Posts Tagged ‘movie’

Roma

Alfonso Cuaron’s latest will be discussed for weeks after release, for it’s ability to create conversations about family, employment, womanhood, relationships, ethnicity, culture, revolutions, politics, and, even dog poop. Roma will certainly develop religious followers across a period of time, especially because of it’s shot like an epic period drama but in fellini style, although not as surreal as the latter -Thanks for bringing fellini back. Cuaron’s latest is definitely his best work, although one can always argue otherwise.

Roma, being Cuaron’s semi autobiographical work takes us through the lives of two women who raised him, the young domestic worker, Cleo; and the mother of four, Sofia. Both these women have been abandoned by men, sketching out to grow into flawed, strong, and memorable characters. The narrative then follows Cleo’s journey into an unexpected pregnancy, and Sofia’s journey after her husband absconds away in the name of work.

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Roma starts with a scene of the floor being cleaned, and ends up at the sky. This film puts Alfonso Cuaron right up there with the likes of Fellini, Satyajit Ray, and Truffaut, who have made such epic semi autobiographical work from their childhood memories. Some of the sweeping pan shots of 360 degree need to be watched to believe, they look gorgeous on the big screen -why is this a Netflix film! Also, another achievement on the film would be the immersive sound design which takes you right into Mexico.

It would be criminal to not mention the breathtaking scene towards the end at a family holiday on the beach. The scene of Cleo and the kids in the sea is one of the best monochromatic scenes ever seen. This dripping with love, water, and, dog-poop poetry by Cuaron on his childhood memories and the women who shaped him is a must watch, his work is more empathetic than the people he is compared with earlier in this write up.


Climax 

Climax can easily be said to be Gasper Noe’s comeback. If not for the hype, I would’ve easily resisted watching another film by Gasper Noe, a filmmaker who has which always relied upon sensationalism, provocativeness, and intensely shocking narratives and visuals. His latest is more shocking and more deranged, but this time, his antics work in the favour of the story.

A troupe of young dancers have gathered in an old school building’s empty rehearsal hall for a party, which hits high notes of dance in the beginning but ends up hitting horrifying notes of a bad acid trip, which at some points you wish would get over earlier. Such is the horrifying portrayal of a young dance troupe’s party which quickly goes downhill.

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Noe’s comeback is innovative in its fixation of treating this as a dance film, even when people are dying of drug overdose. This is a break from Noe’s sexual obsession and stays true to his vision, the camera work accompanies the dance styles sequences as the camera flips and sweeps at so many occasions, as if the camera is also dancing on acid with the troupe. The visuals are so mesmerising that you end up sincerely watching even the horrifying ones towards the latter half. Gasper Noe is an important filmmaker because he gives us a break from the usual cinematic diet, providing visceral, stunning, and bold images of a young dance group, mostly women suffering from a bad trip of LSD. A strong mention for the kickass innovation, Gasper Noe has done with the credit sequences, randomly popping up in the film.

 

Woman at War

Weapons, check! Strategy, check! And of course a live band to accompany the warrior, check! This surreal Icelandic film, although conventional, has much to offer and enjoy. This political-musical-comedy is a terrific watch, where some dry Icelandic humour and absurd characters, spice up the otherwise conventional tale.

Halla, a middle aged choir director, has a secret mission, to bring down the heavy industrialisation in Iceland, using nothing but a bow and an arrow. Alongside, she has even written a new manifesto which is sent flying across the town as leaflets, found an accomplice in her long lost cousin, and, has gotten her application to adopt a girl child accepted in Ukraine. One cannot resist to stand by Halla’s strong resilience, whose living room has posters of Gandhi and Mandela.

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This local Icelandic Robin Hood’s character is fleshed out extremely well, allowing the viewer to accompany her in this tough adventure, amidst stunning locations of Iceland, which are magically shot in the film, allowing the rural and rustic Iceland to grow into it’s own character for the film. The vibrantly offbeat mood of the narrative is accompanied brilliantly with the live band playing some eclectic music to support Halla. The weirdly placed jokes (deadpan humour style), like the one on Vikings, are sure to leave you in splits.

