Archive for the ‘Movie Recco’ Category

The love for “Midnight in Paris” is our own love for the past

Posted: February 24, 2012 by moifightclub in cinema, film review, Movie Recco, reviews
Tags: , , , ,
5

The Oscar buzz is in full swing now. And it’s not surprising that with The Artist, Carnage, Moneyball and My Week With Marilyn in the theatres, it’s one of the best weekends at the movies. Here’s Fatema Kagalwala‘s recco for one more charming film – Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris. Read On. And don’t miss it.

Perhaps the most beautiful emotion to feel and soak in, besides love, is nostalgia, humankind’s singular tool to change the past, otherwise believed to be unchangeable. It is our very own time-travel device that takes us to places that never were but have become because of the way we choose to remember them. Present is drudgery but over time, after events have collected a dust of distance, they get shrouded in a mist of romance that becomes our haven, a cocoon which protects us from the unbearable banality of the present. A dreamworld we can escape to at will, and stay there for as long as the common concerns of the present do not summon us back with brutal force. With no control over the future and saddled permanently with a present we can never be content in, we are left with only this. This ability of re-writing our history to have something to be proud of. This gift, as it maybe perceived as, is the backbone of the much-loved Midnight in Paris. Above and beyond the travels of Gil into the depths of Time, it harks us back into the territory of rosy nostalgia, the blindfold behind which everything is safe.

This love for the past is almost lyrical. As poetic as Woody Allen presents in his dreamy albeit slightly woolly-headed Gil. And as precise as science, he makes him a writer, dwelling in the poetry of yesteryears, seeking the mirage of a gold-dusted past. Allen makes him choose Paris, the most fabled (at least in the Western world) romantic city full of the mystique and exoticism of art and expression. As we watch Gil engage with the city, we begin to crave the opiate of escape and begin to wear his shroud of nostalgia with pride and a certain willingness beyond the power of Gil’s experiences to arouse. We give up to the visions of our own Golden Age, whatever it might be, and revel in the feeling of the enigmatic ‘if only’. We thirst to find our own Parisian street we could roam at midnight and enter our perfect world, a world that never was but that which always lives within us.

It is this thirst, accompanied with Allen’s intuitive writing that steers us through fundamental truths of our relationship with time. None of the wonder that consumes Gil in his nightly sojourns is part of the lives of Adriana, Hemmingway or the Fitzgeralds. But the cyclical obsession for yore shows up in Adriana’s climactic choice when a somewhat misplaced wisdom shakes Gil back into the present. Misplaced because it seems out-of-character and sync with the young, idealist we see seeking truth and beauty with the innocence of a child. As a climactic turning point his revelation appears without notice and motivation, almost like a screen-writer-induced epiphany, diluting the entire premise of Gil’s character, thirst and search.

But it is with his ‘epiphany’ that the strong undercurrent of post-modern ennui, resonating in every single of Allen’s work, suddenly comes into play. It is logical and it makes the most sense. And as unpoetic as it is, it draws that familiar blanket of dejection around the theme, particularly in the way we now perceive Adriana and her delusion in contrast.

In that sense, Midnight in Paris, in the true tradition of Allen’s films, isn’t a hopeful picture even if Gil’s ultimate ‘escape’ may seem victorious. There is that unmistakable, underlying thread of pessimism that is a founding trope of all of Allen’s films. This juxtapositioning of reality and delusion is subtler than the film would have us believe and almost missable. But it is this juxtapositioning that brings home the universal truth of what we may not hurry to see, that this too shall pass. Apply it to the living present or the living in the past as it were.

However smart this juxtapositioning may be, its smartness becomes the undoing of the deeper and more significant sub-text. Were Gil’s realisation a result of a character growth or an outcome of an event, the smartness would have suddenly transformed into a more studied expose. We, in our terrific rush of having limply succumbed into the arms of yesterday, accept it because the act of breaking his suffocating engagement becomes our direct point-of-reference for his character growth. But it is merely a diversion that we mistake as the destination.

At first glance, Owen Wilson seems an unlikely actor to play the part of wide-eyed Gil. His demeanour and biography is hardly striking enough to carry off a character that sparks off dreamworlds in the most magical manner. But as Gil, he is transformed in front of our eyes into the part-naïve, part-grounded, part-dreamy idealist charming us into his utopia compelling us to love his journey as much as we would love our own. Marion Cotilard, on the other hand, does not have to ‘do’ anything for us to love her. She is undoubtedly the perfect choice to play the pixie-like, porcelain Adriana whom we can’t help but want to protect, even if it is from her own self-destructiveness. The wispy, ethereal beauty of Marion does half the work and the rest is superbly accomplished by the stunning actress herself. Coming away, we are forced to admit, no one could have played the parts better than these two.

Allen chooses his Golden Age with art and its main protagonists with a tongue-firmly-in-cheek. The Fitzgeralds were almost as mythical in their own time as they are now, and so was the Jazz Age. He picks the best representatives of the time but presents them as trophy heroes. We are left star-struck, as much as Gil is and hunger for more. But the legends, as we know them to be today, seem bound by a necessity to shock and entertain. And it is here that Midnight in Paris falters. As legends after legends flood Gil’s dream, ours is disrupted. A certain dishonesty of intent creeps in and the onus veers towards gimmick, taking away the artfulness it has carefully built so far.

But by now they have created a beautiful world, a world neither we nor Gil would like to ever be taken from, a dream we would never like to be awakened from. Probably for this, Midnight in Paris will forever remain a very dear piece of cinema to us. Because despite the choices the film makes, it brings us close to a world we all yearn for. But more importantly, it brings to us very vividly, the joys of attaining the perfection that is humanly impossible. It is this affirmation we cherish which is far, far beyond the artistry of the film. Yet, it is a gift, an ascertained gift the film gives us so that we can continue to look for our time in the rain, at midnight, when we can escape into our Golden Age, even if momentarily. Meanwhile, we can turn to Gil’s. Even if it is for less than two hours, and which even though smaller than our own love for the past, will suffice.

Click on the play button to enjoy the opening scene of the film.

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu – Pappu paas ho gaya!

Posted: February 13, 2012 by moifightclub in bollywood, film, film review, Movie Recco, movie reviews, reviews
Tags: , , , , ,
42

Early reviews in bollywood are unlike anything in the rest of the world – you can never trust them. And at a time of social networking, everything spreads like wild fire. So when i heard good things about Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, the first person who was skeptical about it was film buff and screenwriter Navjot Gulati and rightly so. Big banner, big stars, screening for friends and family and early review by so called trade analysts – why would anyone trust it? And then he saw the film and ran in other direction. Why and how? Read on. Has SPOILER.

The heading is a popular line from a popular tv campaign. However, the Pappu in question here is director Shakun Batra, who did an Aamir Khan impersonation in the song Pappu can’t dance saala (from 2:46 ).

Now, before I start talking about the film, let me tell you that this post is about the film and also about the director. How a rank outsider was able to make such a big debut?  And to top it all, he was able to make a “perfectly average” film with the same banner that made great films (NOT) like Agneepath, Kurbaan, We are Family ( I call it We all Act Hammily) and I Hate Luv Stories. You may wonder what is so common between all these five films including Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu. Interestingly, all of them have been directed by debutant directors.

What sets Shakun Batra apart is the fact that he made a big budget romcom with an indie feel, and, with a banner which is known for making candyfloss films set in unreal world. Shakun is also the one who started the Assistant Director’s community on Facebook which has helped thousands of people since its inception around five years back. One would think it has to be good karma as he was able to make his debut after assisting in just four films. I know people who have been working with top production houses and have assisted in more than eight films and still can’t even write a story, forget about making a film. The point being if you are talented and smart, you will always be able to make a film. Shakun’s smartness was in striking friendship with Imran Khan, who, let’s face it, may not be a great actor but he certainly has an eye for “good” scripts. Yes, if you are an outsider wanting to make big films, this is one way which can work.

Now coming to the film.

EMAET is a film which almost 80 percent of the population of Indian will be able to connect to because every character in the film is relatable. The Goofball dad Philip, sexed up Boolani,  demanding Kapoors, not-in-a-zone-to-get-in-a-relationship Riana, highly-under-the-influence-of-family Rahul and my favorite, the Granny. We all have seen such people around us and that is what makes you believe that this is “your” story.

It starts off as little over the top but it was refreshing to see the detailing in the film and the body language of Imran Khan, an actor known for NOT knowing what acting is. Imran’s family was bit over the top too but then came Kareena, almost like a breath of fresh air and the film was never the same again. She reminded me of Summer Fin from 500 days of Summer – a girl every boy wants to fall in love with. As the film progresses, you know that this is going to end up in only one way but you still want the guy to get the girl and so the movie works.

