35 Rhums - 35 shots of Rum

2008 by Claire Denis - French movie

Some movies are quite slow. The most difficult part in such movies are to get through the first 15 or 20 minutes. Then, you know whether this is a No No movie for you or a good one. Of late, I have come across few such movies, which took its time to make an appeal. But then they look really lovely.

A father and daughter are living in a suburban apartment in Paris. The daughter, a University student though, is still very close and tied to her father, who haven't gone for any other woman after his wife's death. 

How can a movie be so simple? Of course, it was looking like an empty show for the first few minutes. But then slowly we get into the life of this father and daughter. A young man living in the same flat building is attracted to the girl and another single woman in the same building is attracted to the father too. But both keep a distance from every thing else and finds happiness between them. Slowly the movie does give a message that it is important to have some sorts of engagements or commitments for anybody walking towards their old age.

And everything is so simple, natural and very subtle. Just that towards the final moments it was slightly rushed though.

It is mind boggling that such a simple movie with very few actors and words can keep us engaged for so long, without absolutely nothing serious happening for most of the time. The power of cinema is quite unique.

A different cinematic experience, for sure.

Four Lions

2010 by Christopher Morris - British movie

How best to make a comedy movie using terrorism as a plot. I would say, most people would not even want to attempt something like that. Which is quite clear by the sheer absence of comedies based on terror. Well, not all movie makers are the same. Chris Morris is for sure a brave man to conceptualise and execute this plot.

A few muslims in UK, wants to be jihadists and do something for their religion. Except one, Omar, all the rest are absolute idiots, typical of the characters we come across many classic British comedies. Omar and a friend even enrolls for a training in Pakistan, before they can come back to Britain and bomb some UK targets.

First of all, I cant basically agree with the politics in this plot, which is typical of the western idea of Muslims. Anyways, lets just forget about that, just look at this as a movie, hoping this movie is not watched by any ordinary muslim who might feel sorry or insulted or what not. Anyways....

A real dark comedy. Classic British one too with its absolutely idiotic characters who make bloody hilarious comments. The 4 characters are synonyms of idiots, except for Omar who looks slightly better. But the best scene, the most hilarious one too, in this movie involves Omar, wherein Omar and his friend undergoing training in the Swat valley in Pakistan, decides to shoot down an American drown flight with a huge gun(a mini rocket launcher or something like that, I dont know). What a bloody funny scene it was. Couple of years back, when Maradona was coaching Argentina, during a World cup qualification match, after watching Messi make a marvellous run through the opposition defence he commented - if that ball had gone in, the whole stadium should have gone out and bought a new ticket for the rest of the match. Likewise this scene was so funny and brilliant, that it would have been ok for me to pay once again for the ticket(if I was watching it in a moviehouse).

And the movie has many similar hilarious scenes. And one such bloody brilliant scene, is shown during the end credits. I guess, the director might have edited out many such scenes, but wanted to include this one some how.

If we are ready to ignore all those untold background politics or stereotyping, this is a bloody brilliant comedy. Brave one too.

I just wonder what a normal Muslim would feel, watching this though.

Shi - Poetry

2010 by Lee Chang Dong - Korean movie

Many movies come with the typical tag of being Fresh, but very few are fresh. Here is a movie which is fresh in all its aspects.

A 66 year old grandmother, Mija, who is living on Government pension and a small maid job, enrolls for a poetry lesson. 

That single line of plot alone is quite unique for movie world. But what makes this movie even more fresh is that Mija lives with her grandson, in a tiny apartment. Her divorced daughter is working and living in some distant town. Mija soon discovers that her grandson and 5 other school boys are behind the suicide of a school girl.

This movie is about a lot of things. About ageing, about loneliness, about nature and poetry, about parental love and protection and also about how a single elderly woman manages a grue some situation of a family crime, all alone. But all these is carefully and tactfully woven into a wonderful script.

Of course the movie is slow paced, but it has a big heart. Mija would make us curious, happy and sad for her.  She will even inspire us with her way of living and approach. The way she treats her grandson, after knowing about his crime, is brilliant. A really brilliant character, very fresh of course.

The performance by Jeong-hie Yun, as Mija, is simply brilliant. It was one of the simple scenes which really made me admire her acting, actually, above all. There are a few scenes of Mija walking on the streets, talking to her daughter. It looks bloody natural. Brilliant performance all through out by this veteran actor.

Mija is one of the most powerful and strongest characters in cinema, for me. Her image is still in front of my eyes.

Gomorra

2008 by Matteo Garrone - Italian movie

A modern day masterpiece from Italy. A brilliant take on the Camorras, a mafia organisation running its business around Naples.

