinematography & the powerful imagery is the acute strength of the film and it almost single handedly carries the film forward. It was a real treat to get lost into those vivid images and I am sure the film's camera work would require a thesis-long analysis to comprehend the techniques and mastery exhibited.

- The film will evoke a lot of confusion and chaos in the minds of a viewer, atleast in the first viewing. Many shots and still images - I am sorry, I haven't comprehended them yet. Probably, a copy with the director's commentary audio track would help.

- Like Tarantino flicks, The film's narration carries a chapter structure. But the focus is linear and no flashbacks,  no other characters - Lucky that way... Or else, it would have mounted even more incomprehensibility in the viewer.

- The film has in it, a lot of grossly violent sequences and really disturbing images. They just add up the confusion and more importantly, since the grossness is concerned with male and female genitalia also, I don't know .. If the film is suitable for all categories of audience (among adults only).

- Without spoilers here, the film, I guess, should be about  the evil-ness that rests 'within' one's self, here in this case, within a female. By looking at the controversial critics the film has managed to receive, I guess again, the film is trying to question a few Biblical stuff. Due to non-acquaintance with Christianity or the Bible, I have no comments on that front, actually.

- Google out the meanings of the terms "Misogyny" and "Gynocide" before starting with the movie, if you aren't already aware of them. The film, quite heavily discusses them.

- It's quite unable to classify the film's genre ... IMDB calls it Drama & Horror. The film has a lot of surrealistic elements, helped accordingly by the camera. 

- The film premiered at the Cannes 2009 and was nominated for the Palme d'Or and the film's ladylead Charlotte Gainsbourg won the Best Actress honour for her fine performance.

- The film, with some of it's gore and sexually violent images, will haunt you and it's very easy to call it bad or uninteresting on those grounds. But, on an under-layer, it has quite a lot of artistic or auteuristic nuances that are all open for your imagination, interpretation and appreciation. The film, I am sure, will be hailed as a classic and would attain a cult status in future.

- Not for all, definitely and not a must-watch also .. It has something very very different to offer ... You have the inclination ?? Start with it and no disappointments, I guarantee.

And a photo essay here, solely to highlight the mastery of the film's Cinematography ... 

Black and white imagery - It has its beauty always !

 

Gross !

 

Lighting !

 Believe it or not ! - It's Graphical ...

Surreal Love 

 One of the confusing still shots in the movie

Die Welle (2008) - Review

Die Welle aka The Wave (2008)

imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1063669/

Directed by: Dennis Gansel
Cast: Jürgen Vogel and an ensemble cast.

The Venue - A High school in Germany...
The Characters - A teacher and his class
The Occasion - A project week and the topic is "Autocracy"

The class begins with the discussion of "What is Autocracy ?" and progresses along the lines of "Dictatorship and Autocracy". There begins the simulation of an Autocratic society environment inside the classroom. Discussions branch out in directions of "What are the necessary ingredients in an Autocratic environment ?" and the answers being unity, discipline, social factors like political unrest and joblessness and the class simulate these one by one, in the classroom among themselves. The experimental exercise for the project gets really dangerous as the students develop a feel of them as "a mafiotic gang", alienate other students of the school and start developing this as a movement with a name "The Wave" (and hence the title), uniform, salutes (like the famous "Hail Hitler" bow), logos, websites, social parties etc.


The film presents a very lively and healthy classroom atmosphere where the students actually participate in the class, pour in their opinions on what-so-ever thing raised in the class, discuss their thoughts & ideas and debate various aspects. The film starts light and gets very serious as the students develop "that special feeling of unity and power" among themselves. Both the positive and negative aspects of this "unity amongst the class pupils" is depicted in whole of the movie. Though looks simple, the film offers several insights into the history of Germany (without explicit mentions) or the history of any country, for that matter. Every country will have that period of dictatorship, political unrest, social revolution etc in some phase of its' history.