The movie does not go over the top even in any of the dramatic sequences, like the dinner table chopstick scene and the one in the school corridor. Kareena is so good that I fell in love with her all over again. Last time it was in 2007 with Jab We Met. The character she plays is the girl every guy wants to end up with for the rest of his life. Sweet, sexy, adventurous and caring.

But the one who steals the show is Imran Khan. Finally, the boy becomes man and learns to act and changes his hairstyle too. Watch him in the scene where he goes on a date with Anusha. He is damn funny! This is the first romcom to not have a kiss in the end, or the Indian equivalent to kiss – “hug” or better “marriage”. The film breaks all the clichés of Hindi romcoms and does it in style by having an ambiguous end. Although it is very clear that she does not love him but what the director leaves us with is that lil’ hope, that she may come back to him sometime in the future.

The photography along with the background music sets the mood perfectly and lets you flow with the story smoothly. Just listen to the way Clinton Cerejo jazzes up aaja aaja main hoon pyaar tera. Music by Amit Trivedi is of timeless variety – a rarity in today’s times when music is forgotten a week after the film releases. To sum it up, this is one of those rare films where I could not find a single thing that would put me off, everything was “Perfectly Average”, just like the 90 percent of the world’s population.

(P.S – I know the film has been inspired from various romcoms like What Happens in Vegas, 500 days of Summer, and desi flicks like Jab We Met and Wake Up Sid. But i did not mind the inspiration because the writers made something of their own from the inspired material.)

The Descendants : On why we are like this only

Posted: January 26, 2012 by moifightclub in cinema, film review, Hollywood, Movie Recco, movie reviews, reviews
Tags: , , , , , , ,
11

And our favourite writer, Subrat is back. After many requests, much cajoling and few smses, he managed to sit down and write this post on a film that he really liked. Read on.

We like to deal with the big issues. Those that are significant. The crisis of capitalism. Saving the earth. World peace. On the fabric of society, these are the big pictures. Acknowledging them is mankind’s acceptance of its collective failure. There’s something charmingly uplifting when we discuss our frailty in plural. It ennobles us. With such vexing problems to solve for the collective, why are we then, individually, beset with the trivialities of life? Why does the insignificant ground us? Betrayal. Loss. Estrangement. These warp and weft of life that should have subsumed themselves to the grand design. Instead, they force your attention to them. And to you. To your imperfections.

Imperfection is what Alexander Payne wants us to meditate over in his new film The Descendants. It’s seven years since Payne gave us Sideways and, on the evidence of this film, it’s reassuring to note these years were well spent on the minutiae. And, on imperfections. This gives us a film that is in turns profound and farcical while managing a lightness of touch that is often sought but seldom achieved. There is an unhurried pace to the story that eschews dramatic highs and showdowns though there’s ample opportunity in the script for both to surface. More importantly, the director avoids the trap of caricaturing the shallow, ordinary American family that seems veering towards dysfunctionality.

In a society that worships achievement, it is interesting how being ordinary is celebrated in American literature and films. May be it is the impact of American Realism; of Mark Twain and Henry James who crafted their stories around everyday people facing moral choices. How deep is their impact on American culture can only be gauged by the currency that stories of ordinary lives have enjoyed for the better part of last century in America. From Faulkener, Updike, Franzen in literature to a whole host of films that have rightly (or, wrongly) won critical acclaim for protraying ordinary lives. Just run through the list of Oscar winners over the years to see the impact that realism still holds on American psyche. Strong enough to have Ordinary People win the Best Picture nod in the year of Raging Bull (a more compelling case for the entire lot of voting members face the firing squad hasn’t been made).

That aside, if any contemporary director in Hollywood can lay claim to that real tradition of realism, it has to be Alexander Payne. Payne has an instinctive grasp of an ordinary life, its tribulations and, like the realists of the yore, he lets the character stumble his way through reaching the right conclusion. And, like them, he understands locations. From Omaha, Nebraska (About Schmidt) to Napa Valley (Sideways) or even that last segment that he directed of Paris je t’aime, Payne has few peers in weaving in the location into his films. In The Descendants Payne takes the unlikeliest of locations for depicting a family in strife, Hawaii, and makes it integral to the film.

Matt King (George Clooney) isn’t an ordinary Hawaiian as he informs you in the voice-over that starts the film. While disabsuing us of the notion that Hawaii is a tropical paradise (yes, there’s poverty and grime there), he quickly establishes his bloodline that traces its history to the tribal royalty and the early white settlers in the middle of the 19th century. He is a partner in a real estate law firm who has worked hard to build his identity separate from his ancestry. Matt, though, is burdened by this ancestry that has bequeathed on him the responsibility of disposing off a large virgin tract of land in one of the islands for ‘redevelopment’. This is big news locally as it pits the alleged forces of development (malls, amusement parks et al) against environment. Matt and his sprawling extended family of cousins (there’s a cousin popping up every minute in the film in brightly coloured shirts and chappals) are indifferent to the debate. There’s no less messy way of dividing up the family fortune and quite a few cousins are hard up.

These, seemingly, larger issues hardly match up to what fate has dealt Matt. His wife of many years, Elizabeth, lies in a coma in a Honolulu hospital with doctors ruling out any chances of survival. Matt’s younger daughter Scottie (Amara Miller) is a 10-year old who is precocious in the wrong way whose favorite pastime seems to be to confuse her friends on adult issues. Matt, admittedly, has never been a hands-on parent (a backup as he calls himself in a voiceover) and, in Elizabeth’s absence, he finds Scottie a handful. There’s also Matt’s older daughter, Alex (Shailene Woodley), who’s been sent away to a boarding school to rid her off her drug habit. Matt brings her back to make sure the family is together when the doctors pull the plug on Elizabeth. He had hardly bargained for the secret that Alex carries that seems to make her loathe her mother – Elizabeth was cheating on him. Matt becomes obsessed about finding out Elizabeth’s lover and breaking the news of her impending death squarely to him.

The narrative arc is quite familiar from here on. Matt has to pull his family together, learn to be friends again with his daughters, put his wife’s transgressions behind him, do the right thing on the land deal and seek redemption. This is a territory susceptible to high melodrama and in the hands of lesser director would have turned into a soppy, sentimentalist work. But Alexander Payne elevates this into a whimsical and wry look at life by keeping sentiments at a safe distance. He is ably supported in this by an ensemble cast that is completely in step with the director’s alternating profound and farcical treatment of the subject. Especially noteworthy are the cameo turns – Nick Krause as Sid, the irascible boyfriend of Elizabeth who isn’t as shallow as he seems, Judy Greer, who chews up the scenery in just the two scenes she is there.

The triumph of The Descendants is how it meanders through this familiar arc. There is no pre-determined denouement that the film is hurtling towards. There are no certainties here, like life. It appears like everyone has time to spare. Unhurried is perhaps the term. Matt, who has all the emotional cards dealt to him, is often driven by petty instincts. You are bound to be sympathetic to him but you are intrigued by his fickleness and his decisions. Payne isn’t judgmental in his portrayals. You take each character from your own station of life. It’s rare for a film to achieve this.

The cynic in me wanted to see through all of this. This whole calibrated business – of ordinariness, of making George Clooney look stupid, of having a bunch of kids dysfunctional on surface but being alright at the end and of making a statement about development versus environment. I have let the cynic question it all. I have done my best to see through the deception. It’s been over a month since I saw it and I have failed.

May be, for once, there’s something real here. You be the judge.

But take my advice. Don’t bet against The Descendants this awards season. There’s no Raging Bull in the ring. And, The Descendants is no Ordinary People. Though that title may have fitted it perfectly.

Shala is pure and uncompromised cinema. Must Watch!

Posted: January 22, 2012 by moifightclub in cinema, film, film review, Movie Recco, movie reviews, Must Watch, Regional, reviews
Tags: , , , , ,
19

The year was 1994. I was in class 9th. It’s the year when the world starts reminding you that life and death will be based on your next year’s results. So, this is the year before you are crucified for the board exams. Have as much fun as you can have.

My class found its first official couple that year – those who declared their love without saying anything. Boy from middle-class. Girl from Officers’ colony. In a small coal town in Jharkhand (it was Bihar then) where dating wasn’t part of our dictionary, it was a big thing. Quite daring too. Because unlike in big cities, we all knew how many chappatis our neighbours had for lunch and how many they finished in dinner. Everyone knew everyone else and every affair related to them. Love in a small town was a risky business.