I am afraid, there isnt any particular story with any typical beginning or end, in this script which is based on a book. It is more like looking at what is happening with 5 different characters who are all some how related to the Camorras. These characters are so different from a textile designer to an industrial garbage dumper. And sure there are the typical characters like spoilt boys who reach the world of drugs and guns in between.

But the way the movie is told, showing how all these people are influenced and affected by this huge mafia, whose webs are so long and powerful, is brilliant.

The movie is very typically European, with shades of Latin American style, dealing with dark matters though. It is not any action packed Hollywood style. But there is action on the back ground. It has to be seen to believe it. A real different way to shoot mafia, I would say. Most entertainment movie makers from the popular movie industries around the world could be embarassed by the stark reality that is presented.

I would say it is difficult to explain, how I felt about the thrills and chills of action, tension and murders, all without really much action actually. There is a scene in which few adolescent boys are asked to drive down huge trucks to a dumping quarry. This scene is kind of spine chilling even if it is told very quietly and is kind of pointer to how the movie treats its plot. Absolutely brilliant. And an amazingly brilliant cinematographer too.

The movie is not fast paced, it has a kind of slow pace, but it is still very gripping, once we get into the thick of the happenings.  In fact, that might be the only negative, if at all that can be called a negative. It might take some time for us to really understand what exactly is happening on screen. Till then, I was wondering may be this is too intelligent stuff for me. But once it came through, it was superb. The real Italian mafia, without the glamour and gloss that normally covers up such movies from every where else. It will not be a mistake if anyone wants to call it a documentary of Naples mafia.

Real brilliant movie. 

Taegukgi Hwinallimyeo - The Brotherhood of War

2004 by Kang je-gu - Korean movie

A real epic movie. Just not sure, whether its an epic movie on war or on a family. It is more than interesting that when we get war movies from America, they are just war movies, barr a couple of exceptions. But many war movies from Europe and Asia, there is actually a heart too. Especially the ones from Asia are quite different in this aspect and this movie is the best example. We cannot easily term it as a war movie or an epic movie of a family in the backdrop of a war.

During the Korean war, two brothers are forced to the war front. War changes the eldest into a true soldier, while the younger one is shocked by the change in his brother. Only one survives for sure.

Of course, there are few moments in this movie, which definitely looks inspired by certain Hollywood scenes. But otherwise, it is a real epic movie from Asia. The love between the two brothers and that for their family is wonderfully captured. The changes happening in the two brothers which gets into a kind of love hate relationship, is typical of certain Indian family movies. Just that, here all this happens while at war and I found it simply brilliant.

At times, the movie has a real American way of looking at things, quite biased but through the younger brother it also goes into the human side of the war. This is the most interesting aspect of this movie. The elder brother stands for nationalism and the younger for the human aspects, the negatives of the war.

Just that, in few scenes it turns a bit too dramatic, only if one wants to nit pick. But otherwise, here is a movie which has executed both the war and emotional quotients brilliantly.

There is no question about the quality of the technical aspects too. Everything is simply world class. Koreans must be really proud about this movie. Some of the frames, even if they are in between violent war scenes, are really classic and adds to the epic nature of this movie.

Brilliant performances from the two brothers. And also from the actress who played their mother. A woman who lost her voice at the death of her husband, who only have very few scenes in the movie, but every time she is on the screen, she really impress and can touch our hearts.

If this was released as a Hollywood movie, I am sure that this one would have been accepted by people all over the world, especially Indians and Asians, with all their heart. The family aspects of the movie, though universal, will strike a chord with Asians very easily. It is a real pity our people dont get to watch such epics. 

Copie Conforme

2010 by Abbas Kiarostami - A French movie by an Iranian director, also with lots of English and Italian dialogues

I dont know what to say. This movie might be a different or classic or artistic master piece or what not, but I did not understand.

A woman takes a man, who is in town for a seminar, for a drive. They talk about the woman's son and soon it looks like they are both real husband and wife, meeting after long.

Really I dont know, what this movie is meant to be. May be it is too intelligent for somebody like me. But I found it quite stupid enough for somebody like me, for a layman.

Very bohring and confusing movie.

The only good thing is the performance by Juliet Binoche. 

About a Boy

2002 by Chris & Paul Weitz - British movie

For me, to know Hugh Grant is there in a movie is to know that there is guaranteed entertainment, in a different way. Even if his roles are always having a similar kind of style, he is excellent and entertaining. And now, when he plays a kind of different role, it must be even more different, right?

Hugh Grant plays Will, a spoiled 30 something man, who has regular income from his father's carole song and hence does not have to work at all. Nor does he get deep into any relationship. Just because he found single mothers are very nice for short term relationships, he thought about an odd way to meet single mothers and finally meets Marcus, a 12 year old boy. The movie is very different from then on. It is like Will is learning lot more about life through a 12 year old.