 

Touch Me Not

Romanian film ‘Touch Me Not’ raises questions about body, sexuality, and intimacy, in the most dishonest and non-intimate manner. This film has admirers who have awarded it the Golden Bear at Berlin, however, failed to raise any interest for me. The film manages to blend fiction with reality seamlessly, but ends up exploring more themes than it can handle. The strange relationship humans have with their bodies could have been a strong subject, this however is a huge missed opportunity.

Laura Benson is Laura, who appears in dialogue scenes with the director, discussing her issues with voyeurism. Christian Bayerlein is a man with spinal muscular dystrophy who wants to challenge body-image preconceptions. Tomas Lemarquis is looking at comparable ideas. It is all heading towards the sex club. The scenes featuring Christian, narrating his perception about beauty and touch are some of the only watchable parts of the film. The rest of the affair is extremely naive, petty, and radical to an extent that it can be an attempt of narcissistic filmmaking.

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Harsh Desai

Cold War

The Best Director award winner at Cannes 2018, Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War is an epic love saga, in a 4:3 aspect ratio, where a man and a woman begin a tumultuous relationship in the ruins of post world war Poland. The film, as revealed in the end, is inspired and an ode to Pawlikowski’s parents and their love story. For me, this is Pawlikowski’s version of La La Land, and a triumphantly stronger version of it where the couple goes through 15 years of Cold War where they not only cross geographical territories, but also musical ones. Watching this at Regal, moved me into a Sahir Ludhyanvi mood. 

In 1949, while conducting auditions for a Polish folk troupe, Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) is smitten by Zula (Joanna Kulig, earlier seen in Pawlikowski’s stunning Oscar winner Ida), a village girl who could sing extremely well, and is unapologetic in acknowledging her involvement in her father’s murder too. Soon, the ensemble is formed, with Wiktor helming it, and a romance kickstarts,  helmed by Zula’s temperament. This temperamental couple (almost like America and Russia, although more romantically involved) in the cold backdrop, dance their way through this melancholic ballad across thousands of nights, meeting and separating from each other in Berlin, Yugoslavia, and even, Paris. 

The narrative shuffles from highs and low of the relationships, like the tides of the sea, into a melancholic end, almost like the sad ballad which moves from polish folk to French jazz, ultimately ending into a defeating silence. At just 89 minutes, Pawlikowski is completely in control of this epic, where the music allows poetic contemplation upon the carefully designed frames.

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Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Bi Gan gives a surreally hypnotic trip, which is a treat to watch, and an equally amusing trip to write about. Divided into two parts, this film’s first half is in 2D, exploring in no linear fashion, the loss and sadness of the protagonist; the second half of the film is a dreamy sequence, shot in a single take, and to be viewed in 3D. Watching this film is like entering into a local jadugar’s tent, you know everything is unreal, but you are still amazed at the countless possibilities. 

In the first half of the film, I was suspended into a semi lull stage, almost hypnotically following Wong Kar Wai styled sequences between the protagonist and the woman. These stylish sequences are often cut to show us the protagonist pondering poetically over life. Such atmospheric blend is sure to put one into drowsy state, and just when my eyes had completely surrendered to the protagonist, he entered a porn theatre and asked me to wear my 3D glasses with him, leading me into an almost hour long sequence. This part, shot in a surreal fashion, is a single take where the protagonist goes through phenomenal spaces like an old hallway of pool tables, a rustic room of slot machines, and an old touring karaoke van setup. One of the most beautiful portions of this long take is the bizarrely slow ropeway sequence which gives us a wider understanding of the space. Bi Gan shows signs of becoming an auteur, because this plotless film is so ambitious and yet strange. For instance, another sequence of the second half has a kid who promises to help the protagonist only if he can defeat him in Ping Pong -the ping pong game ends in a conversation on memories and time, which is extremely elusive.