So for the rest of us, it was a teasing game – oh, she is with him and he is with her. The peer pressure that makes you imagine weird things. It was all just in the head. But for the couple, i was the middle man. The boy used to sit on my right as we shared the desk. The girl, on my left, had a separate desk. And between the boring classes, writing and passing love chits was their favourite activity. Being a good friend, i had no choice but to spice up the chits when asked by my friend. And help her in  studies too. She is your friend’s girlfriend. If not you, for the first time someone in your life has a girlfriend. You have no other choice.

The first chit, the first letter, the first chocholate that was shared – it was all before my eyes.  And like all small town love stories, this also ended with a Jagjit Singh ghazal. He came back from Benaras and told me that he did exactly what Jagjit Singh sang in Arth – Tere khusboo me base khat mein jalata kaise….Pyaar me doobe huye khat mein jalata kaise…Tere haathon ke likhe khat mein jalata kaise…Teri khat aaj mein ganga me baha aaya hun….Aag behete huye paani me laga aaya hun.

We never discussed this later on. But sometimes i still do think about the entire episode and a big smile appears on my face. For two hours i had the same smile on my face as i watched Sujay Dahake’s directorial debut Shala.

Based on Milind Bokil’s novel by the same name, this is an assured debut. And believe it or not, the filmmaker is just 25 year old.

The film doesn’t state anything new. It’s a trip down memory lane that you have seen many times before. Just the set-up is different and the faces are new. But everything is captured so well – it’s all about the silences, glances, moments and the memories. School, best friends, love, heartbreaks, first rush of hormones, crush on your favourite teacher and that first introduction to politics which tells you that the real world is not what it looked like so far – say it, and it’s all there.

Best thing about Shala is that it doesn’t look like a film at all. The acting is so natural, the camera is so non-intrusive and lingers on frames with so much ease that it feels as if someone just put a camera in a school. There is not a single false note in the family affairs too where the scenes are quite delightful.

The story is set in the backdrop of the emergency. Though it doesn’t add much political colour to the main story and which seems like a tokenism, but Sujay belongs to “subtle school of filmmaking”.

A common factor in any good film is that you will always remember a character who is there in just 2-3 scenes. Mr Joshi (lead character’s father) played by Nandu Madhav is that character in Shala. Watch him in the scene when he receives the letter from the school – knowing some of my friends and their strange equation with their dads, can bet that many people will wish that they had a father like him.

The lead actors played by Anshuman Joshi and Ketaki Mategaonkar have such a terrific and delicate chemistry between them that it’s impossible to believe that it’s just onscreen love. They do nothing heroic about their love story but those tender moments filled with soulful music are so powerful that they will stay with you long after you have left the theater.

Another place where it scores a high point is that the film doesn’t aim for the big bang climax. It’s all about the journey, it’s not a “destination movie”. Because the pain of growing up can’t have a happy ending. Nothing prepares you for the cynicism. The joy is in the journey. Shala celebrates that. This is what pure and uncompromising cinema looks like. And since that’s a rare genre in this country, i suggest you don’t miss this one.

Watch it. Watch it because nostalgia is a bitch, and when the bitch is so beautiful, there is no way out.

And what’s your class 9th story? Do tell us.

The film is playing at Mumbai’s 24 Karat Theater (Jogeshwari) with Subtitles. They have only one show at 3:30pm. If you know about any other show with subtitles, do let us know.

Click here to check out the official website of the film.

Speaking Of Films – Part 1

Posted: January 10, 2012 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, film, Hollywood, Movie Recco
Tags: ,
13

Unlike journalism, which thrives on 5 Ws and 1H, we think blogging is all about the distinct blogger’s voice. And so three questions should define you – 1. Who you are 2. What crimes you commit? 3. Define your kink. This is Manish Gaekward‘s first post here. And before you read this interesting post, here’s his reply to those three important questions – 1.  someone who tries to speak less and less within the ambit of alcohol, otherwise, even lesser. Love films for what they are – they say more and more of what i feel i cannot express. 2.  Content writing for a website, will remain unnamed till i make it as a screenplay writer (will mention it in my struggling period). 3.  Chorus girls, love them – for instance – when Lata tai sings dilbar dil se pyaare (caravan) – i wait for the chorus girls to join in – so here is how it goes – Lata – dilbar dil se pyaare. Chorus girls – dilbar. Lata – dil ki sunta ja re. Chorus girls – haan haan dilbar – i tend to accentuate on ‘haan-haan‘ – the part that i get pat. In other kinks – pause and help myself whenever the girls yelp ‘oui maa‘ on the oh la la track from The Dirty Picture.

Like his blogging bio, the post is bit long but quite exhaustive and interesting recco post. Read on.

What have film critics Andre Bazin, Pauline Kael, Satyajit Ray and Francois Truffaut taught me about films?

Bhai, let the films do the talking.

Here’s a list of some that spoke to me.

1. When women walk

Malena – The whole town comes to a standstill when Monica Belluci walks. Hell, why not? Everyone wanted to know when those legs open for business

Volver – Almodovar pours into petite Penelope Cruz the voluptuousness of Sophia Loren

Pakeezah – Meena Kumari does the gajgamini

Gajagamini – Madhuri Dixit becomes the gamine gamini

Daud – Urmila Matondkar runs, walks, struts, halts, gyrates, even lifts her legs up in the air..er..she kicks butt – it is from Daud that Ramu learnt to fix the camera in Jiah Khan’s crotch and shoot the whole of Nishabd through the vaginal eye

2. Where men strut like they have more meat in their balls

Pulp Fiction – John Travolta did not resurrect his career with disco moves, he had to show he could do more than swish his butt

Reservoir Dogs – Tarantino guides this pack of 14 talking testicles

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly – Tarantino’s favourite film

Kagemusha – Japanese people have balls too!

The Battle of Algeirs – behind every agitated man is a woman cupping his cojones, ‘I’m with you’

Taxidriver – Puny man De Niro, but what gigantic gonads

The Godfather Trilogy – less said, better viewed

The Hurt Locker – defusing bombs, dude you need more than balls!

3. Five Meryl Streep movies that you should be embarrassed to recommend

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events – Meryl and Jim Carrey in the same film? No!

The River Wild – Meryl and Kevin Bacon in the same film? Worse!

Death Becomes Her – Meryl and Bruce Willis in the same film? When her boobs ‘magically’ swelled in her shirt, my mother gasped it was unreal…uhh yeah!

Mama Mia – she’s having fun, but Meryl singing and dancing – some other day please

Dark Matter – Meryl and who? Fuh-get it!

4. Five Meryl Streep movies even the blind would recommend:

Angels In America – 4 Meryl for the price of one ticket!

She-Devil – she’s funny funny funny when she is furious, pure trash fun

Kramer Vs Kramer – spot on

Silkwood – never seen her this resilient

Sophie’s Choice – queen of accents

5. Five Meryl Streep high octane performances:

Doubt

Adaptation

The Hours

The Devil Wears Prada – though you must watch the real Anna Wintour in The September Issue

Out Of Africa – the Oscars seem to think she hit a note

6. Films that Shabana Azmi was smug in (inadequate script could be the reason):

Loins of Punjab – she seemed to be powdering her nose throughout for the next shot

Honeymoon Travels – there was promise of Goa, she did need a vacation, didn’t she?

Umrao Jaan – Allah tauba, did she really think she could be her mother Shaukat?

The Immaculate Conception – Shabana Azmi as Samira…is that even a name worthy of her persona?

Rakhwala – isn’t this the film where she is Anil Kapoor’s schizo sista? She drove the filmmaker up the wall asking what method to madness he wanted!

7. Shabana Azmi’s rage as we know:

Ankur

Arth – the confrontation scene with Smita Patil where her pallu slips and she wants to cover her modesty while she’s fuming but ab kya faiyda? She gives all

In Custody – ‘Main shayara hoon‘ she rebels, and damn you know whose daughter she is

Mandi – she can be loved when she is pissed

Paar or Godmother – the former is a helpless rage, the latter high-strung – which is the better?