The movie nearly has the settings of a typical romantic comedy, but it isnt one. It is much more than that. Many of the moments between Marcus and Will are really brilliant. If not for the typical kind of drama in the end, the movie would have had a brilliant classy feeling to it.

It has lots of funny moments, but not like the ones from typical romantic comedies. Most of the fun here has a touch of elegance to it. Really, this is a serious and elegant comedy.

Hugh Grant was excellent, so was Nicholas Hoult as the 12 year old. 

Love Actually

2003 by Richard Curtis - British movie

This is quite different. Of course it is a romantic comedy too. But normally we have one or two pairs or some triangles in such comedies. In Indian movies, even a 3 hour long movie is not enough to describe the love of a couple. So this is quite different.

8 couples, from different walks of life, in London. This inlcude the British prime minister to an adolescent school boy.

It is absolutely brilliant how the script and the director manages to bring out the emotions between the characters through very few scenes. Most of these couples do not have any connection at all and the movie actually jumps between the couples. So actually there is very few time and space left for the script and the director to bring out a new love story or end an existing one. But the way this has been done is simply brilliant

As I said, when Indian movies take too long to describe just one love, this movie with few scenes takes us to so many couples. Each and every one is different and so are their situations. This is best explained by the character of the prime minister and of the school boy. But really, it is splendid. I especially adored the scenes between the typical British man in South of France having a Portugeese maid. Both do not understand anything from the other's language, but their love was really so nice. I liked all the situations, but this was really nice.

Towards the end, the movie takes almost a similar path of most romantic comedies and lose its brilliance, which was so well maintained till then. But it still ends as a brilliant entertainer. It still has some real touching and disturbing moments though. 

Nandalala

2010 by Misskin - Tamil movie

When my Tamil friends told me about this movie, I wanted to watch it right away. Misskin had already proved as a different director. And when they mentioned Mysskin proves that he is a director from another level, it was so tempting. But then, as always the best Tamil movies never make it to Kerala. Only the ultra popular ones or the ones starring the big super stars will release in Kerala. There are still lot of extra ordinary Tamil  movies which have never seen Kerala theatres. Thenmerkku Paruvakaatru, Aranya Kandam and recently Azhagar Saamiyin Kuthirai all had the same fate. So finally when I got the Nandalala dvd, I was really happy. But I was quite, positively, shocked by the movie.

The first two movies by Misskin, though different, were still made out on the entertainment format. Though I was warned this one was different, I never expected Nandalala to be a real cinematic experience.

Within a few minutes we are sure that Mysskin is inspired by Kikujiro, the lovely Japaneese movie. However, Mysskin has made a lot of additions giving it a real Tamil feel, he has kept some elements from the original script though.

So Nandalala has two souls travelling in search of their mother, one the child and the other an adult, but mentally destabilised. It is their journey, meeting many others, good and bad people enroute their destination.

I am sure those who look down at Tamil cinema would immediately scream, oh this is just an inspiration. But the elements added by Misskin are as powerful as the original characters. And that is why I would say this is an exceptional movie. We could still watch it like some of those Italian movies. There is a lot to laugh and cry with the two main characters here.

The cinematography of this movie is truly brilliant. May be the best I have seen in any Indian movies in a long time. Everybody interested in motion photography, I would say, must watch this. There are lots and lots of brilliant mid range shots, all seems to have shot using a normal lens. Mid range shots are almost extinct in Indian cinema, sure this is a bit exaggeration. But here we get to to see a classic work.

Tamil people must be very proud about this movie. Here in Kerala, inspite of knowing that Pranayam is inspired by Innocense, people still seem to praise it like anything. So why not give credit to Nandalala too. At least Mysskin has made a much better movie than Blessy.

Velayudham

2011 by Jayam Raja - Tamil movie

Rajnikanth, I believe, is the ultimate mass hero from India. Which other contemporary Indian hero can ensure full  houses in cinemas as far as Japan and Russia. Within India itself, I havent seen any kind of mass hysteria related to one single super star, that can surpass Rajni's. Though his recent movies tries in someways to be different from the previous release, in the 80's and 90's all Rajni movie had a typical format. All over India, many other actors seems to have tried to replicate it, but I dont think anybody was as consistent as Rajni. Vijay, I believe, would be the Rajni of the future. It is told that many new-wave Tamil directors have approached Vijay with their different scripts, but Vijay was not interested. He always want to stick to his entertainment formula of comedy+love+family sentiments+songs+action, based on no brainer scripts. He still gave some of the best entertainers (Thullaatha Manavum Thullum, Kushi, Gilli, Pokkiri) in the last decade, which were not run of the mill no brainer stuff. For a couple of years, Vijay did not manage any big hits and there were news that he will now try to do different kind of movies. Velayudham is the first movie since, but it is an absolute no brainer actually.