Watching this film is a hallucinating experience, I would be unapologetic in saying that this was almost like lucid dreaming. Accompanied by a mesmerising cinematography and mesmerising soundscape, Long Day’s Journey into Night makes every other film playing at Mumbai Film Festival fall short in ambition and execution. However, everything at the end is only transitory.

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Non-Fiction

I am not amongst those who can resist an Oliver Assayas film, especially if it also happens to star the greatest of all time Juliette Binoche. Oliver Assayas has been one of the popular favourites at MAMI, with both Clouds of Sils Maria, and Personal Shopper receiving brilliant response. These earlier films were atmospheric thrillers which tackled contemporary themes, however, his latest Non-Fiction is like a warm evening embrace for writers and their contemporary issues. The mehfil of conversations which the lead characters create is a delightful watch.

Alain and Leonard, a writer and a publisher, are overwhelmed by the radical digitalisation of the publishing world. Deaf to the desires of their wives, they struggle to find their place in a society whose locks they can no longer key into. Twitter and Instagram seem to be new literary platforms, and books are no longer in vogue, however e-books are selling like pancakes, and audiobooks recited by celebrity stars are even more in demand. All the four characters are dealing with the change in times, in their own particular manner. They however, share their frustration while hustling through these changes. 

Using dialogues as verbal duels; references of Michael Haneke, Bergman, and even, Star Wars; and the gorgeous performance of Juliette Binoche; Oliver Assayas delivers a scintillating and thought provokingly beautiful Non-Fiction, which although simple in treatment, is ambitious in digging undiscovered depths of philosophy. Almost like a Woody Allen dialogue based tango, Non-Fiction treats heavy questions in a breezy manner, resulting into a sweet, funny, philosophical, and cheerful drama. It is easy to fall short of words while describing Non-Fiction, because all the lines in Non-Fiction are such literary gems, you might have to watch it twice to get the eloquent delight created here.

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Harsh Desai

Few months back, Dev Benegal posted the script of his film Road, Movie on his website. But if you missed it, we are posting it here again. Simply because we try to gather and post as many hindi film scripts as we can and all at one place. The screenplay of the film was selected for the L’Atelier section at the Cannes Film Festival 2006. ( Click here to read his interview on the same)

I didn’t like the film much. Thought it was pure desi exotica for the west but it had lot of interesting stuff. But whether you like a film or not, reading a script is always going to help. So, here you go – download and happy reading.

Courtesy – Dev Benegal

His last film blew our mind and how! Diving Bell and The Butterfly. And what a coincidence – As Christopher Nolan’s Inception has now become the “last film to blew our mind”, Schnabel is back with a new film titled Miral. And the trailer of Miral is out. Check it out.

It stars Freida Pinto in lead role along with Willem Dafoe, Hiam Abbass and Vanessa Redgrave. Its been shot by Eric Gautier. And here is the synopsis of the film…

Based on the novel by Rula Jebreal, the movie revolves around a real-life orphanage established by a Palestinian woman (Abbass) following the 1948 creation of the Israeli state. (Pinto) was sent to the orphanage in 1978. When, later in life, she goes to teach at a refugee camp and falls for an activist, Miral is torn between resistance and education as separate paths to political change.

This friday there are three films and all very different. Road, Movie, Attithi Tum Kab Jaoge and Thanks Maa. Road, Movie is by Dev Benegal and starring Abhay Deol, Tannistha Chatterjee & Satish Kaushik.  First, Road, Movie. Will the poster boy of new wave hindi cinema Abhay Deol deliver again ? Or is it desi exotica packaged as pure pretentious fuck for firangis ?