8. Jungle mein Mangal films

Aguirre, The Wrath of God – Herzog’s mercurial venture into the Middle ages

Apocalypto – again, Tarantino hefts for Gibson’s vision

Apocalypse Now – Marlon Brando is the human stain on your soul no detergent powder can erase

9. Karaoke out loud musicals

Cabaret – can Liza Minelli ever keep a straight face? She cracks me up when she wants to be earnest

Chicago – Catherine Zeta Jones

West Side Story

Carmen – hell hot in here, both the Rosi and Saura version – robust, feisty, and passionate – I hope Shyam Benegal makes Chamki Chameli as pulsating

Grease – ridiculous and fun

10. Comic as it should be (Buster Keaton, Monty Python, Groucho Marx – too broad for me, mea culpa)

Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb – I’ve no stomach for any other Peter Sellers comedy

Some Like It Hot – Monroe in the middle, perfect tuna sandwich, and ukulele

Andaz Apna Apna

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron

The Birdcage – prefer it over the french original

As Good As It Gets – Jack Nicholson makes me want to be a better man

City Lights – Chaplin makes us laugh, but in the end he makes you cry in the final scene

Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore – it might not look funny in the beginning, but once the actors get in the car, it’s a fun ride – who could have thought Scorsese could give this?

11. Gay characters humanised by straight filmmakers

Happy Together – Wong Kar Wai – lyrical work

The Talented Mr Ripley – Anthony Minghella is deeply missed for more than this

Infamous – this version of Truman Capote over In Cold Blood any day, it’s warmer

Gods and Monsters – Ian McKellen is a monster, albeit, a human one

Before Night Falls – Javier Bardem in this – then tell me he’s married to Penelope Cruz

My Beautiful Laundrette – Daniel Day-Lewis is gay, enough said

Basic Instinct – Sharon Stone could be gay, she could be straight, who cares as long as she uncrosses her legs, she’s humanised!

Dog Day Afternoon – Gun toting gay, Al Pacino can hold-up a bank yo bitches!

12. Straight actors immortalised by gay filmmakers:

Bad Education – Gael Garcia Bernal was the man in his Natalie Portman affair? Gosh! Pedro does it again, pours Penelope Cruz’s pout into Bernal’s blowfish lips

Milk – Sean Penn – of the Madonna ex-husband fame, could not have been any gayer

Priscilla Queen of the Desert – Guy Pearce in drag! Holy mother of Memento, rewind will ya…

Gia – Angelina Jolie can switch from straight to gay like a chameleon, who cares as long as she puckers her lips, she’s everyone in one!

The History Boys – brilliant ensemble cast, from the filmmaker who gave us Jennifer Aniston’s arguably only watchable film, The Object of My Affection

13. Movies not meant to be understood, yet marveled:

Last Year At Marienbad – critics agree

Rules Of The Game – the sort of comedy of manners film made less french in flavour by Gosford Park’s tribute years later

Memento – Ghajini was difficult made easy pudding

Mullholland Drive – as New York Times pointed out, the less sense it makes, the more you want to see it

14. 5 films Kareena Kapoor should watch to reclaim her skill

Erin Brockovich – this is the Julia Roberts she should be emulating

The Piano Teacher – Isabelle Huppert to the masterly training

Under The Sand – Charlotte Rampling towers like a lighthouse over it

A Woman Under The Influence – Gena Rowlands mad as can be

Monster – Charlize Theron – Bebo should balk at having to look ugly, gain weight, act no!

15. Horror as it should be

The Others – Nicole Kidman is terrified, and so are we

Let The Right One In – twelve year old vampire kid in love, uhh, pretty scary love story

The Shining – Jack Nicholson in anything is damn shit creepy

Rosemary’s Baby – just for the last scene, that look on Mia Farrow’s face, ever-lasting horror

Psycho – What would the genre be without you?

Carnival of Souls – low on budget, high on atmosphere

16. Romance is in this odd coupling:

The Kids Are All Right – Julianne Moore and Annette Bening make the perfect dysfunctional lesbian couple

Venus – A seventy plus Peter O Toole attracted to a girl his granddaughter’s age. Toole’s most endearing act

Brokeback Mountain – Jake wishes he knew how to quit Heath. How inconsolable we were when Heath passed away

The Graduate – Mrs Robinson has eyes only for a plucky Dustin Hoffman

Elegy – Penelope in bed with Kingsley – er Gandhi with an appetite for sex, watch

Moonstruck – Cher doing Nicohlas Cage – you got to be kidding

Vicky Cristina Barcelona – Cruz, Bardem, Johansson tripling, oh yeah, even when there is no sex in the room its one hell of a hot place to be

17. Must watch Iranian New Wave films

The Cow – Possibly one of the best films in the world, ever

Where Is The Friend’s Home? – Abbas Kairostami’s deceptively simple tale

Children of Heaven – The Majidi film Priyadarshan should not have copied, shame shame

A Time For Drunken Horses – where horses are more prized than human beings

The Circle – Jafar Panahi should be released from the circle that has presently engulfed him

The Day I Became A Woman – Makhmalbaf’s wife outshines his debut for sure in this stunning film. He has Kandahar, and daughter Samira has The Apple to bring the house down

Tip –  Afghani film, Osama from this region, is magnificent

18. What’s the best in world cinema?

Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita – Raj Kapoor’s predecessor

Rene Clair’s A Nous La Liberte –– Pankaj Advani would have agreed

Sergei Paranajov’s The Colour Of Pomegranates – Kiran Rao, Madonna and yours truly are the only people who might have seen this

Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow Up – Kundan Shah knows

Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata – the film Rituparno Ghosh, Pedro Almodovar, Khalid Mohammed would perhaps fork and knife over lunch.

Francois Truffaut’s 400 Blows – the film Vikramaditya Motwane will accept and Aamir Khan deny – freeze frame anyone? – Satyajit Ray admitted his last shot in Charulata

Vittorio Di Sica’s Umberto D –  if you can get over The Bicycle Thief

Luis Bunuel’s Un Chien Andalou – Dali’s surrealist vision; razor slicing an eye, who can forget this indelible, hair-raising horror sequence

Jean Luc Godard’s Breathless – the ever so loveable rake Belmondo

Alain Resnais’ Hiroshima Mon Amour – I should not be surprised if Ondaatje likes this

19. Films that have been successful with ‘potato eaters’

Fried Green Tomatoes – Chop, chop, chop girls, this is it, meat-pie in the oven

Babette’s Feast – where gluttony is sin, there devout small portions is all you will need to thank the lord for

Woman On Top – f*ck the food, Penelope Cruz with a chopper headed for you meatballs, dare you move

Ratatouille – it’s animated, and yet so wonderfully glazed, you want to nosh, and the food critic in the film, is certainly Proustian in hauteur

Julie & Julia – has food ever been filmed this lovingly, Nigella Lawson, you have competition

Chocolat – Juliette Binoche grinding cocoa with her creamy hands, won’t you lick her fingers off when she is all messed up whipping a chocolate meringue?

20. Sex scenes you may have missed

Last Tango In Paris – Marlon Brando using butter – I thought butter was meant only for spreading, how naïve I was

Anatomy of Hell – A stone dildo? Only in a French film will you see a woman getting lucky with it

Sex And Lucia – Beautiful locales, gorgeous women, great music, and loads of sex – plus some festival awards. Perfect

The Ages of Lulu – Javier Bardem’s very early film, graphic sex scenes, very risqué

The Postman Always Rings Twice – not a great film but if you want to see Jack Nicholson kneading Jessica Lange covered in flour on a kitchen table, go for it

In The Realm Of The Senses – The Japanese use egg in foreplay, find out, yep

Shortbus – After Caligula, if anyone has dared to film another orgy, pop your eyes here

21. Sweet n Sour Bengali films

Meghe Dhaka Tara – Dada, ami baachte chai (Brother, I want to live) – isn’t that what Bhansali keeps trying to convey to us through his films

Charulata – My favourite Ray film, what I would do to get hold of that pair of binoculars

Antarmahal – Where Rituparno dares, and Rupa Ganguly seductively bares

36 Chowringhee Lane – The one time Aparna Sen was spot on with her casting of Jennifer Kendal

22. The Khans should stop wiggling their butts and watch these actors do full frontal (performance included)

Vladimir Mashkov – The Thief – passionate, volatile, hard-knuckled, a seasoned man

Klaus Maria Brandauer – Mephisto – such incredible drama off-stage, especially with his mullato

Vincent Casell – Irreversible – crazy as a nut, this man

Edgar Ramirez – Carlos – that scene where he’s feeling himself in a mirror, he’s loving it!