I could feel the following thoughts & insights lingering in me, as I was going through the movie.

What is a teacher capable of ? - They are the sculptors of any society and a teacher own the real potential to influence and manipulate his students.

what is the young generation or the student community capable of ? - The young blood will always be on the look for a common glue to stick them all together. It is characterised by an Infinite amount of energy and spirit looking for a channel to flow across - but it never has an idea of the nature of the channel and the destination. They always need something to stay united ... a common platform, a social setup or a peer network.

what a bad home atmosphere is capable of ? - Spoilt kids - people find no space in their families to share stuff and start feeling "The Wave" as a family.

what is peer pressure capable of ? - We know this and we would have seen this amongst our own friend-circles. Peer pressure will work real wonders ... Though the nature of the cause, good or bad matters ...

what is the impact of a nation's history on a young mind ?
Germany ---> Bismarck, WW1, Hitler, The Third Reich, Berlin Wall crisis, Cold war etc. Through out the last century, Germany's society is always full of Chaos and unrest. There will always be agitated, revolutionary and radical minds in a war strewn country.
India ---> Generally a Peace loving country with utmost importance to the family setup and values. Ofcourse, the people belonging to 60s and 70s would have been student rebels and will have that spark in them - Anti-hindi agitations & the emergency.

We have seen some of these phenomenons explored beautifully in "Hazaaron Khwaishein aisi" -- a very rare movie shot with the period setup of Indian Emergency of 1975. And, Vijayakanth's final speech before the students in the Tamil film "Ramanaa" also offers an insight.

And I couldn't resist my mind travelling across various historical personalities as the movie was depicting autocracy and a fanatic-like worship of "The Wave". Some of them being Adolf Hitler, Indira Gandhi, Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamilnadu (1965) & Thaazha muthu Natarasan (immolated himself during the agitation) - Many students took active part in this agitation, Bhagat Singh - Sukhdev - Rajguru etc.

The movie definitely keeps you engrossed the whole 100 minutes, though you need to follow the English subtitles for the German conversations. And more importantly, it leaves you struck after it's over --- It kept me thinking a lot of things and painted a vivid collage of images, which I have tried reproducing above ... :)

My Recommendations ...
Rating : 3.5/5

The Bridges of Madison County - Film Review

imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112579/

Starring: Clint Eastwood & Meryl Streep
Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Love is that magical string that keeps this world intact,by keeping Everyone's world intact.The Bridges of Madison County is a very mature love story between mature people,based on the 1992 best-selling novel by Robert James Waller with the same title.The film has Clint Eastwood and Meryl Steep,two of the most accomplished actors of the last century,in lead roles.


Francesca Johnson(Meryl Streep),a married lady with children meets Robert Kincaid(Clint Eastwood),a photographer who is on his assignment to the Iowa state for a photo feature.They develop instant affinity towards each other,discuss a variety of things and fall for each other.They spend four days together as Francesca's husband and children are out for a state fair and then part each other.Francesca preserves her love for Robert ,documents her love in her diary and leaves it for her children.The movie actually unfolds as her children read her notebooks.

The film can be aptfully summarised with the following poem by Lord Byron.The poem will be featuring in the film also.Since I liked it so much,I am reproducing it here.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.

-- Lord Byron


The film features some of the intense and beautiful romantic lines you would have ever come across in films.

"I don't think obsessions have reasons.That's why they're obsessions."

"But this kind of certainty comes just once in a lifetime."

"Do what you have to be happy in this life,There is so much beauty...Go well, my children."

offer a few examples.

Clint Eastwood as a director is getting better like a old wine.Ofcourse, there are better examples like "Letters from Iwo Jima" and we all know his Oscar winning "Million Dollar baby"...But this one's no-less.

The cinematography is awesomely great capturing some of the beautiful images of the Iowa state...Poetry on celluloid.I need not substantiate the performances of the lead actors and it would be re-stating the obvious.This is a very mild and dialogue-centric story and doesn't require a lot of acting assignments.However, Meryl received a Academy nomination for the film for "Best Actress in a lead role".