Anupama Chopra (NDTV) – Be warned: the film is slow and in parts, clunky and underwritten. But Benegal tells the tale with such tenderness and affection that you are slowly but irrevocably seduced by his vision – 3/5

Raja Sen (Rediff) – Benegal’s screenplay ends up, as we said, like Deol: it goes nowhere, driving aimlessly around in circles. And yet there are charming characters, and visuals to remember. It’s a casual drive, short enough to not mind, long enough to leave you slightly tired. Sometimes a ride is worth just what you see through the moving window – 3/5

Gaurav Malani (Indiatimes) – Is it a roller-coaster road movie? Is it a novel tale about touring cinema? Sadly, despite immense potential, it’s neither of the two. This one is mediocre middle-of-the-road movie. Dev Benegal’s Road, Movie is designed as one of those typical festival films that pretend to be a transformative journey of a character who en route discovers the true meaning of life, love and blah blah blah – 2/5

Mayank Shekhar (HT) – The point of this road-less journey remains mysteriously unknown though, given it’s the premise. You can’t quite place the leading man either, the wizard of pose: in Levi’s jeans, tightly trendy tee, cellphone in hand, iPod to the ears… You don’t know where he’s coming from, to figure where he’s going. He literally sells tel (exotic Indian oil) for a family business. Gone to get oil, or ‘gaya tel lene’ is of course an unrelated Indian metaphor for screwing yourself over – 2/5

Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN)Road, Movie directed by Dev Benegal, is a slow and rickety ride that tires you out by the time it reaches its destination. A visually stunning but emotionally hollow adventure, packed with tired stereotypes, the film is an unsatisfying watch even at running time of 90-odd minutes – 2/5

Shubhra Gupta(Indian Express) – The two parts of the title, separated by a comma, conjure up two of the most beguiling subjects a film can have. Being on the road, journeying from point A to point B, with or without a destination, can be magical. And there’s nothing more so than the movies. Dev Benegal’s latest, which marries the two, lacks the enchantment this sort of film must necessarily possess to take hold of, and enthrall – 2/5

Nikhat Kazmi(TOI) – For, Road, Movie is no English, August. It’s less engaging and low on story, although, the characters are rich and the canvas is colourful. The film works slowly and sensuously, drawing you into its folksy tale of a Sheherzade-like journey through a landscape dotted with mean cops and marauding gangsters from the water mafia that rules the parched desert – 3/5

Minty Tejpal (Mumbai Mirror) – In the end, all the actors have done a fine job while the journey has been told in a lavish style, but that’s about it. So be warned, you will only enjoy Road, Movie if you are an Abhay Deol fan or in the mood for different cinema. The rest may find it boring – 2/5

Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, ROAD, MOVIE is more for the festival circuit and some connoisseurs of art house cinema, who may savour it. That’s about it! – 1.5/5

The second film Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is directed by Ashwini Dheer and stars Ajay Devgan, Konkona Sen & Paresh Rawal. Three superb actors and a comedy ? Am not interested. Lets see.

Anupama Chopra (NDTV) – Dheer has a stellar cast of three national award winning actors but he doesn’t give them sparkling lines or substantial moments. Only Ajay Devgn gets to chew the scenery with a nicely done climactic speech about the relationship between children and parents. Aththi Tum Kab Jaoge attempts to impart valuable lessons but the comic sugar-coating just doesn’t crackle enough – 2/5

Mayank Shekhar (HT) – Everybody over-does it. Among gags after gags, one or two mildly work. But it’s the cast that had initially inspired confidence. Devgn’s last comedy, All The Best, was in parts a riot. Sen Sharma’s last, Wake Up Sid, was a wonderfully affectionate rom-com. And as anyone will tell you, not just a wealthy Gujarati trader in Jersey, Paresh Rawal is Paresh Rawal. None of them (bumbling together in a room) even vaguely add up – 1.5/5

Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – Ajay Devgan and Konkona Sen Sharma, credible actors both, sportingly participate in much of the film’s idiocy, and yet succeed in never turning this film into the kind of offensive, unwatchable comedy that it might have easily become in the hands of such actors as Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor who could learn a thing or two about restraint from the leads in this film – 2.5/5

