The Making of an Asian Film Festival

What makes a perfect film festival? Is there such a thing as a perfect film festival? Well having worked for three years in a row for 2 very different film festivals, I am beginning to realize that there is no such thing as a perfect film festival. There can’t be. While it is a challenge getting films selected, some external factors prevent films from reaching a festival on time and even if they do make it to the festival, technical problems prevent them from being shown.

After two years of working for other organization’s film festivals, I got the chance this year to work on an independent inaugural Asian film festival, a festival that would get the chance to make brave selections, a festival where we would have more control. And how has this experiment gone? It has been enjoyable but no matter how much we can try, we are still at the mercy of the same problems as that other film festival – budget constraints, political selections and the ‘invisible hand’ or external forces. In the end, thankfully we still managed to get a healthy collection of movies. It is surely a great achievement considering the obstacles we had. One of the biggest hurdles being having no budget! How can you ask a film-maker to showcase their movie if you don’t have a budget to fly them over? How can you ask a film-maker to offer their movie at a cut-price? But amazingly, a lot of film-makers were very co-operative and excited at letting us show their movies, some with major discounted fees. For a first time festival, it was an achievement to get a good collection of submissions. This required a lot of film requests sent out to all corners of the world. We got a lot of responses back, and some even from film-makers whose movies were premiering at this year’s Rotterdam and Berlin Festival. One thing was clear, most film-makers want to support new film festivals and are enthusiastic to have their films shown in new cities. Here is a sampling of some films (features and documentaries) previewed and selected:

Red Doors (directed by Georgia Lee)

This charming movie is our opening night film. It is a wonderful movie about the American-Chinese Wong family. The story revolves around the father and his three daughters. If that sounds like Ang Lee’s Eat, Drink, Man, Woman , it is not. Red Doors combines cross cultural issues with everyday relationship and life complications (work, school) and presents them in a very polished manner.

Kiều (directed by Vũ T. Thu Hà)

Our closing night movie is another treat. The movie is a modern day adaptation of the classic 19th century Việtnamese epic poem, The Tale of Kiều. Kiều had a really strong opening at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival and it is easy to see why. It is a very easy flowing movie which moves at a leisurely pace without ever being dull.

Electric Shadows (directed by Jiang Xiao)

As of this moment, we are not sure if we will get this movie or not. This is one of the more polished films I got to see this year. This 2004 movie has been called the Chinese Cinema Paradiso . One can see the similarities but this one stands on its own. The movie shows the power of cinema to reach out to masses and cause a change. The story intersects with the present to the era of the Chinese Cultural Revolution and as the movie progresses, we find that the two stories have a common thread.

China Blue (directed by Micha X. Peled)

Where do your jeans come from? Who makes these jeans? And how much work goes into the making of a perfect pair of jeans? China Blue does more than just answer such questions. It gives an inside look into the blue-jeans factory in China, complete with highlighting the harsh working conditions of the people involved and the constant struggles they have to overcome. The movie offers ample evidence for people who talk about the poor labour conditions in China and other ‘sweat’ factories for the big brand companies.

Bombay Calling (directed by Ben Addelman, Samir Mallal)

Indian people living in North American are victims of countless monthly, weekly, daily and even hourly telemarketing calls from India offering cheap long distance and other services. In fact one of my first blog entries was about one such annoying call -- Calling India . So it was refreshing to see a movie like Bombay Calling which puts a face to these countless Indians making these phone calls and the ruthless Business men responsible for these companies.

Two Documentaries showing Canada’s forgotten past

Continuous Journey and In the Shadow of Gold Mountain are two eye-opening and insightful movies which highlight often forgotten or unmentioned racial incidents in Canadian History. It may seem surprising to hear that in Canada before 1950, Chinese or Indian immigrants were not welcome. Taxes and restrictions were imposed on people from these countries whereas no taxes were imposed on immigrants coming in from Eastern Europe. In fact, Eastern European immigrants were given free land and encouraged to settle down. Even though Chinese immigrants were responsible for constructing the railways that linked the entire country together, they were not considered welcome. Radios in 1920’s and even 30’s played daily songs about only having a ‘white Canada’. It was not until Pierre Elliot Trudeau gave his multiculturalism speech in 1971 speech did things change. Canada has indeed come a long way but it is still interesting to know what lay in that past.