Here again, the movie has a made up role fit to produce a super hero on a no questions asked story. Love, family, comedy and action all can fit in. Considering the fate of his past movies, Villu and Kuruvi, Vijay is brave to come back with yet another one. But there is some difference here between those stupid movies.In spite of all the pot holes and disadvantages, Velayudham is a good entertainer, if one is not bothered about other things.

Velayudham, if we keep our brains outside, is sheer entertainment and the credit should go to the director for sure. In fact, many comedy scenes are not anywhere close to the typical hilarious scenes of Vijay hits. Nor are the songs or dance sequences. But the movie still manages to keep an interest and entertains. Sure, this movie is not for the educated and thinking Indians. It is definitely aimed for those majority poor who wants some fun at the end of a hard day and sure they are entertained.

And Vijay is simply nice. This is definitely not his best entertainer. But his charm is too good to be ignored and  together with an understanding director, he pulls off a successful entertainer in Velayudham.

An out and out Vijay movie for the mass. I am happy Velayudham seems to be the biggest hit in South India, among the Dipawali releases. But how I wish Vijay will do at least one different movie in a year. Here is a man with talent, who chose not to use it for the sake of the ordinary people. 

7 aam Arivu

2011 by A R Murugadoss - Tamil movie

Murugadoss made a dream debut in Tamil with his Ghajini. He carried this success to Bollywood too remaking the same movie, and even bettering it by improving the original climax. I thought that was a very good gesture from his side, recognising mistakes and improving. Ghajini, of course was inspired by Memento. It is sure that Murugadoss is a fan of Hollywood and he gains lots of inspirations from the west. It is normal for people to expect a lot when this talented director joins his favourite star actor, Surya, again. This time, it is not possible to say that Murugadoss is directly inspired by any single movie, to my knowledge. But he has sure understood the Hollywood mantra of fear and disaster.

If this movie came in without the first 20 or 25 minutes, when movie dates back to many centuries, it would have still passed out as an average Indian entertainer, which have tried out the above Hollywood mantras. Here Murugadoss have picked up a kind of virus induced fever, which had its origin before 1600 years, to create the fear factor. And just like in Hollywood, he has picked a villain from a different country. Obviously China is a good choice, as there are heated debates as to whether China could be a real friend or if we should treat them as an enemy. I really felt Murugadoss did a Hollywood here and he does just ok. The plot is not quite strong and sounds bit silly too.

But it is the first 20 or 25 minutes which makes and kills this movie. These first minutes, are truly brilliant. It is in this part we are taken back to 1600 years, when Bodhi Dharma travels from India to China. Each and every single frame in this part is truly brilliant. I felt proud watching those scenes to be frank.
And in the negative, these 20 minutes gives us a very big hope that this movie is going to be a truly brilliant one. Unfortunately not. Even if the movie was released only with the first 20 minutes, as a short film, it would have been excellent.

When the movie comes back to the contemporary period, as mentioned earlier, it tends to be just ordinary. Lots of songs, at least couple of them are completely unnecessary, typical scenes which are reminiscent of similar Hollywood and Indian attempts and what not.

But even in between, there are some exceptional factors:

The Chinese villain, who has this ability to control the mind of others is one of those. As somebody wrote, A Hero can be as great as the villain only. So here Murugadoss has created an exceptional villain. And the Chinese actor who did this role is brillaint too.

An action scene, when the villain makes many motorists to try and kill the hero and heroine, I would say is the second highlight of the movie. I dont even know how long this scene was, as it was so nicely executed. A scene which will guarantee adrenaline rush. Brilliant.

There are so many moments, scattered through out the movie, which let us have a peak at the talents of Murugadoss. With a very good script, this director can do wonders. I really liked the way in which how he showed the killings done by the Villain, without showing anything at all.

The performance of Surya. It is like a multiple role for Surya and what an actor he is. His charm is incredible and he really can act. Both as Bodhi Dharman and Arvind, he was brilliant.

A scene where the heroine argues for Tamil language. I think, this could have been scripted and shot better, but the message clearly comes out. It was still a very good attempt.

It is a pity that this movie turned out this way, as an ordinary entertainer. Blame the brilliance of the beginning scenes may be, or blame the script and director for not thinking and planning over time.

I hope Shahrukh Khan watch this movie. There is so much for him to learn from it, may it be acting or execution or characterisation or what not. I think, Amir Khan might definitely want to remake this movie.