The film is generally slow and you don't have a lot happening on screen except a middle-aged lady and an old-man talk,understand each other and fall in love.
Watch it as Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep share the screen-space and for its insightful and beautiful dialogues.

Rating: 2.5/5

Anthony Hopkins,Ventriloquism - Scared ??

Magic (1978) - Film Review

imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077889/

Starring: Anthony Hopkins & Ann-Margaret
Directed by: Richard Attenborough

When I first watched "Avargal" (A tamil film starring Kamalhaasan and Rajinikanth),one of the most important aspects that captivated me is the ventriloquist-dummy of Kamalhaasan.I had a natural inclination for cinema exploring this complex psychological phenomena,Ventriloquism.And "Magic" is one of the rare films that deal with this and will definitely leave you with a horrified psychological experience.


Corky (Hopkins) is a amateur magician performing card-tricks.He is a failure as a magician until he gets the audience's attention with his dummy (Fats - Corky's ventriloquist dummy).He is about to turn pro of some kind but develops a psychological complex and intentionally shy away from his professional success.The story gets personal from here on - he meets his childhood sweetheart Peggy (Ann-Margaret),gets more involved with his dummy that eventually takes control of him - will form the rest of the plot.


There is Ventriloquism,there is Multiple Personality Disorder ... All these are explored in a lot of movies.Fundamentally,they are the same and they only differ in the way it is expressed by the patient(or the victim).Any discussions and debates are welcome in the comments section ... OPEN :)

There's absolutely no cats or crows or ghosts to horrify oneself in this movie.Its the mental trauma of the protagonist and a gripping music that will create a eerie shell around and will develop a mental disturbance in you.The film has to comfortably rest on the performance of the lead actor and Hopkin's performance and facial expressions are greatly appropriate.Ofcourse, we know him through his more popular later films,as Hannibal Lecter.

The film is technically great - Camerawork,Music,Editing - Brand Attenborough throughout.

So...Why Pick up the DVD?
Richard Attenborough - We know him for his biopics and historical films.Watch him direct a thriller.
Anthony Hopkins - Deserves atleast a Academy award nomination and this one is greatly under-rated at the imdb also.He horrifies us and himself as well.Top Notch...
And then there's Ann-Margaret - As gorgeous as ever :)

Recommended...
Rating: 3.5/5

Videsh:Heaven on Earth (2008) - Surrealism !!!

Videsh:Heaven on Earth (2008) - Film review

imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1146285/

Starring: Preity Zinta and Vansh Bhardwaj
Director: Deepa Mehta

Preity Zinta in an international film !!!...that creates interest,Right ??
Then,there's Deepa Mehta - Fire,Earth,Water ... That should be enough to make the film a compelling watch.


Yeah...Preity and Deepa aren't letting us down and offer a complete cinema,and provide us a great surrealistic experience.The film as such is very imaginative and Preity has delivered her best performance till-date (Has won a couple of awards at International film festivals).

Chand(Preity Zinta) as a young and beautiful (as Moon{dimpled Moon!}) punjabi bride leaves for Canada from India.An abusive husband and not-so caring family - The movie travels along the lines of "47 Naatkal" and "Not Without my daughter" (i.e) Woman trapped and harassed by her husband,in a foreign country.


When you realise,you know the story-line,comes a surprising surrealistic track which you will never imagine.As chand is struck down by despair and loneliness,her friend at her workplace provides her a magical root that is supposed to seduce the one who takes it towards the one who gives it.And then,there is Black Cobra,Surrealism - Both Chand and the audience are trying to comprehend what is happening...And things fall into place towards the end.