V For Vendetta

Directed by James McTeigue

Screenplay by: Andy and Larry Wachowski

Graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

Rating: 6/10

What a mess! What a royal Hollywood mess! But then what can one expect when Hollywood takes a well written Graphic novel written by a Brit and turns it into a movie? With the exception of Sin City Hollywood has completely failed to understand the importance and depth of Graphic novels. Moore's From Hell was not such a bad screen adaptation but the Wachowski brothers have completely messed up Moore’s well written 'V for Vendetta'. I should have headed into the theatre with low expectations really. I mean seeing how the brothers turned their own brilliant Matrix movie into a disaster by making 2 brain dead sequels, how could they really have handled Moore’s intelligent story? This was a story which combined '1984', 'Fahrenheit 451', 'Brave New World' with various works of Literature and comic books and turned it into a grim futuristic tale. The story showed us how a government could use the threat of fear and war to strip its citizens of complete freedom and treat them like brain dead slaves. (Sound familiar? Well as it turns out a certain country is attempting to do that right now). The story was written in 1988 with the bleak future taking place in 1997-98. Considering we are now in 2006, the brothers had to move the timeline and they moved it to 2020. They changed the dialogues to include recent terror attacks in the U.S and U.K to further their story along. Fine, these changed aspects to the story are not that bad. But the problem is the screenplay is so un-inspired and makes for a boring movie. There are forced action sequences included in the story which have nothing to do with the original story. In fact, the final knife fight scenes try to evoke The Matrix sequences with the knife moving in slow motion through the air. The movie completely drops the ball in mentioning that in the bleak future, people are not allowed to read books, watch movies or even enjoy the pleasures of art. And then the token scenes of British people glued to their televisions watching the news unfold seem to be in very poor taste – they are straight out of mindless Hollywood action movies which include shots of a diverse group of people just to show that everyone is affected by the action events.

Another element from the brother's Matrix trilogy is included in this movie – Hugo Weaving. The impressionable voice of Agent Smith gives the voice of 'V' the central character of the movie. Half-way through V.. , it was impossible to not equate his talks with Evey (Natalie Portman’s character) to his speeches to Neo (Keanu Reeves in the Matrix) as his tone was identical. Natalie Portman is quite good in her role but her character is changed slightly from the novel. In the novel, Evey is a desperate 16 year old who is in need for money and tries to sell her body. On her first night, she is caught by the 'Finger Men' and that is when V comes to save her. In the movie, she is a professional who works in TV and is going dressed up for a dinner date when she is caught and encounters V. V manages to use her network Identity card to bypass security on a few occasions. But in the novel, V does not need an Identity card to bypass security – he breaks into the central computer system ('Fate') which controls all the British people and disrupts Britain’s network airwaves. Why was this change included? The argument could be that the change was needed to make the screenplay flow and mesh with the story but in the end, it does not.

But what if someone has not read the novel and sees the movie? Is the movie enjoyable then? On its own, the movie still ends up being a boring mess. The movie is caught in between trying to be a serious political revolution movie and an action Hollywood flick. It can't be both. Very few movies are like the first Matrix movie which combined intelligent ideas with action. There are so many intelligent ideas in V for Vendetta but they are presented in such a dry manner. Why does a movie which has powerful lines like 'You can kill a man but you can't kill an idea' and connects multiple story lines (Guy Fawkes and V, V's personal revenge) end up being so un-inspiring? A movie which asks people to wake up and start a revolution ends up putting one to sleep!

Water, Football, Sex and Junebug

Water (written and directed by Deepa Mehta): Rating 6/10

Yet another triology is complete but just like the disappointing conclusion of the ‘Revenge’ Trilogy by Chan-wook Park, Mehta’s ‘Element’ trilogy ends on a whimper. Water tackles the subject of Sati and injustice that women have to endure in the name of laws written in scriptures ages ago. The story has all the potential for a riveting absorbing movie but the end result is a boring drab movie. Technically the movie is good with the visuals giving a good sense of the surroundings. But the real flaws are in the make shift story and the terrible acting pairing of Lisa Ray and John Abraham. Lisa Ray is completely miscast as the young Sati because she still has trouble delivering Hindi diagloues and her expressions don’t even come close to the emotional complexity such a role requires. John Abraham can’t act but he can deliver dialogues. Acting is more than just saying a few lines. When Abraham speaks his few lines, there is no emotion on his face. In fact, there is no emotion whatsoever in this movie. The only spark of emotion is shown in a brief moment by Seema Biswas when she learns the young Chuyia has been sent into prostitution. But other than that, people just speak their lines. The best performance in the movie has to be the young Sarala who is very impressive as the young girl thrust into the life of a Sati.