Shubhra Gupta (Indian Express) – there’s nothing fresh about Dhir’s film, which employs tired characters ( Satish Kaushik playing a bejeweled film producer who keeps saying `jai mata di’, for instance), and even more tiresome clichés. There’s not much you can do with a plot which uses a string of noisy farts as a leit-motif, not even a couple who tries to be lived-in : both Devgn and Sen Sharma pull off being married, with an offspring, by bickering well. But neither is given enough to do, the whole focus being Rawal, who is kept very busy not being as funny as he can be. Misplaced emotion is stuffed in here and there, derailing the comic momentum – 2/5

Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, ATKJ is a hilarious movie, but unlike any slapstick comedy. It’s a light-hearted film with sensibility, humour and a strong undercurrent of emotion. This atithi is sure to find a place in your heart! – 3.5/5

Nikhat Kazmi (TOI) – Neat. Subtle. And softly funny. Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is quite unlike the hysterical laugh acts that have been trying terribly hard to make you laugh in recent Bollywood. More of a chuckle-and-a-smirk drama, this one doesn’t even try to convince you that life is all ha-ha-he-he. Instead, it creates situations and characters that fill you with warmth and make you smile with the familiar quirkiness of recognisable situations – 3/5

Minty Tejpal (Mumbai Mirror)Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? is a comedy specially tailored for the average Indian family. Thus, everything about the film is average. Inspired by a Sharad Joshi article, the film is about an unexpected guest, who refuses to go away; always an interesting premise for chaos. Unfortunately, this premise never really gets its full play in Atithi… as the screenplay remains tepid and the jokes tedious – 2/5

Nithya Ramani (Rediff) – Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is a lighthearted entertainer that tickles your funny bone several times in the film. The film has its share of one-liners and and funny situations, which you can identify with. It bears a resemblance to Satyajit Ray’s Bengali film Agantuk – 2.5/5

And the indie film of the film is Thanks Maa directed by Irfan Kamal. The child actor Shams Patel has bagged a National Award for this one. But why such a boring & generic title ?

Gaurav Malani (Indiatimes) – Thanks to heartening films like these, one never loses faith and hope from Hindi cinema. For a new perspective on the mean city and meaningful cinema, Thanks Maa is strongly recommended! – 3.5/5

Mayank Shekhar (HT) – It may be unfair to expect a kid to carry an entire movie on his weak shoulders. It still proves how the child – raw in innocence — is the father of the leading man. Adults ‘act’. Just watch veterans on the same show — Raghuveer Yadav, Alok Nath…. I’m glad the boy earned himself a National Award – 2/5

Shubhra Gupta (Indian Express) – This is a film hard to watch, but it is a film that needs to be watched. Pity it’s come into theatres unpublicized – 3/5

Minty Tejpal (Mumbai Mirror) – Towards the end, the screenplay gets a bit carried away, but the honesty in the story and the acting keeps you going. It may not be strictly entertainment, but Thanks Maa is a brave effort, which deserves your support. Go see it for the street kids, the ones we avoid all day long – 3/5

Nikhat Kazmi( TOI) – Watch out for the kids. They leave you spellbound with their guttural, gutsy act. Surprisingly, and thankfully, the Censor Board has displayed a sense of maturity too by letting them speak in hardcore street lingo (read abusive). The film, ostensibly inspired by Tsotsi, Gavin Hood’s film that won the Oscar, does get a bit long-winded in the second half and the climax might seem schmaltzy, but these are forgivable in view of the sledgehammer impact of the film. It fills you with a yearning to do something, anything…. – 4/5

Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, THANKS MAA is truly original, innovative and pioneering cinema. The film has won several awards and adulation across the globe and deserves every bit of it. This is one meaningful film you can’t afford to miss! – 3.5/5

Looks like one more ok-dokay week at the movies. Out of three, Thanks Maa seems to have got the best reviews. You know what to pick.

Road, MovieFinally, here comes Desi Cinema Paradiso. No, make that Cinema Para-desi!