We never knew Preity can act to this magnitude.She just fits the role as a punjabi bride,hand in glove (Thanks to IPL and Preity's Franchise Kings XI Punjab...kidding and Preity has that natural punjabi looks in her).You'll naturally listen to the pounding of your heart,when she is harassed by her husband.There are no other well-known actors in the cast department but as an ensemble - they deliver the idea right.

Then,there's a punjabi wedding ceremony in the beginning of the movie.This has become more of a trend in the diasporic films directed by Indian directors.Bend it like Beckam,Mississippi masala,Monsoon wedding offer a few examples.I think,the west really love to see Indian weddings on-screen. Gold,Orange,Yellow,garlands,Marigolds,music and dances have become more of a cliche for us now.See the above mentioned films and you should probably agree my point. :)

Wonderful Cinematography...Alternating Color and grained-Black & White.
Not much of a Background music - yet the movie is not silent - Very lively.

Good piece of art - Don't apply in the logical theories.Travel with it and this one will entertain you .. Recommended.

Rate - 3/5

Once (2006) - Musical Delight

Once (2006) - Film review
imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0907657/

Starring: Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová
Director: John Carney
Original Music: Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová

"How often do you find the right person ?" is the tagline of the movie.That summarises the entire idea of this very sweet musical that runs for around 80 minutes.


The protagonist is a street-singer,guitarist.He meets a girl who develops an instant love for his music.He works in a hoover shop and she sells flowers & works in a musical instruments shop(she plays piano too).Each have their personal problems,yet Music binds them.They convert the love they had(and still have) for their soulmates(ex-lovers) into romance-ridden lyrics and beautiful music.They spend one week together,knowing each other,forming a band,recording songs and then,they part each other.There is no place for this general cliche of both running into each other.


The movie rests on a single thread,the resonance between them.In more general terms,we would have discussed something called "Wavelength Match",that's what it is.Both of them are musicians,they love music and music renders hope,music renders life.The movie ends on a very positive note and each live happily ever after.

There's not much of a technical excellence in the making.The movie looks like shot in a digital camera in a few places and there are quite a few blurs and a lot of shakes of the camera.The astounding strength is the music and the tracks are really good.The lead actors Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová have given the original musical score for the film.


One of the best photographic shots in the movie

The movie,to be more precise,looks like a musical album that has a few dialogue-interludes.The tracks are very simple and melodies,generally.They aren't generated in a computer-mix or with metal & drums.Simple guitar chords and piano mix provides a soothing experience and the music will definitely stay in oneself and will sway you to its tunes.One of the tracks won the Academy award for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song,too.

Music all the way...Nothing else to boast about.An interesting one-line plot but not a great ending.Start it one hour before you sleep and Just surrender yourself for 80 minutes.Get happily lost into a pleasant musical melodrama.

Film - 2.5/5
Music - 4/5

Dont count the number of times the word music is used in this post..because this movie is all about music.

My Favourite Emotional scene sequences

I am an ardent lover of Emotional films irrespective of the star-cast,language and the plot of the film.I truly believe that Emotional films are the REAL Cinema in a sense that they speak,communicate,emote and kindle its mood in you.
[I am afraid Pornography qualify for this league in view of the above description I gave,though :)]

Years after watching a particular scene sequence in a movie,that particular actor and the kind of feel he conveyed to us on-screen will stay with us and there lies their greatness.Action sequences,Thriller genre and Chase films will entertain you only in the cinema halls for 2 hrs and not there after.There are lovers of fast-paced films but I am not in favour of adrenaline rushes,atleast in cinema.

I sat down to list down five emotional scenes that would spring up to my mind,as soon as I thought about this topic.These are my genuine favourites that just splashed through my mind as soon as I thought about them.

So, Here goes my list ...

1) SWADES

This film should be my all-time favourite and I have lost count of the number of times I enjoyed this film.

Mohan Bhargav,a scientist at NASA returns back to India to get Kaveriamma,his nanny back to the US.The whole of the film rest comfortably with Shah Rukh Khan's awesome performance,as he conveys through his eyes and accent,his love for his country.His emotional journey the Villages,tradition and culture of the country is beautifully picturised.