Alain Delon – Le Samourai – dude, this guy cools you with his point-blank shot

Birol Unel – Head-On – Drunk, uncouth, bedraggled, he gave to the role more than its demands

John Hurt – The Naked Civil Servant – hahahahaha, truly one of a kind

23. Banned films I should not be recommending

Salo – please do not watch this film, its puerile

The Last Temptation of Christ – what was the fuss about, it’s hardly spectacular

Brief Encounter – considered adulterous entertainment then, classic now, ask Anurag Basu where he borrowed Life In A Metro from

Caligula – terrible, terrible film, who wants to see Helen Mirren naked? God no!

A Dirty Shame – so gross, you don’t know whether to laugh or to wince

Zack & Miri Make A Porno – Thailand banned it because teens might learn how to make a porno, hello world!

24. Cult films you will never watch

The Holy Mountain – Director saab was on LSD while filming, and actors were fed ‘magic mushroom’ to experience their characters, roles, skin, whatever

Plan 9 From Outer Space – considered the worst film ever, but please watch Ed Wood before you watch this, you will die laughing at its incongruity

Blue Velvet, Wild At Heart, Lost Highway – strange David Lynch films that hypnotize

Man Bites Dog – biting cruel humour, this is not for the faint hearted

Showgirls – so camp, you’ll reach out for cheesecake and pour honey over it

The Rocky Horror Picture Show – the mai-baap of camp and cult, thoroughly entertaining

25. Where are the Hindi films in this list?

Apart from a gazillion films I have not spoken of (will come back with Part 2), there’s about only a handful of hindi films I love. It’s so bourgeoise to repeatedly discuss them.

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge

Maqbool

Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi

Boot Polish

Jaagte Raho

Awaara

Kagaz Ke Phool

Devdas

Pyaasa

Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam

Sardari Begum

Pakeezah

Rangeela

Lamhe

And a film that will always top my best list, my heart belongs to Mughal-E-Azam (coloured version please).

Movie Recco : 10 must watch documentaries

Posted: January 3, 2012 by moifightclub in cinema, Documentary, Indie, Movie Recco, Must Watch, Special
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
5

We wrapped up the “Best Of 2011” with all kinds of posts on movies, music and moments. But we completely forgot about the docs. Also because most of us didn’t manage to watch all the best docs.  Writer-filmmaker Mihir Desai saw it all and here’s his recco post on the top 10 docs of 2011 that you must watch. Click on the titles to see the trailers.

2011, like the previous year has been a brilliant year for documentaries. We’ve been exposed to some really personal and special films. These docs have dared to bend the rules and have created a sub-genre within documentary filmmaking. I saw docs that were surreal, global collaborations, re-enactments and just traditional docu-dramas. Hope this genre continues to grow and finds more audiences, after all the first few movies ever made were documentaries too!

Some obvious choices like Pina 3D, Page One: Inside The New York Times and Martin Scorsese’s Public Speaking will be missing from the list as I never got a chance to watch these. Regardless, this should make for an interesting recommendation list, as I am sure most films listed below might have gone unnoticed amidst the Tintin and Mission Impossible hype.

First up, the honorable mentions: Inshallah Football, Buck, Knuckle, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, a short documentary by Errol Morris – The Umbrella Man and Superheroes.

Now, the five runner-ups. Films that almost made it to the list:

15. Urbanized
14. Being Elmo
13. Project Nim
12. Cave of Forgotten Dreams – 3D
11. Tabloid

Finally, the top 10 documentaries of 2011:

10. The Arbor :  Clio Barnard’s portrayal of the late Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar is a brave experimental documentary. Clio uses audio from the interviews of real people and lip-syncs them to the actor’s performance. The whole film is a re-enactment but it isn’t manipulating the facts. The events and story is true, the presentation isn’t (somewhat similar to No. 8 on this list) It can be a little challenging to watch this film but once the story unfolds, you’ll be hooked!

9. Bill Cunningham New York: An 80 year old New York Times fashion photographer riding his bike around New York City to photograph fashionable citizens; the plot of this film is that simple. Director Richard Press portrays Bill Cunningham’s passion for fashion and photography in the simplest manner. The observational approach juxtaposes the glamorous fashion world to Bill’s simple and saintly way of living. Besides being a film about Bill’s photography, it is also an interesting city portrait of New York. Therefore, making New York an additional character for Bill to interact with. This is a truly inspiring documentary. When the movie ends, what stays with you is Bill’s contagious smile.

8. Bombay Beach: Director Alma Har’el comes up with the year’s most poetic, surreal, genre-defying documentary. Some might argue, this isn’t even a documentary, and that’s what makes it so fascinating to watch. The location is real, the characters are real and the story is just an observation of these characters’ lives. Alma treats her film like a narrative feature. There are beautiful musical moments choreographed to songs by Bob Dyland and Beurit that makes the experience very surreal. The irony here is that this film is vaguely about the American dream set in a poor, dying community on the shores of Salton Sea. Bombay Beach is nothing like you’ve ever seen before. Absolutely magical!

7. Senna: The year’s most popular documentary on the life of Formula One driver, Ayrton Senna, is absolutely riveting! Director Asif Kapadia makes the best of unseen archival footage to explore the struggles and achievements of an iconic sports person. It’s the editing of the film that takes it to a whole new level. Gripping!

6. Life In A Day: What. A. Movie! This is a perfect and successful example of collaboration 2.0. Co-directed by Kevin MacDonald and The World, this is a beautiful documentation of common emotions across the globe. Shot on the same day by people from around the world and interestingly woven together by editor Joe Walker, Life In A Day is as real a film can get. Brilliant and compelling! Also, you can legally watch the whole film on YouTube, for free.

5. How To Die In Oregon: Oregon was the first state in the USA to legalize physician-assisted suicide. Director Peter Richardson follows the life of cancer patient Cody, and it is through her point of view we get to learn about the pros and cons of Oregon state’s “Death with Dignity” law. Richardson handles this topic in a very sensitive manner without invading Cody’s private space. A thought-provoking documentary that some might find a little tough to watch. Yet, this is one of the most important films of the year and is sure to call for a healthy debate about the ‘death with dignity’ law and about the voyeuristic nature of documentary filmmaking.

4. Into The Abyss: Werner Herzog has his way of doing things, and no one else does it better than him. Herzog creates a moving profile of two men on death row and explores their relationship with those outside of prison. This film is not so much about capital punishment but about exploring the fear and philosophies of death. A very honest portrayal of the fine line between what is right and wrong.

3. Nostalgia For The Light: If Terrence Malick makes a documentary, this is what it  will look like. With gorgeous imagery and a philosophical narrative, director Patricio Guzmán constructs a story about the fusion of past and present. In the Atacama Desert, astronomers study the boundaries of the universe while surviving families of the Chilean exiles continue to look for the remains of the loved ones. Nothing comes close to the experience of watching this movie. This is the film I would have loved to see in 3D. It’s a hypnotic film that asks complex questions about life, memory and the universe. Unique film, unique experience.

2. Marwencol: Jeff Malmberg’s documentary is about the fantasy work of Mark Hogancamp, who creates a 1/6th scale World War II ear town which helps him get away from his nightmarish past. Mark is a very complex character and this film studies him with utmost sincerity. The filmmaker never tries romanticizing Mark’s motivations. Truly an authentic character study that might just leave you shattered.

1. The Interrupters: The Academy once again snubs one of the best documentary filmmakers, Steve James. Last time it was for Hoop Dreams and this time, for the mind-blowing, The Interrupters. Set in Chicago, Steve James follows three members of the Ceaserfire program for a whole year. Also known as violence interrupters, their job is to protect their community from the urban violence of the city. This is a side of America not many are aware of. The characters are, in my opinion, real-life superheroes. Steve James and his crew fearlessly film every detail they can. They are always there in the middle of conversations, danger, and threat. The Interrupters is powerful, dark and hopeful at the same time. Without a doubt, the best documentary of 2011.

Take some time out from mainstream movies and seek out these masterful films. There’s a whole lot out there!

Happy New Year!

– Mihir Desai

( PS – For more film posts by Mihir, click here.)

Good Morning – And we go trippy!

Posted: January 2, 2012 by moifightclub in cinema, Film Festival, Indie, Movie Recco, short film
Tags: , , , , ,
14

Yes, yes, yes, we know. For a change we’re behaving like the incestous bollywoodwaalas and promoting someone who is a good friend and who also happens to be a punju 😛 (but unlike them, we know our boy man is zooper talented). Kabir Chowdhary dabbled in theater and arts in Chandigarh before making a one minute short film called Dolly (click here to see it) which won the Gold PFCOne award (passionforcinema.com one minute film festival). He was an intern on the sets of DevD, and for those who claim to have seen the film many times, let’s see if you can figure out which scene in the film gave a tribute/promotion/plugin to his short film.