The first trailer of Dev Benegal’s Road, Movie is out. The film stars Abhay Deol, Tannistha Chatterjee and Satish Kaushik. The screenplay was selected for the L’Atelier section at the Cannes Film Festival 2006. Its having its world premiere at the ongoing Toronto Film Festival. Deol plays a truck driver who makes a life changing journey across India as he hits the road with  a travelling cinema.

And here is the 2min trailer..

And the synopsis of the film..

A young man’s journey into the unknown becomes the odyssey of a lifetime.

Vishnu, a restless young man, comes up with a plan to save his father’s faltering hair-oil business. It’s madness: an excursion into the unknown, driving an old, decrepit lorry across a harsh but stunning terrain.

His personal journey becomes an odyssey across the mythical Indian landscape as he discovers he’s transporting not just a battered vehicle, but an old touring cinema.

The expedition takes on carnivalesque proportions of endurance as Vishnu confronts a young runaway, a wandering, old entertainer with a bear, a beautiful gypsy woman, corrupt cops and a notorious water-lord.

The key to his freedom is the eccentric collection of films and the two 40-year-old film projectors that lie inside the bowels of the lorry. Like “1001 Nights” if the films are good he gets to live and move on, otherwise he faces death in the isolated countryside.

The road trip is to change the life of each of the travellers, especially that of Vishnu, who discovers life, love and laughter along the Indian highway.

love aaj kal4Will Imtiaz Ali score a hattrick ? Everyone loves his first one Socha Na Tha. Jab We Met gave him box office success. And now the third one – Love Aaj Kal starring Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Rishi Kapoor. And who is that Harleen Kaur ?

Post-press screening, we heard mixed reviews about it. Nothing mindblowing. Ok to good to great timepass. Some early reviews are out. Take a look.

Gaurav Malani (Indiatimes) – Love Aaj Kal doesn’t promise much newness in its plot but clicks largely for its casual-n-cheerful presentation – 3/5

Anand Vaishnav (Buzz18) – Love Aaj Kal is not perfect. But in one of Bollywood’s dullest years, this one comes as a refreshing ray of hope. It’s bound to bring a smile on your face. Here’s a film with both head and heart – 4/5

Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, LOVE AAJ KAL is for the young and romantic at heart. Sure, it’s not perfect, but the terrific performances, melodious music and stirring emotional moments more than compensate for the hiccups – 4/5

Raja Sen ( Rediff) – Love Aaj Kal is a harmless, watchable film — sad, because it could have been truly special. It has its moments in the first half, while the second half is an over-melodramatic drag – 2.5/5

Anupama Chopra ( NDTV) – Love Aaj Kal is an above average film with some wonderful moments, nice lines and fine performances. But it’s not as sparkling or engaging as it should have been – 3/5

Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – The film in the end is ordinary stuff, watchable but never memorable like the director’s previous efforts, the far superior “Socha Na Tha” and “Jab We Met” – 2/5

Shubhra Gupta (Indian Express) – It’s hard not to warm up to a film which is, at its core, likeable. I just wish I could have liked it more – 3/5

Khalid Mohamed (Aslibaat) – The result is cuts above the kind of movies you’re getting aaj kal. Worth the price of a ticket-cum-popcorn. Make that caramel – 3/5

Minty Tejpal – Though a poignant love story, Love Aaj Kal lacks the joyous, organic soul of Jab We Met, and appears crafted. Nevertheless, Imtiaz Ali shows that he is a top notch director, with an eye for subtle, emotional nuances 3.5/5

Mayank Shekhar (Hindustan Times) – Eventually, a script that starts off supremely crisp, loosens out into climaxes. And a final explanation that while times have changed, only expressions may have altered – 3/5

Baradwaj Rangan – After ‘Socha Na Tha’ and ‘Jab We Met,’ Imtiaz Ali dreams up another winning romance – about love today versus love yesterday.

So far, 2.5 to 4, seems what we heard is right.

And yeah, finally we have got the name of the actress who plays Harleen Kaur! So all you guys who have been googling Harleen Kaur, stop now. She is Giselle Monteiro! And with an intersting name like that, we are more curious. Anybody got any more dope!