And then there is the song,"Yeh jo desh hai" which summarises the entire film in a 4 minute sequence.The Crux of the film is one's love for the motherland and this one is an Intense Emotional drama.Highly recommended...

2) OCTOBER SKY

Its based on a true story.The Russians have entered the space with their "Sputnik" and Homer Hickam,son of an ordinary coal miner in West-Virginia starts building his own rocket,with dreams as high as reaching the space.His teacher Miss Riley and his friends help him while his father and brother have different ideas.But there's no stopping him and he ends up at NASA as a space scientist.

"...Homer Hickam,Roy Lee Cook,Quentin Wilson and Sherman O'Dell for their ingenious display of amateur rocket building techniques..." and you will feel enthralled as though you are getting that honour.

"And this is to CoalWood...There are a few people who believed in us even before we did", As Homer Hickam proudly displays his Gold medal,a sense of accomplishment naturally acquires us.

[I am quoting the lines from memory...mishaps any in the words need your pardon]

It's a great feel-good film that will definitely set your spirits on fire.An Unsung movie but has infinite potentials...

3) TAARE ZAMEEN PAR

This movie identified a great director for Bollywood, Aamir Khan.And, this movie is India's official entry to the Oscars last year.The film is on the uniqueness of the creativity of each child and the title of the film translates to "Stars on Earth", quite poetically and philosophically.

Ishaan Nandkishore Awasti is eight years old and dyslexic.He has a unique way of looking at things and that way is not fetching him marks in his exams.He is dreamy and highly imaginative and Aamir Khan,his teacher identifies his potentials and showcases his brilliance and artistry to the school and his parents.

When Ishaan cries with his mom for not going to boarding school, you cry with him and when he emerges successful in the art competition and in his exams, you feel joyous with him.The songs "Maa" and "Kholo Kholo" are honest emotional portrayals.Heard many wept,when the film was screened at our college auditorium.

4) THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS

This is again a true story based on the life of a self-made entrepreneur Chris Gardener.I wish to call Will Smith's performance in this movie,a life-time act and quite deservingly he got a Academy award nomination for this grand performance.

Chris Gardener struggles for a living as he goofs up his savings by investing them in a x-ray kinda apparatus.His wife leaves him and he goes through a very lean patch and stuggles with his son & without a job.Then, its rags-to-riches,though the riches part is not portrayed much in the film.

"Because tomorrow is going to be your first day...if you'd like to work here as a broker...would you like that Chris ??" and Will Smith just don't answer but emotes his feelings with his eyes and chin with no screen-consciousness.Top Notch performance from Will here.

"This part of my life..this little part is called Happyness" and we all know that he has got the job, yet this scene immerses all in tears as Will cries and walks clapping his hands into the crowd

5) ... What to say ... ??? .... ###

So,I was thinking a while for my fifth choice and didn't get one Immediately.There were a lot of sequences that went through my mind and I chose to list them all down.

a) Titanic - A Romantic whirl-wind..Need I say more ??
b) Black - It'll be an Unbelievable,out-of-the-box,Intense film for any outsider who believes Bollywood is all about bright colours,Glam-dolls and dance & Music.
c) Not without my daughter - Not a common film that everyone would have seen.But try it and you'll definitely feel pleased.It has one sequence "Mommy...I forgot Toby bunny" which will convey millions to you.
d) Schindler's List - When Oskar Schindler cries for not being able to save/rescue a few more jews...
e) Kamal Haasan's five minute sequence at the Railway station in the climax of "Moondram Pirai",that fetched him the National Award.
f) Children of Heaven - Watch the movie if you haven't yet and Ali & Sarah will convey the rest.

Of the above...Swades,Taare Zameen Par,The pursuit of happiness,Titanic,Black and Schindler's list are main-stream cinema.I hope these go fine with everybody ... :)