RA - One

2011 by Anubhav Sinha - Hindi movie

It has been really long that I have tried to watch a Bollywood movie on the very first day. I would not even try to watch it unless its special. But for my wife, I had to book for RA- One. I had watched Rab ne Bana di Jodi too, only for her, in theatre. Normally I would not have. I do not like Sharukh as an actor, even if he is very sincere with his over acting. Nor do I consider him as a great box office sure bet. If yes, Swadesh, his very best movie yet, would have been a big success. I did like his Dilwale Dulhaniya..., Yes Boss and Chak De, which were good entertainers. Because of all the hype around RA- One and also because of the news that Sharukh wanted to make something even better than Enthiran, I did think this would not be a real disappointment. But I am afraid, this might be his worst movie ever. Compared to this movie, if any one dares to term his My Name is Khan as a classic, I will not blame him.

Like Amir Khan, Sharukh too seems to be obsessed in earning the credit of the western world. Most of the techinicians behind this movie are from Hollywood. And even the story, characters, moments, settings everything are in bits and parts taken from previous Hollywood sci-fi hits. And as always in Bollwood, half of the movie takes place in London. Still, inspite of being a Sci-fi one, the plot and the script fails to create a story logic, fit enough for a fantasy entertainer at least, is one of the major reasons why this movie disappoints.

The first 40 or 45 minutes of this movie is nearly a punishment. It is like watching any run of the mill Bollywood flick. Terrible experience. It gets slightly better after that, but nothing as to keep us engaged without wondering about the absurdity on the screen. Even the highly money absorbed special effects and visual effects are not consistent through out. They are really good for certain scenes, but there are at least few where it looks just allright. This is true even for the rest of the production values. There is a sheer lack of consistency. Even the huge amount of grains on the silver screen was an unpleasant surprise for such a huge movie. Add to it that the real encounters between the two game heroes, RA One and G One, is not that excellent or mind blowing for this kind of a movie. Especially the final end, to the super villain, is too poor to make any kind of excitement or adrenaline rush, forget any WOW feelings.

And the ways in which the writers have tried to evoke some laughter is pathetic, absolutely pathetic. I wonder what the western audience will think about Indian cinema, watching this highly promoted movie.

Stupid characterisation,(I will not be surprised if some South Indian critics will criticize the writers for making a clown of a South Indian character), which is epitomised by a widow who easily goes into a party dance few days after losing her husband and a school child who yearns for a super villain!!! And terrible performances as well. Even Sharukh Khan, who normally overacts just enough for us to not to laugh at him, doubles it out. This is definitely his worst. Only Arjun Rampal keeps calm, but he doesnt have anything to emote.

If Sharukh wanted to make the biggest modernised movie in India, with lots of production values, Special and Visual effects and all CG, then I am sure he has not even managed to reach the excellent levels set by Enthiran or Magadheera, both of which were also much better entertainers in all ways.

It is said, Sharukh pumped in more money and effort to this movie, after watching Enthiran. Obviously he wanted something better than a regional language movie. I cannot imagine, what would this movie have been, if it was completed before Enthiran. 

Potta Potti

2011 by Yuvraj - Tamil movie

To my knowledge, Lagaan was the first Indian movie based on sports. I remember watching a movie in Doordarshan decades back, which had Deepti Naval as a teacher, with Football in it but if I remember well, Football was not the major theme in that. Following Lagaan, there was Chennai600028 and Chak De. Lagaan is my favourite of course, but of all these three movies Chennai - 8 was the real difference. That was quite a different effort which clicked impeccably. The climax simply was too brilliant and funny too. Sure, I would agree with those who would to like to believe that Chennai -8 or Chak De would have never happened if not for Lagaan. And now there is a new director using Cricket again. What more, he even uses a former Indian cricketer, Sadagopan Ramesh, as his hero. But Cricket is not the main character here, even if the movie ends with a match.

A typical Tamil village. Two cousins are vying to marry Ranjitha, who owns almost the whole village. When there is no way out, Ranjitha agrees to marry the cousin who will win a cricket match. There is nobody in the village who has any clue about cricket. One cousin kidnaps Ramesh, who was just driving through, to coach his team. The other is helped at first by a fake coach and later by a professional. 

Sincerely, there are no pretexts here. The whole aim of the movie is to provide some fun. But the film has done it in a simple and genuine way. Casting is simply brilliant. Kodaivannan, one of the cousins, who is always dressed in a bloody funny way and with his typical ordinary looks (I doubt if he will be offered such a role in any other Indian language movie) is a real master act in casting. The director picked his own assistant director, R Sivan, for the role when he could not find anybody for the role. And he was absolutely brilliant. And each and every actor, except the heroine may be, is a perfect cast who did their jobs to the best. And it is a really beautiful performance by S Ramesh. I really hope he will get more roles. He sure can act and he does have a flair for comedy too.