He later moved on to direct more short films like Pour, this low budget spunky music video here, a black humored clay news spoof  ‘Balbir News on Nithari Killings and worked on the art department for films like Wake up Sid, Aisha, and now going independent art director with Midnight’s Children.

He’s directed a 43 minute short film ‘Good morning’ which played at SAIFF film festival NY and won the grand jury award for best short. Our verdict? A trippy ride with some lovely visuals and performances. Pretty good sound design and music too. Nitpick – a few minutes long but still engaging. Do watch it if you get a chance.
Click on the play button to check out the trailer and if it looks interesting, scroll down to know more about the film. Over to Kabir.

Good morning is a psychological drama that explores the obsessions and insecurities of a married man who is completely dedicated to his wife. His world is shattered one day when he discovers his wife in bed with another man.

What happens next is diabolical, cold and shocking.

When viewing a film I have directed, my mind always wanders to what I was thinking when I was making it.

Which I guess is a very normal thing to ponder over for anyone who has been a part of a film project.

However, with Good Morning, all I can think about every time I watch it, is what an utter explosion it was for all of us working on it.

It was a guttural, visceral spewing of all our collective emotions, it was like I had lit a firecracker and burst it in my own hand.

The original script of Good Morning was 60 pages long and was written by me about 5 years ago, but we only got down to making it after I recently fractured my hand.

There was little activity in Chandigarh (my hometown), I was utterly bored, but brimming with a sense of purpose when my friend and the editor (Sakshi Bhatia) suggested, we rework the 60 page script and do a 10 minute film (which ended up to be 45 minutes running).

The 10 minute script, unlike the final film was written like an absurd comedy, it had extensive dialogue written in rhyme and was layered with a lot of nonsensical humor and a few sexually explicit scenes which were all later slashed out of the film.

Because once the casting process started it became very difficult for us to find an actress in Chandigarh who was willing to get naked! We did meet a lady who came all the way from a hill station about 3 hours away, and asked for 8000 rupees for the nudity involved. Without wanting to spend so much, we finally gave up this extensive search and decided to ask my cousin (Sukhmani, the actress in my earlier film Dolly) without giving her a copy of the script – and figured we will deal with the sex scenes when we shoot them! (we finally worked our way around the sex and made it suggestive, because we were obviously not going to shoot my sister naked!!!!)

Manish Kumar (Sunny) and Emanuel Singh (The Suit) who have both been trained at the NSD readily agreed to be a part of the film and were told that they were incharge of leading the actress (as she was unaware) and surprise her with their actions!

Our aim was to make a very small film on the I-phone, but the cast in flesh, blood and training was too exciting to keep it low quality, which is when my dear friend Rahat came down from Kashmir with his Canon 5-d and we were finally all set to start shooting.

Having been around conventional film sets with my work as an art director, I developed a sincere disdain to the long and arduous process of filmmaking, I feel boxed in and bored and genuinely feel that it drains the spontaneity out of everyone on set!

On our own film I wanted everyone to be themselves and have fun working! I also wanted to shoot without any prior rehearsal or deciding the location of the scene. And once the emotional quotient of the film was explained to the actors, they were made to let go of themselves completely as everyone was allowed only 1 take as I didn’t want anything to look remotely mechanical or well rehearsed!

Everything in this film for me was relying on the trust with the actors and the environment that the scene took place.

The actors were allowed to be themselves and bring themselves fully, without any penalty. So if our actor was a drinker or a hash smoker, within takes we would let him smoke or drink and come and get naked on a railway track, or dance wildly in the meat market with eels and a chicken!

And on the day of the climax, keeping up with our traditions, everyone got sloshed, ! (barring Rahat, the camera person, who literally had to focus!) and it was getting almost impossible to manage a room full of drunks (being a little drunk myself!)

As is, with a bunch of spontaneous crazy and creative people working together, it was four days of relentless chaos that was created and captured. The shooting process was a coming together of palpable energies stemming from being confrontational and disruptive to the real spaces and people we were around, but it seemed like everyone’s energies, even a crowd that collected(wondering what the hell was wrong with the actor and paying no attention to the camera!) was working in tandem to create this piece of work. it was a fulfilling, satisfying and mildly exhausting journey for everyone involved!

With this film, we have tried to carefully assemble a lot of nonsense, all held together by an element of no reason. There are no particular reasons why this film was made, its not trying to make any strong points, but it is more an emotional journey, a very personal piece of work that has fuelled within us the fire and the longing to stay true to ourselves and the film that is being created, we want to allow ourselves to be able to let go of ourselves and still be restrained and most of all make the experience for everyone involved, personal, therefore memorable and hopefully will be the same for the people who get to watch it!

The film is 45 minutes long and was made on a budget of Rs 25,000, with a crew of just 3 people and it was shot over a period of four days in Chandigarh.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Facebook page of the film is here.

The film also won the Grand Jury Prize for best Narrative short at SAIFF and is currently doing the festival rounds.

Mumbai Film Festival 2011 – Day 3, 4 and 5 (recco & reviews)

Posted: October 19, 2011 by moifightclub in cinema, Film Festival, film review, Indie, Movie Recco, movie reviews
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

Here’s continuing from our Mumbai Film Festival. The recco list is here, click here for Day 1 & 2 report and here is the post on Dimensions Mumbai.

Moving on –

Day 3

1. Jesus Henry Christ – A super non filmy yet subversive (you-dont-know-where-it-is-headed) film, my little miss sunshine of this year. Eccentric & weird american family-comedy. Trippy and funny all the way. Recco for everyone and especially for aspiring screenwriters

2. Toast – Stanley ka dabba meets Udaan. At first felt like a food porn film but slowly goes onto becoming a coming of age film set in UK 60s-70s. Very good film based on the life of a famous british chef. Also stars Helen Bonham Carter (and she’s not the only reason to watch the film)! Dont watch it on a hungry stomach !

3. Monster’s Dinner – ok clearly the most bizzare film of the day inviting maximum different opinions. Two couples have dinner in a dystopian turkey urban town. Smoking banned, painting banned, child abuse allowed and become a buisness, social norms are abnormal, satire on everyone under the sun. Clearly set up like a “play” with a single house setting (read low budget and limited resources so maximum innovation). Dark and creepy without showing a single violent act but puke-inducing. Many felt the film doesn’t move after the first 30 min (and may be even after the first 60 min), but personally felt it was very well directed. Very interesting film to watch it for sure – depending on if you decide to hate/love it later

4. First time for everything – Another russian Udaan father-son bonding story. Walked out after 70 min since it was taking way tooo much time to make a point.

5. Ides of March – Big Q for this one. Guess I know the right people. Nevertheless managed to sneak in. Must watch. Shiva the God Of Death goes corrupted. Wow. Watch it. Just felt longing for more by the end of it. Depressing film in a moral-istic way.

6. Aadukalam – national award winning tamil film. Had seen it already. But neverthless do check it out. A super film (yes made in commercial tam film format) And as a friend said – the drama is pretty “shakespearean”

Other mentions – Wrecked starring adrien brody, saamna, king of devil’s island (starring the super stellan skarsgard), armadillo. Didn’t see them since they are available (you-know-where). Will check them out. Comments welcome in case you did watch them

Day 4

1. Chinese takeaway – super stud ricardo darin (secret in their eyes, aura, 9 queens, carancho, signal) is reason enough to watch this quriky comedy film. An irritable common hardware shop owner’s life gets disturbed by a chinese man who comes into his life. Very well written and expertly directed. Recco’d

2. Tabloid – docu by Errol morris – a “simple” case gone awry thanks to the scandal-loving Brit media. Based on a true story. Highly recco’d. Offers multiple insights (pov’s) into the case – what happened, what was witnessed, what was reported.

3. Mountain – another low budget film with two characters and a “setting”. Thelma & Louise meets Kids are all right meets Rabbit Hole. But wow. And for a change great to see the dir not just relying on the lovely visuals of snow capped peaks but also wonderful drama. And someone give the leading lady an oscar for the best performance please. Was also part of an (informal) Q&A. Shot on Red. Must must “mast” watch. Silences, minimal dialogues but superb.

4. 17 girls – Based on a real life incident. 17 rebel-without (or with)-a-cause high school girls decide to get pregnant simultaneously. Liked it a lot despite the fact that pregnant women freak me out (I know I know, I’m sorry. Just have a phobia). Recco’d. And the girls are such good actors. I wondered how does one write the script of one such film.