What was the point of having the story set in 1938? There are Sati’s who exist today (at the end the movie informs us the number is 34 million) so why not tackle the story from the present and use the past as an arc to connect the two stories? Meaning show that nothing has changed from Gandhi’s time. It was absolutely wasteful to mention Gandhi in the movie without having a better etched out story. The movie is so clean, the sets so carefully constructed and everything so well laid out that the movie seems contrived and forced in order for us to go ‘wow such an intelligent movie’. In fact, reading some of the reviews in the Western World, I think Mehta has been able to fool most people. Just because someone makes a movie about a sensitive topic does not mean we should stand up and praise them. Deepa Mehta had to endure so much hardship just in order to complete this movie (her original set in Varanasi was destroyed by fundamentalists and she was forced to move the movie to Sri Lanka). I just wish she could have made a more powerful movie as opposed to giving us a cold emotionless 2 hour waste.

The Football Factory (directed by Nick Love): Rating 5/10

Hooliganism is a nasty part of British football and it tends to undermine the importance of the on-field game. In fact, the shallow North American press hardly ever reports on soccer but they never fail to highlight cases of soccer violence. There are plenty of books out there on soccer hooligans (‘Among the Thugs’ being a good example) and even more books written by former hooligans to give their side of the story. I have not read John King’s book on which this movie is based but I can safely assume that it would be a better read than this movie. The movie focuses on the Chelsea gang (or the ‘Firm’ as it is called in some quarters) and their rivalry with the Millwall gang. The gangs from both these London based soccer teams have had their share of historic fights and the movie tries to highlight some of those aspects. But all the movie shows is a bunch of people walking about, gathering in numbers from various sides and in the end, shouting and charging at the rival gang. Punches and kicks follow with bricks, bars and knieves added to the combat arsenal. There is not much to this movie with the usual lines used to explain the violence (‘What else is there to do on a Saturday’, ‘fights equal good buzz, etc). Plenty of drinks and drugs on tap, before the weekend festivities start. Like other movies, it shows the fighting gangs live for the weekend. They drudge through their week long jobs before getting their high from the kicks and punches game on the weekend. Yeah maybe that is all there is. But one does not need to see a 90 minute movie to know that.

Lie with Me (directed by Clément Virgo): Rating 4/10

Another movie which tries to portray sex as art and even blur the line with porn! What is the point of such a movie? This time it is a Canadian effort which tries to pass off sex as a sophisticated art movie and the end result was sold out shows at the Canadian Film Festival circuit in 2005. No point in looking for a story or character development in such a movie. A young woman likes to screw for fun. She wants to know if both love and great sex (lust) can be possible with one man. She eyes a man at a party. But they don’t jump for each other right away. He has a girlfriend. And she has to play around a bit. She teases him, sucks another man, and lets herself be taken knowing full well that she is being watched by him. His girlfriend on the other hand sees him watching her, so she replicates her acts onto him. All balanced out. Eventually, as expected the two of them hook up. Plenty of sex follows. And plenty of male frontal nude shots as well. She continues to wander about, her abstract thoughts used as a background voice-over narration. Confused and un-decided, they grow apart, come together, grow apart and end up together. But for how long? I don’t care to know. I have still not seen Last Tango in Paris in its entirety but I am sure this movie tries to capture some of its essence. But there are better ways to highlight the debate between love and lust. The French movie Secret Things was brilliant but Lie with Me is well off the mark. Not that this is the only art/sex/porn movie out there. From what I have read Michael Winterbottom’s 9 songs is another such recent movie.

Junebug (directed by Phil Morrison): Rating 8/10

After three strikes, a movie finally hits the mark. Junebug is a refreshing movie which shows the complexities about family relationships and even people in general. How do two people get along? Can two completely different people ever be happy together? Why are some men always in a perpetual angst mode? How do people connect with art? What is more important, work or family? Acting wise, the movie is spot on. The women in the movie are very well portrayed and range from house wives to career driven. The tension between a mother and a daughter in-law are also shown and the frosty relationships between two brothers are also portrayed. A very good movie!

95th Post

This turns out to be my 95th entry for this blog. Unfortunately, it is not a very polished entry but given the recent flood of movies that have been passing through my DVD, I can only find time to spare a few quick words.