PP is full of hilarious moments, sometimes too simple and sometimes really too good. The movie lose its pace a little bit in the second half. And it is sure that the director didnt care much to shoot the cricket match in its glory. It is the build up to the match which was important through which he has created the fun. I just felt that if he had put in more effort and care, PP would have been a brilliant movie. Some changes here and there in the script and the movie could have been a master piece entertainer. Glad that it still was a success.

I would like to congratulate the Tamil moviegoers who make sure that such small movies get some respect in the box office. This is definitely what prompts more and more young directors to come up with different themes in Tamil. 

Veppam

2011 by Anjana - Tamil movie

Most prominent Malayalam movie directors can be seen down playing the success of Tamil movies. I can understand their worry, when even female directors from Tamil are able to make better movies, how can they not down play the success of their neighbours.

Two brothers are nearly orphaned at a very young age and is been taken care of by a foster father. The elder brother works hard for his younger and also the daughter of the foster father. The younger brother also has a very close friend, who desperately wants to save a girl from a brothel. For this he gets into a drug deal and just for the sake of the friend, the younger brother is with him. Nothing works as they planned. 

Mostly the story is quite routine, but is really nice how this old story is changed for the modern times. In fact the script has so many issues tangled in like a web. The fate of a brother who unknowingly kills his mother, who lives for his brother, the friendship between the two friends and the girl, a father who works as a pimp in the same neighbourhood but is kept away by the elder brother, a lady local thug running the drug deals, the friends relation with a brothel girl. I liked very much how the script was able to hold all these together.

And the director, Anjana, has done a very good job too. She has not tried to go over board actually, has kept a kind of overt subtlety to every thing around, and there is a kind of realism every where. And through that very first shot and the end one, I would say, she really had given a real female version for a puzzle in the script, which would have normally been a different matter with other directors. She could have still done without one or two of those songs though.

Climax was really nice, except that it looked like both the brothers had pre planned what to do with their father.

Performances from all actors were brilliant, and so was the cinematography. I was especially impressed by Karthik Kumar,  who is so used to play a brilliant rich/middle class boy. What a difference from the typical stuff.

I am ready to wait for the next movie from Anjana. 

Kokuhaku - Confessions

2010 by Tetsuya Nakashima - Japaneese movie

Seldom will this happen to me. I watch a movie and I am quite impressed. I do not have any questions about the brilliance of the movie. But I am not yet quite clear about certain aspects. I would want to watch that movie once again immediately. Normally I am so concentrated watching a movie, so I still do not understand why and how this happens, some times. May be my IQ is so low or what. anyways.

A grieving mother, who lost her very young daughter, is in her class room. She announces that she knows the two students who are responsible for the death of her daughter. She definitely has revenge in her mind, which she announces to the class. 

Frankly, a movie cannot be more different from this. The movie progress through many confessions, including the teacher, and it is simply brilliant. It is absolutely a brilliant movie.

However, I do have some doubts, which I am sure is not the problem of the movie, but mine that I got confused between two names. Of course, even those two main children, their faces looks very similar for me, I am confused. So I really am going to watch this once again as early as possible.

But anybody reading this, be assured, this movie is bloody brilliant. It can be very disturbing and it is really a kind of dark movie, even if it is all about the revenge of a mother. I would say, it is a must watch that except for some factors, this movie has elements which are universally valid and important.

And the cinematography is too brilliant. And I cant help wonder, how all these teenage students managed to give this kind of a performance on such a complex plot. Asbolutely brilliant. 

Monga

2010 by Doze Niu - Taiwaneese movie

Obviously I cannot recognise between Taiwaneese and Mandarin. I looked at this movie only as a Chinese one. But many has placed this movie among one of the best Chinese movies in 2010.

80's. Monga is a region in Taiwan which has so many mafia bosses. There is a rivalry between the two prominent gangs here. A college student, without any prior intentions, has to join one of these gangs and ends up in the thick  of gang wars and even ends up meeting his biological father. 

It would be absurd to rate this as just another gang war movie. It is not. It is not anything like Godfather too. But it is all right to think about this one like Goodfellas and similar movies. There is something very special about this movie which makes me think so. Some of the early moments of the youth team, including the moment they discuss their dreams, and the realisation by Mosquito, about the kind of real violence involved, his relation with the prostitute girl and all is really brilliant. The climax especially, is superbly brilliant, that it can even compete with some of the best artisitic and classy movies.