5. Sleeping beauty – Epic fail super NG film. Everything established in the first 45 min, after that its purely one tharki budhdha after another. As Prof Saab said – “Pure mind fuck but no penetration”. Avoid. Allegedly an indian well versed “indie” director asked the dir of the film “Were you aware of what you were trying to do?”. Didnt get a satisfying response. I cursed myself for going for this and not standing in the 500 odd queue off Pina !

Other mentions – Win win by station agent, visitor dir, 36 chowringhee lane (arguably best film by aparna sen), Pina (still to be seen but have heard great things about it)

Day 5

1. Aparoopa – Finally saw a Jahnu Barua film on the big screen.. His debut film based on a real life incident which happened in assam in the 60s. A gorgeous suhasini muley and breathtaking assam visuals (DOP – Binod Pradhan), lovely music. A story and treatment which might seem a little dated today but for it’s time it was quite “progressive”. A typical HKA-ish/Charulata-ish Love triangle in which there is no bad guy (villain). And the good news is that he is trying to get all of his films released on DVD. Fingers crossed.

2. Love Wrinkle Free– A good first time effort by dir Sandeep mohan. Goa eccentric family comedy of sorts, in english. Couldve been trimmed by 20 min or so. Low budget film but which boasts of some good performances from the ensemble.

3. OR (Mon tresor) – Minimal dialogues, long takes, lovely visuals, self destructive characters, Father-son character from Aaranya Kaandam into a mom-daughter track.This is what Sleeping Beauty should have been. Highly recco’d. Last 5 min couldve been trimmed but still.

4. Almanya – Funny german family comedy. A man travels from turkey to germany to start a life. 50 yrs later family moves back on a vacation to turkey. Film cuts back and forth. Slightly meta-filmy (and hence also) super. Recco’d.

Other mentions – Salt of life, Habesu Papam (heard they were good), JBDY (need one say more?), Yellow Sea (hmmm-need repeat viewing. Some superb action sequences), Even the rain (available you-know-where), Another Earth, Melancholia (ho-hum, except super performances)

Mumbai Film Festival 2011 – A dead horse, Deool, Michael and more

Posted: October 16, 2011 by moifightclub in cinema, film, Film Festival, Movie Recco, Mumbai Film Festival, News, pics, Special
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
4

Since the day MAMI unveiled its line-up for the Mumbai Film Festival 2011, we all have been waiting eagerly for it to start. Just back from the screenings of Day 2, more cinema, better company and some more conversations. Today’s score – five films, five burgers, tea-coffee, cold drinks and few gallons of water. Dead tired now and so it will be mostly short and sweet ( read copy-pasting the tweets). Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly report of Opening ceremony, Day 1 and Day 2.

Registration  – The online system worked fine. Even the registration desk at the venue is quite efficient. Though heard about some bad experience on the first day but when i went, it just took 5 minutes to get my registration done. Also, good job with all the updates through the festival twitter handle – @mumbaifilmfest.

Opening Ceremony – Whoever came up with the idea of this shortest possible opening ceremony in the history of film festivals, he/she deserves applause. Late year it was a mess. This year the venue was Cinemax Versova. There is no place for the ceremony other than the lobby. So a small dais was created at the centre and sitting arrangements were made in all three directions. By the time we entered the lobby there was no place to sit or stand. But since the wait wasn’t long, we were happy. The main issue was the pass – opening film Moneyball was by invitation only. But thanks to those good souls who helped us out. All of us managed to watch it.

Moneyball – Good film to open the fest with. You have the stars but not completely hollywood and there’s a good buzz around it. The film was so little about Baseball and more about one man’s persistence. Jonah Hill stole the show. With such a fine command over his craft director Bennett Miller is surely going to have a long run. Capote and Moneyball – there is no common ground but both brilliantly directed. The best part of the film was the way it’s shot. Not sure how you define it technically, it was dark, moody, half-lit frames, atmosphere that you can breathe in. Or as Ebert wrote, this is a melancholy movie.

Opening Day Highlight – We suddenly saw that Hong-jin Na, director of Chaser and The Yellow Sea, was sitting in front of us. Varun Grover almost kissed him.

Post-film – Thanks to those good souls again, we went to Sun n Sand, Juhu for the opening ceremony party. As expected, it was too crowded. And the cinema bakchodi continued till late hours.

Day 1

Recruited Love (Zwerbowana Milosc) – Police, prostitution, politics and the politics of love. It’s like Polish version of Lives Of Others which is absolutely brilliant and do watch it if you still haven’t. This one turned hollywoodish thriller mid-way and then redeemed itself a bit in the end.

The Turin Horse (A Torinoi Lo)- We managed to catch the first 20 mins, some without subtitles, bit of it in wrong aspect ratio and then it stopped suddenly. The Horse was killed. We had no choice but to walk out. It was re-scheduled for 10pm.

Deool (Temple) – It was the opening film of the Indian Frame and its director Umesh Kulkarni is one of my favourite filmmakers. He goes to the other extreme with this one, far departure from all his shorts and features. Revolves around the madness, mess and marketing of religion, and Godly affairs in a small village. The stamp of Kulkarni is very much there – characters, humour, plot, but with item numbers and dhol-nagadas going dhoom-dhaam-dhadaap, it went into the Peepli Live zone. Always thought that Kulkarni loves playing with silence, this time it was the opposite. It could have been another kind of Ghabricha Paus too (a brilliant black comedy on farmers suicide issue) but Deool is too ambitious, wants to deal with too many affairs, reflect too many sides and it’s too noisy. It’s easy to understand what the film is trying to do but it’s difficult to endorse this one completely. It’s releasing soon in the theatres. Do watch it.

The Salesman (Le Vendeur) – There is something surreal about an old white man with white hair struggling in a completely white background (snow + sun) on a sunny day. But it could not go beyond the obvious. Too long and offers too little. The lead actor carries the film on his shoulder. By the time it ends, you just want to hug and comfort him.

The Turin Horse (A Torinoi Lo) – We tried our luck again. This time it was a bad copy with time code running on it. The subtitle was correct but it again stopped suddenly after 30mins or so. They killed the dead horse again. We had no choice but to leave. It was re-scheduled again for Day 2 at 10pm.

There was problem with the screening of My Little Princess too. The technical head of the screenings needs to wake up, smell the coffee and check the prints and the projection before showing the films. Don’t embarrass yourself so badly! Day 1 and major problems in three screenings – wow, that’s some score!

DAY 2

The Slut (Hanotenet) – With a title like this, it’s bound to get some attention. But with a female director who also plays the lead role, the gaze is completely different. Takes its own sweet time to unfold and the worst thing you fear, the director goes for it, ending it on a very disturbing note. Has male and female nudity and a long sex scene.

Distance (Distancia) – I thought NSP (Needs Some Patience) genre will be enough to describe some of the films selected for the fest. But this one is NLP where L is for Lots, and lots and lots more. There is so much story that you just hear but don’t see on screen. Was dead by the time it got over.

Generation P  – Quite a heady cocktail of art, culture, religion, pop, politics, philosophy, advertising, consumerism and Che Guevara. Who better than Che to answer some advertising questions. After all who sells more T-shirts than him? A trippy experience where it’s difficult to get all the religious and political context but worth a watch. It’s like an installation art of our pop-culture.

Generation P – Q & A – A QnA session with Victor Ginzburg, director of the Generation P was scheduled after the film. But since the poor soul was lost as there was nobody to do the Q and A, we decided to do an informal discussion. We tried our luck at The Artist but the queue was so long that it went up to the Landmark store on the next floor. We thought QnA was a better idea. The Artist was given another screening at 10pm. The director of the film VG told us that big brands (Coke, Nike and many others which feature in the film) gave him money to make fun of the brands in the film. That’s rare and what a fun it was. He was also unhappy about the bad projection of his film.

Chinese Take Away – We wanted to watch it but it has been re-scheduled on Monday 10am Screen 3.

Michael – We knew that this was the Uneasy film of the fest but had no clue that it would turn out to be so bloody brilliant. Waited in queue for almost 1 hour and it was worth it. Inspired by real life incidents, Michael looks at the day-to-day life of a paedophile who has locked up a 10 year old in a cellar. It sounds creepy and disturbing but the film is completely non-judgmental. Who are these paedophiles? How do they look? Do they come from a different planet? The director doesn’t go for the shock value but gives it a human face and captures the predatory relationship in a unique way that will stay with you for a long time after the film gets over. Easily the best of the fest so far. Must watch.