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (directed by Chan-wook Park)

The trilogy is complete but oddly I lost interest. It is a strange feeling really – you wait so long to see a movie and when you finally get a chance to see it, you find that you no longer care. That is the case I felt with ..Lady Vengeance. A long time ago I saw Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and really liked the movie -- that movie had started off slowly but took time to develop its characters and outline the story before plunging into a series of cuts and stabs to end on a bloody note. Then I saw Oldboy , a dark and wicked movie which started off interestingly and slowed down slightly in the middle before finishing off with a real hammer blow of an ending. So I eagerly waited for the final installment of the revenge trilogy. Now ..Lady Vengeance does take time to outline the characters and story but after the first 30 minutes or so, I lost all interest. I can’t explain it. Maybe this movie should have come before Oldboy ? Or maybe I just had moved on to other movies while waiting for this to finally get released? Or maybe I need to attempt to see this movie some time again in the future?

Mostly Martha (written and directed by Sandra Nettelbeck): Rating 10/10

This 2001 movie is a perfect blend of cooking, acting and writing. Martha (played perfectly by Martina Gedeck) is a perfectionist when it comes to her kitchen. But this need for perfection makes her a control freak. Her patience and wit are duly tested when the care-free fun loving chef Mario (played amazingly by Sergio Castellitto) is hired to work alongside Martha. And when Martha’s sister is killed in a tragic accident, Martha has to look after her young niece Lina (Maxime Foerste). Not having experience dealing with kids, Martha struggles with Lina. But Mario is able to reach out to Lina and helps forge a bridge between Lina and Martha. A wonderful movie!

Lilya-4-ever (written & directed by Lukas Moodysson): Rating 9.5/10

An intense and chilling movie from the writer and director of 1998’s Show me Love (better know as F*** Åmål). Since I had loved his previous effort, I wanted to check out this 2002 movie as well. I am glad I did because it is an excellent effort. Story: Lilya’s mother takes off to the States and leaves her daughter to fend for herself in a cold former Russian republic (we are never told the exact name of the city or country but that does not matter). She says she will call for Lilya when things are settled but that is not how things turn out. Instead of moving to the states, 16 year old Lilya is left at the mercy of people who are looking to exploit and use her at every chance, right from her aunt to her boyfriend. Her only salvation is a 13 year old boy who is abused by his father and lives a solitary life. Their friendship is the only comforting and sane thing which holds both of them together. The movie could easily double as a docu-drama because of its Verité feel.

Best of Youth, Part I (directed by Marco Tullio Giordana): Rating 8.5/10

Broken up into two parts, each 3 hours long, Best of Youth requires an investment of one’s time. And as it turns out, it is a worthy investment. Initially, I was skeptical about having to spend so much time watching a movie but as it turns out, one hardly notices the time fly by. Simply put, it is a story about two brothers as they grow up from the 1960’s through to the 80’s (part I only). The movie focuses on the changing ideologies of the young men as they go through their lives, learning and experiencing new sensations along the way and maturing into independent adults. The brothers start off on the same path and gradually find themselves drifting from each other. Typical with most Italian movies, this one is complete with emotion, family, politics and love. What else is there? I am sufficiently interested to spend 3 more hours watching Part II.

The Life of Jesus (written & directed by Bruno Dumont): Rating 5.5/10

Sometimes a movie is what it is and reading too much into it is not worth the effort. La Vie de Jésus has won many awards but it is not half as complex as it made out to be. The story revolves around bored white French youngsters who have nothing to do in their little town. Their amusements range from driving around on their bikes and insulting an Arab family in the town. The movie predictably ends when the white racist French boys beat the crap out of the Arab kid. Yes the movie gives us a realistic glimpse into the boring life in a small town. Yes the movie does not shy away from the awkward racist situations but so what? Much better interesting movies exist out there on this very topic.

Igby goes down (2002 movie written & directed by Burr Steers): Rating 7.5/10

A coming of age movie jam packed with plenty of big star cameos. Not bad and enjoyable in parts.

Gangster No. 1 (2000 movie directed by Paul McGuigan): Rating – not worth it

Yawn! A British Gangster movie which is more talk than action. The constant voice over narration provided by Malcolm McDowell loses its appeal after a while and instead becomes annoying.

Napolean Dynamite (2004 movie directed by Jared Hess): Rating 8.5/10

A funny movie on par with Rushmore and Jon Heder’s interesting performance makes this one a fun movie to watch. The fact that Jon Heder is aptly supported by a quirky cast only adds to the movie’s enjoyment. Ofcourse, it is also possible to watch this movie without any emotion or interest as the humour is dry and offbeat.