The movie seems to have been made to give an epic feeling, I guess. I did think that it is slightly longer, but on second thoughts, I am not sure about that. The whole story, even if it happens only in a short span of time, does give a classy epic kind of feeling. Those scenes between one of our guys and the girl in the brothel is simply classic. Almost everything about this movie, especially the cinematography and the music, is more than excellent and may I repeat, the climax is brilliant.

If this was a hollywood movie, I am sure it would have got universal acclaim. Most people I know, have seen Goodfellas or Casino or similar movies. But almost all of them would never be seeing Monga. It is just a pity. 

Junebug

2005 by Phil Morrison - English movie

Another night when I wanted the movie to end before the Champion league match, so yet again had to go for a Hollywood movie. But this time, it was quite different. This movie is more European than American, for its cinematic values.

An art dealer has to travel to a village to meet an eccentric artist. She takes her husband along who is actually from the same region and decides to go to his family. In his family, she meets his parents, his brother and his pregnant wife. 

I must confess, I never expected this movie to be so good. I picked it because of Amy Adams. But it is really really a different movie. One movie which I will place almost in the levels of A love song for Bobby Leong, which is still more dear to me. But, what makes this movie a very special one is the character Ashley, the pregnant daughter in law in the family, played super brilliantly by Amy Adams. To be frank, I liked her as a charming actress, but I never thought she was such a good actor. This is an incredible character, the overtly romantic, overtly extrovert and silly and nice Ashley, who happened to decide and pick on her life partner at a very early stage of her life, at high school. Slowly she finds him changing, changing to a very strange person with no care for her or no exhibition of his love for her that she seems to have decided to become a mother at a young age, on the hope that seeing the baby she will get her loving partner back.

Let me repeat, I was awe struck by the character of Ashley and the performance. Beyond words actually. I dont know if I ever felt so sorry for any character in an American movie. While watching Il Postino, we feel for our silly postman. But the feeling we have for Ashley is even more in a sad way. It is hard to believe that we will find this kind of girl or wife in a western world. Ashley is in a situation, where 99% of western women will simply walk out of the marriage, but she behaves more like an Asian. There is a shot of Ashley touching herself, when her uninterested husband, both sooo young, is in the next room. That scene was so moving. And her hope that he will change for good soon, made me even sad.

For the rest, each and every character in this family is quite different is what makes this movie very special. I dont think it made clear why and how Ashley's husband changed so, though. So was the reaction of the elder son at the end, driving back to the city. He looked so nice with them, expecting his wife to be nice and concerned to the family, but his reaction as he drives back is baffling though.

On Cinematic qualities, this movie is anything but Hollywood. It is more like a European movie actually.

Beautiful and heart touching movie. And brilliant for Amy Adams. 

Leap Year

2010 by Anand Tucker - English movie

I had to pick up a movie, which would finish in time for the kick off for the Champions league football matches.  All other movies I had, looked lengthier and hence had to pick this one, which looked like a typical Hollywood romantic comedy.

Anna flies to Ireland to propose to her friend on a  leap day. By Irish traditions the man should never reject this. Due to bad weather, she has to take a long ride from a coastal village in Ireland to Dublin and Declan, the owner of a small pub, agrees to take her. 

I will be lying, if I will say that this movie was not entertaining. It is typical of every other romantic comedies and we can easily see what happens next consistently. But but.. there is a very simple and interesting way of humour in the movie, which will keep us engaged. In fact, there are so many nice funny moments for 2/3rds of the movie, till it reaches those final moments when those typical realisation moments in r.comedies happen. In spite of some of those fun looking quite made up, I still could laugh. And the three couples kissing at the dinner table in a B&B, was definitely the best moment in this movie for me. That was really nice and lovely.

Amy Adams is full of charm and is the major plus in the movie. I am especially glad that she does not go like many other Hollywood actresses in the mid 30's, trying to bring down the body weight there by ending up looking quite defigured, with high cheek bones. She looks gorgeous I must say. Matthew Goodde as Declan also is charming.

Des Hommes et des dieux - Of Gods and Men

2010 by Xavier Beauvois - French movie

There are times, when I watch a pure artistic movie and I would find it too intelligent or too much artistic for me. Either I would end up not understanding it or I would find it really bohring. Des Hommes... was suggested as a very serious movie and I was sure what to expect. But I must admit, I was really flabbergasted/brilliantly terrified by this one. A movie all people belonging to all religions across the whole world should definitely watch.  This movie is all against stereo typing or hate mongering or making judgements. Absolutely Brilliant.

Somewhere in Algeria, there are nine monks in a Christian monastery, which is located in a muslim village. The villagers considers the monastery as the branches and themselves as the birds, describes how each depend on. Then during the Algerian civil war extremist forces start killing all foreigners around and the monks too have to be afraid. 