The Artist– We tried our luck again. As soon as Michael got over, we ran through the exit to be in the queue for the film. But by the time we reached, the queue was already about a kilometer long. This time we managed. A delicious love letter to the silent era, the film not only sets the story in that period and captures the era beautifully, but it also uses all the film-making tools of that era to tell a simple love story that we have seen million times. But the magic is in “how” and not “what”. With almost no dialogues, the lead actors don’t just act, they make you fall in love with them. Easy to understand why it was the Cannes favourite earlier this year. Aha, the magic of movies!

DAY 2 Highlight – Kartik Krishnan suddenly spotted a actor who had played the role of a Don in Bobby Deol’s Bichhoo. Remember? Nobody does. But we still tried to capture him. Varun went to him and asked him about Bichhoo. Kartik was right. Check out the pic – the bald guy in the background.

Enough for today. Tomorrow is another day. Mihir Desai‘s film Aakra-Man is playing with George Clooney and Ryan Gosling’s The Ides of March, and he is trying to copy their act as you can see in the picture. Good luck, Aakra-Man!

See you at the movies!

(PS – It’s been great fun meeting all those people whom we know only by their twitter handles. The world is indeed small and round.)

( PS1 – To read more about the festival films, click here to read Varun’s blog who is trying to write a fest diary.)

Mumbai Film Festival 2011 – Films you shouldn’t miss!

Posted: October 12, 2011 by moifightclub in cinema, film, Film Festival, Movie Recco, News
Tags:
6

Mumbai Film Festival has unveiled an impressive line-up of some 200 films this year. And we are trying to make your life little bit easier with the help of google, wiki, imdb and that DNA which has some cinema in it. The films which are making noise all over and the filmmakers you shouldn’t miss. Read on…


– Moneyball  : Its the opening film of the festival. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. Brad Pitt. Dir : Bennett Miller (directed Capote). Ebert loved it too. Go for it.

– Sleeping Beauty (D – Julia Leigh. Debut film) : The film was in Cannes competition section this year. According to Peter Bradshaw, Julia Leigh’s adaptation of her novel about a student drawn to prostitution is an elegant, if occasionally preposterous, debut.

– Michael ( D – Markus Schleinzer ) :  Premiered in Cannes competition section this year. A drama focused on five months in the life of pedophile who keeps a 10-year-old boy locked in his basement (IMDB Synopsis). It’s the Uneasy cinema of the fest.

– She Monkeys (D – Lisa Aschan ) : Won the Best Narrative Feature at Tribeca Fest and Special Mention at Berlin Fest. The film focuses on psychological power struggles between two teenage girls engaged in equestrian vaulting (via Wiki).

– Melancholia (D – Lars Von Trier) : Lars Von Trier. That should be enough. Though this  time LVT made much more news than the film since it premiered at Cannes.

– George Harrison: Living in the Material World (D – Martin Scorsese) : One reason – Scorsese. Another reason? George Harrison. Enough?

– Pina (D – Wim Wenders) : WW goes 3D with this dance film. Homage to German dancer/choreographer Pina Bausch. It’s gorgeous but you will Need Some Patience (NSP). Mark this NSP, we are going to use it again and again.

– Turrin Horse ( D – Bela Tarr) : Tarr’s latest which won the Silver Bear at Berlin Fest. It recalls the whipping of a horse in the Italian city Turin which is rumoured to have caused the mental breakdown of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The film is in black-and-white, shot in only 30 long takes by Tarr’s regular cameraman Fred Kelemen, and depicts the repetitive daily lives of the horse and its owner (Via Wiki). If you are not aware of Tarr’s cinema, it NSP.

– Dad Made Dirty Movies – Because the trailer looks super and the title is delicious! But the bad news is can’t find it in the schedule. It was there in the list earlier. Do watch the trailer anyway.

– The Artist (D : Michel Hazanavicius ) – It’s the film that everyone loved at Cannes. It was also nominated for Palme d’ Or and the lead actor Jean Dujardin bagged the Best Actor Award. The story takes place in Hollywood between 1927 and 1931 and focuses on a declining male film star and a rising actress, as silent cinema grows out of fashion and is replaced by the talkies. The film is itself a silent film and in black-and-white (via Wiki).

– Once Upon A Town In Anatloia (D – Nuri Bilge Ceylan) : Premiered at Cannes Fest (Competition) where it was co-winner of the Grand Prix. Like other films by NBC, this one also has lot of moods, melancholy and atmosphere.  Again, if you are new to NBC, beware. NSP.

 – Restless (D – Gus Vant Sant) : It premiered in Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. No great reviews so far but when it’s a master like GVS, you can’t miss it.

– The Yellow Sea (D – Na Hong-Jin ) : From the director of The Chaser – that should be enough. Premiered at Cannes (Un Certain Regard). Also, NSP.

– Ides Of March (D – George Clooney) : Clooney’s latest directorial venture which opened the Venice Film Festival. Has talents like Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti.

– The Forgiveness Of Blood (D : Joshua Martson) : From the director of Maria Full Of Grace.  It won the Silver Berlin Bear for best screenplay.

– Red State (D – Kevin Smith) : Not much encouraging reviews but KS created much hullabaloo  and headlines  at the Sundance fest with this one. Watch it if you can or it’s out you-know-where.

–  Adaminte Makan Abu ( D – Salim Ahamed) : The Malayalam film which bagged 4 National Awards this year – Best Actor/Film/Cinematography/Background Score. Click here for our separate recco post on the film.

– Deool ( D : Umesh Kulkrani) : Two reasons – Valu and Vihir. If you haven’t seen the movies by one of the best desi directors, you surely are missing something.

– Painted Rainbow (D : Geetanjali rao) : India’s best animation filmmaker that most don’t know about.The film opens the Cannes Critics Week segment at the fest as it was in Cannes Critics Week 1996. Don’t miss this one. Click here to know more about the film.

– Mushrooms (Chatrak. D – Vimukthi Jayasundara) – This Indo-Sri Lankan co-production was screened at Cannes and Toronto Fest. Later on it made headlines for frontal nudity and sex scenes which got leaked out on the net.

– Yeh Woh Manzil Toh Nahi ( D – Sudhir Mishra) : Someone finally found a copy of the film! Last time we tried to find a copy, even Sudhir Mishra had no clue about it. A film that most of us have heard about but haven’t seen yet.

– Dekh Indian Circus – Mangesh Hadwale’s debut film in Hindi after his marathi film Tingya.

– Love Wrinkle Free (D- Sandeep Mohan) : For some of us who have been following Sandeep’s quirky short films for some time, this one looks quirky enough. From the synopsis here, it looks like desi woody allen film set in Goa. A full independent production, should be an interesting watch.

Some more fests favourites:

– Historias que so existem quando lembradas  (Or Historias. D – Julia Murat ) : Premiered at Venice fest. Had screening at Toronto fest.

– Le Vendeur (The Salesman) : Nominated for Best jury Prize at Sundance Fest

– Another Earth (D: Mike Cahill) : Won the Special Jury prize at Sundance.

– My Little Princess : Premiered at the Cannes 2011

– The Mountain ( Ole Giæver’s ) : Premiered at Berlin Fest, 2011

– Out Of Bounds ( D : Frederikke Aspock) Screened at Cannes 2011. Director is 2004 Cannes Cinefondation short film winner.

– The Slut (Dir. – Hagar Ben Asher) : Screened at Cannes. Cine Foundation winner.

– My Best Enemy (Mein Bester Feind. D : Wolfgang Murnberger) Out Of Competition at Berlin Film festival

–  Life Without Principle ( D : Johnnie To ) : Nominated for Golden lion at Venice Fest, 2011

– Azhagarsami’s Horse – The Tamil film which screened at Toronto and Tribeca Fest recently

– Indian Retrosepctive includes some classic like Shaji Karun’s Piravi, Pather Panchali, Ghatashraddha, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Jahnu Barua’s Aparoopa, Unishe April, Ankur, Seeta Raati, 36 Chowringhee Lane, Swayamvaram and others.

– Dimensions Mumbai – Will have 20 films including our AuterMark & Reel Reptile‘s latest short Aakra-Man.

– Click here to download the (day wise) schedule that makes it easy to pick the film. And say thanks to Kartik Krishnan. This one is only for Cinemax Versova.

If you want more film reccos, click here to read Mihir Fadnavis‘ list, here for Aseem Chhabra‘s list, Rahul Desai‘s recco list is here and Time Out Mumbai’s list is here.

For more info and official website, click here.

( PS – Am sure we are missing many other great films, do keep the recco going)

Older Entries
Newer Entries