Break Time

No Schedule this week, I have some technical snags which need to be taken care of. So Week 6 will begin next Monday.

Sorry about this! Those who ever look forward to this blog i.e. but keep some hope I will be back with a bang next Monday.

Have a great week and have a nice weekend too!

Aa Dekhen Zara by Jehangir Surti

Category: Hindi

Okay well - this movie sucked.

The plot has Neil Nitin Mukesh (NNM from now on) receiving a camera from his grandfather which allows him to take pictures of the future. The movie has some weird characters like Captain (Rahul Dev) and Baan (... a corrupt Cantonese cop, they go to HongKong right? or Thailand whatever, fuck it). The acting is below par and just about the first 20 minutes were entertaining.

Recommendation level: 1/5. To go from Camera Buff to this is such a huge waste of time. Oh well, the movie is not so long so people are put out of their misery a little faster than expected. NNM better make more movies, if he took so long to work on a crappy one like this. Bipasha is "OK". I was being generous and that's why the 1 rating is there.

What a god damn boring end to an awesome week of Cinema.

Camera Buff by Krzysztof Kieślowski

Category: Non-English

Oh boy, this film is worth every cent or paise you can spend on. They say a true mark of a director is how he performs in his first film, Krzysztof Kieślowski's debut film is based on a humble factory worker who at his daughters birth buys a 8mm camera. The new found acquisition soon transforms into an obsession. He's soon filming everything but with what consequence? Do film-makers really film reality? Does a film-maker have a social responsibility? These are really hard questions that I am sure everyone who is attached with cinema must have thought of at some point or another. Kieślowski does as well but in the film he's trying to provide some answers, although he raises even more questions in the bargain. This film is for the people who want to speculate and discuss movies.

Krzysztof Kieślowski takes on all these questions, and what memorable images he leaves in our mind. The film takes such a haunting turn when - frustrated by his antics his wife departs from Mosz (the Camera Buff) he even makes a unique pose which in many ways talks about the transient quality of cinema or films. I could really go on, but the most intense part is undoubtedly the end. Most people might miss the significance, I hope you don't. Then there's also the upgrade from 8mm to 16mm... Oh boy.

Recommendation level: 5/5. Maybe it's just me but this movie has really got me thinking, for the first time in a while I am thinking about this film and the significance of the images Kieślowski shows us.

The Elephant Man by David Lynch

Category: English

David Lynch's The Elephant Man is one of those movies that is overtly melodramatic at places as you'd expect of a Hollywood film. The movie isn't the best film I've seen but there are some noteworthy points about the film.

Based on a true story The Elephant Man changes some of the original storyline. The film essentially follows the life of John Merrick (Hurt) who suffers from a terrible deformity. Picked from a traveling carnival by Hopkins' character for the first time he is treated as a human. As the film progress' we see Hopkins' character questioning his own motivations behind providing and caring for Merrick. The movie is technically efficient and the black and white add to the environment very nicely. Barring Hopkins and Hurt the performances are average the direction is good

Recommendation level: 3/5 - Sorry Lynch fans, this movie didn't really appeal to me, sure it covers the subject about humanity in some depth but the movie itself wasn't a stand out product for me. I got it at Rhythm House for a really low price (Rs. 69) although the print was bad but hey! An official copy is an official copy. If you like cinema watch it, don't use it as a date movie.

The Fountain by Darren Aronofsky

Category: English

If I had written this review after watching the movie yesterday I am sure I would have given it a 5/5. But with some after thought comes perspective and that's when I realized that this movie is really all over the place. Darren tries to incorporate the bible, buddhism, mayan myth and a bucket load of other philosophies in parts and pieces and that's where it falls flat.

The Fountain essentially follows the love shared between Tom & Izzie. Their love expressed through 3 different time lines. There's the Conquistador (Jackman) & his Queen (Weisz), there's the Doctor & his writer wife (same!) & there's the Astronaut and his... Can't spoil it for you.

This movie is definitely for the people who believe in love and to see the extent to what one can do for love. A love that can transcend time itself.

Recommendation level: 3/5. Hugh Jackman can act and is really good at it, the music by Clint Mansell and the direction power this film onto the 3 star category, but sadly can't take it beyond it. Still a big touch of Hollywood in it, this is for the nerds who want to put forth their wishes to their lady love (FUCK YEAH STEREOTYPING!) Oh yeah all those who think Aronofsky can only be good at directing people shooting drugs should not miss this one. Pi and The Fountain are very fine works as well. Clint Mansell and Hugh Jackman are so versatile as well, pick this up for the weekend watch with your lady love!

Khosla Ka Ghosla by Dibkar Banerjee

Category: Hindi

Anupam Kher has performed really well in this movie as a middle-class man on the verge of retirement. Set in Delhi where tons of scams happen this movie even though hard to believe at first is reality for many people.

The movie is based on Khosla (Anupam Kher) using the last of his provident fund to acquire a prime (facing South) property. His dream soon turns into a nightmare as Khurana (Boman Irani) just takes over the land and has all the right (forged) documents to the land. Khurana then expects Mr. Khosla to cough up a large sum to reclaim his own land. The movie is sprinkled with some unique characters including a theatre group, a son aspiring to go the US of A and many many more. The love story is a bit of a waste and wasn't really needed, Tara Sharma has the worst possible voice on any actress (JESUS CHRIST SOMEONE DUB HER PLEASE).

Recommendation level: 3/5 am going to be really generous because I think Anupam Kher and Boman Irani are really solid in their roles. Parvin Dabbas & Ranvir Shorey are also good from the rest of the cast which includes useful contributions from Navin Nischol & Vinay Pathak. I'd recommend this movie to anyone.

Crime and Punishment by Aki Kaurismäki

Category: Non-English

This is Aki's directorial debut and it is simply worth it. Finnish director's modern take on a classic Russian novel. These 2 countries have such a lot of history and this movie makes up for an interesting take on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel of the same name. The first 30 seconds pretty much set the tone for Aki's brilliance to show, watch it for yourself to believe what am saying.

The basic premise is Rahikainen (protagonist) commits a random murder which is witnessed by a young lady. There is also a "blossoming" love story somewhere and while it's not a massivley awesome film in the league of Godard or any of the greats. Aki defintiely has a unique style about him that is not hard to discover.

The movie depicts Finnish life very nicely and while the movie is filled with good moments it doesn't lead to anything "great". This is where Aki is brilliant, he isn't over board, not world renowned, not the best. But he has a certain aura and stamp in his films which leaves a mark in your mind, and you will remember this movie as well. It works on so many levels - Finnish/Russian connections, rule of what is right, a little bit of nihilistic existential dialogues & the Finnish weather which is there for everyone to see. The acting is good, the protagnoist is particularly stand out (on par with perhaps Leslie Cheung in Days of Being Wild by WKW)

Recommendation level: 4/5. Damn about time a movie got this rating on the blog, NDTV Lumiere still continues to fuck up with the sub titles but whatever the film is a must see.