Till the end of this movie, I did not have any idea that this was a true story. Towards the very last scene, we are quite sure what is the fate of the monks and we feel quite sad and then comes the end credits briefing what exactly happened and I was quite grief struck. I felt like I should not have known that this was a true story.

This is truly a master peice, I would say. With the synopsis I expected it to be a very slow and serious movie. And it sure is. But I salute the script and the director to make it as engaging as any thriller movie. There are no elements befitting any entertainer or thriller and the movie actually has a very spiritual back ground. There are even lots of prayers and hymns, which normally I would hate to listen to. But in this movie, they are used so wonderfully. The nine monks and of course the few villagers who gains prominence in the script are so wonderful characters that we get really engaged. The faces of all those monks are still etched in me.

I wish everybody watch this movie. Not just for a great cinematic presentation of a true story, but it is more than that. It shows how normal and peaceful life could be between different religions, even in their serious religious forms, co existing, unless there are outside elements who can infringe into their co existence. The makers of this movie deserves lots of praise to not picturise even a single Muslim, other than the extremists, as somebody who is against the monks. And there is dignity offered even to an extremist here. The scene when the extremists arrive in the monastery and negotiating with the monks, is so brilliant, kind of spine chilling to be frank.

I would rate this as one of the very best movies I ever saw. Everything about this movies is so brilliant, the script, the director, the camera and all the other technicians, each and every actor....

I am so glad I saw this. 

Veeraputhran, The Legend

2011 by P T Kunju Muhammed - Malayalam movie

May be because of its location, Kerala has never really experienced the real travails of war or any disastrous calamities. Even during the freedom struggle, there was not any notably prominent episodes that occured in Kerala, except for a strike for temple entry for all, which really got the whole nation behind it, or which was really  inspired by historians. Except for a minor exceptions (for national prominence) Kerala was always away from anything serious, war or freedom struggle or whatever it may be. It could be argued that this could be one reason why Malayalam movies have never managed a really good attempt which touched the plots of war or freedom struggle. The only one movie which, I think, portrayed anything seriously was Meenamaasathile Sooryan, by Lenin Rajendran, which was in the 80's. We have not managed even a good movie on the famed Punnapra Vayalaar strike. Only small fractions of population were affected by any such strikes or riots, must be the reason, why we never make films on such serious issues, or why any of our film makers have ever been inspired to make such movies. Mohammed Abdul Rahman was a prominent freedom fighter in Malabar, who inspired many Keralan poets, but it took so long for a movie to be made on him.

The movie goes through the events between 1921 and 1945, during which this legend rose into prominence in North Kerala. 

I always have felt, Malayalam movies lack something to make good period or historic movies. In all our history, we have got only very few, really few number of good period movies. I consider only Vaishali, Perundachhan, Oru Vadakkan Veeragaadha and Parinayam as good period movies from Malayalam. Except for the recent Urumi, all those movies happened in 80's and had the same person, M T Vasudevan Nair as the script writer, is more than interesting. Actually, none of them had anything to do with freedom struggle, though Parinayam dealt with a very serious issue during those years. But even M T's attempt at creating a period script, based on freedom struggle, I would say was a failure with Pazhassiraja. Kaalapaani, by Priyadarshan, was an attempt too, but failed inspite of getting the looks of a period movie right. But that was the only movie, which got the technical side right. All the tehcnical aspects and the looks of that movie really had a period feel.

Veeraputhran, is yet another proof that we lack something, when it comes to making good period movies. The movie is based on a novel, but the script fails very badly, or during its conversion to the script, the writer failed in picking up or setting up scenes, which could offer importance or cinematic value. The first half of the movie hence is really horrible. Only the second half manages to evoke some interest, but I would sincerely say it does not do justice to the legend of Abdu Rahman Sahib.

Most parts of the movie has only the quality of amateur drama to be honest. The director wants to touch into the personal life and interests of Sahib is sure, but the scenes all look misfit, just like square pegs in a round hole. Add to it, his idea to put in few songs, it looks really terrible. I was really disappointed to see one song especially, picturised between Sahib and his wife, which was an absolute misfit for this kind of a movie.

But inspite of all its drawback, I would still give a big credit for the director for just one aspect. Narain performs the role of Sahib, and even if the script does not demand any extra ordinary performance, Narain seems to have put his heart into it. Yes, even without any need to put a varied lot of facial expressions, especially with his body language, Narain seems to have imbibed the persona of Sahib and personally I found he did justice to the character. I felt like looking at Sahib, rather than a popular actor. So kudos to the director and actor on this aspect.

Otherways, I am sorry to say that the movie was very disappointing.