Dot the I (2003 movie written & directed by Matthew Parkhill): Rating 9/10

I had never heard of this movie. But it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Best to watch it without knowing the story! At times, the movie tries to be too clever for its own good but in the context, it works. The twists at the end are easy to pick up and not totally unexpected. It was also the first movie where I saw Gael García Bernal in a completely English speaking role and he does not disappoint.

So many movies....

Too many movies to talk about! 13 in total! So just a quick summary of what I thought of each one then.

Capote (Directed by Bennett Miller): Rating 9.5/10

I will start with the obvious: Philip Seymour Hoffman is brilliant playing Truman Capote. He is the movie really. But credit also goes to a powerful performance from Clifton Collins Jr. who plays Perry Smith, one of the murderers. One could feel the torment Capote suffered by his own actions (or subsequent inactions) as the movie progressed. I had wanted to see this movie for quite a while now and I am glad to have finally seen it!

Hustle & Flow (written and directed by Craig Brewer): Rating 10/10

I am tired of reading reviews about this movie which only praise Terrence Howard’s performance. Yes, Howard is brilliant but calling this his movie is unfair -- he is helped by a solid screenplay, hip music and great acting from his ensemble cast. The way all the characters are written is very fresh. Sure some are stereotypical but they are given chance to develop into something different. This was a movie which also showed how the creative process can sometimes work and we are privileged to some wicked music along the way. Loved it! In a minor way, I was reminded of the French movie, The Beat that my Heart Skipped in some sequences – both movies are about street hoodlums desperate to escape their life and in both cases, music provides an outlet.

The Edukators (Directed by Hans Weingartner): Rating 9/10

Excellent! This movie is a grown up child of Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers . I had disliked Bertolucci’s movie but I quite liked this one. The movie shows both sides of youth rebellion – the system sucks and one must rebel against it. But what does one achieve after such a rebellion? Another worse system? Most likely! The movie ties up the free love movement of the 60’s with the cold hate of modern consumerism. Intelligent ideas are presented and the characters engage in lively debate. One can say that the movie does not really scratch the surface of the obvious ideas but most people never get beyond that first layer anyhow.

Imagine Me and You (written and directed by Ol Parker): Rating 6.5/10

A clean cut romantic comedy about two women falling for each other! Rachel spots Luce on her wedding day and fights with her feelings for her husband before finally giving into her love for Luce. There are some really funny witty parts but overall felt too clichéd and boring.

King Kong (directed by Peter Jackson): Rating 7/10

If I view the movie on face value then there is nothing worth raving about. Sure there are some great moments, especially those involving Kong and Naomi Watts, and Kong’s battles with the dinosaurs. Naomi Watts looks great really. Her make-up is perfect even when she is dragged through water, runs from a T-rex or through the jungle. She does a decent job of expressing herself but acting wise no one in this movie really stood out. Now if I were to see this as a political movie, then I would say that I quite liked it. The movie is about America really. It is about America’s fear of outsiders. It is about America’s greed in exploiting others for its own use. And when one is no longer usable, then that thing should be destroyed. Seriously, can’t a giant ape and his blond love be left in peace? Can’t the ape be left to have a romantic time skating with his blond lady? No need to negotiate with an outsider. Just send bombs and bullets and destroy the outsider.

A Fond Kiss (directed by Ken Loach): Rating 9/10

A pleasant surprise! I knew nothing about this movie and ended up liking this one quite a bit. In religiously charged Glasgow, a Scottish Pakistani man falls for an Irish Catholic woman. Unlike East is East and countless other Western Indian movies, this movie shows that it is not only the Indian culture which has problems with its kind marrying others from outside the culture (region, religion, etc) but even the Catholic religion imposes similar restrictions. What is a couple to do really?

8 Mile (2002 movie directed by Curtis Hanson): Rating 8/10

A really good movie! I waited this long to see it but it was worth the watch.

The Triplets of Belleville (2003 movie written & directed by Sylvain Chomet): Rating 9/10

A smart and enjoyable animation movie! The catchy title song is pleasant and blends in perfectly with the movie’s relaxed mood.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (directed by Sijie Dai): Rating 7.5/10

A decent movie about the change that a book can make in one’s life! Literature can open one’s eyes to the world outside and sometimes there is no turning back.

Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003 movie directed by Bob Odenkirk): Rating 8/10

Michael Blieden adapted his own stage play for this movie and it shows. The core of the movie feels like a theatrical play and it works. 4 friends, 2 men and 2 women, end up in conversations ranging from relationships, careers, ghosts, science, to whatever their fancy. Quite funny at times and absorbing!

Insomnia (2002 movie directed by Christopher Nolan): Rating 10/10

I didn’t want to see this Hollywood remake until I had seen the original Norwegian version but after waiting for a few years, I gave in and decided to give the Hollywood version a look. It is a excellent thriller with multiple layers and is expertly acted and coolly shot.

Road to Perdition (2002 movie directed by Sam Mendes): Rating 5.5/10

There was a reason why I didn’t see this movie when it first came out – it looked boring. But I had hoped that maybe I was wrong? Well as it turns out, my first instinct was correct. This is a terribly boring gangster movie where all the main characters look disinterested and are wrongly cast. The first 30 minutes were painful but I hoped that the incident around the 40 minute mark might shake the movie up. It did for a while until it became boring again. Yuck!

Cold Mountain (2003 movie directed by Anthony Minghella): Rating 5/10

In an ideal world, one should have enough time to properly judge and evaluate each movie. But this is not an ideal world. One does not have time to waste on awful movies which have nothing to offer. Such is the case with this horrible waste of a movie. I tried to watch it and eventually decided that I could not waste any more time on this one. But I still managed to fast forward and get a feel of it. A strong cast, a director with a reputation and still a boring flick!

Waiting for Happiness

Heremakono (2002 movie written and directed by Abderrahmane Sissako): Rating 8.5/10

Sometimes the simplest movies are the ones which are a pleasure to watch. And oddly enough, watching the boring lives of people sometimes makes for an interesting movie. Such is the case of Waiting for Happiness , this simple movie from Mauritania. What is the story? There isn't one! In fact, the movie just shows us a slice of some people's lives living in a small town by the ocean. Not much happens there and at times, people die waiting for something to happen. The sun rises, they wake up, they wait, the sun sets, yet they still wait. And so on. This does not feel like a scripted movie. It feels as if Abderrahmane Sissako got permission to plunk his camera down in a little town and filmed the people in their daily routines. An excitable young boy who loves working and hooking electrical cables up, an aging old man who does not care anymore, a young man who spends too much time thinking and looking out of his window to see how many visitors the local prostitute gets, a mother who is worried that her son is not normal like other boys, a young girl who is taking singing lessons, a photo shop which sells dreams of life abroad, etc. The visuals of this town surrounded by the desert on one side, and the ocean on another are just beautiful. There is something poetic about observing a solitary figure walking through the vast desert.

Match Point. Game. Set and Match!

Match Point (written and directed by Woody Allen): Rating 10/10

I really want to say ‘I can’t believe this is a Woody Allen’ movie, but I can’t make such a statement because I have only seen a handful of his movies. And those were not even the best of his work, judging from what I have read. For some strange reason, despite all his previous duds, I was still eagerly waiting to see this movie though. And I had to wait a long time (almost 2 months) because my city only got this movie this past Friday. Was the wait worth it? A big Yes! This is a vintage movie. That being said, the movie requires patience. Because there is a lot of dialogue wrapped around a simple story. What is the story then? A Love story? Yes, in some ways. But I like to think of the story as being about greed. Yes there is passion thrown in there as well. And the movie does explore the differences between love and lust along the way but in the end, the only question that matters is how important is greed? Is it more important than love? Is it more powerful than a lustful blond bombshell? Ofcourse, a little luck goes a long way in ensuring that the means to greed are not blocked. I am not going to bother talking about the story because I walked into the movie not knowing the story. The only thing I will say is that the story is not that original as the idea was tackled a few years back in The Talented Mr. Ripley but this movie handles the question of greed a wee bit subtly. The acting is quite good and the screenplay is excellent. One comment about all the characters in the movie -- none of them are portrayed to be good people and are corrupt on some level. At no point does it seem that we are watching sweet innocent people. All the characters are calculating things for their own good and at times are not afraid to openly admit their needs.

Since Match Point is shot entirely in London with mostly British actors and British money (BBC) but directed by an American, the movie was going to be intensely scrutinized by the British critics. And from what I have read, they despised the movie. Their arguments are valid in a way – they felt the dialogues are poor, the British characters stereotypical, a lot of the well known Brit actors are wasted and the locales are very touristy. But since I am not British, I overlooked a lot of their problems. This may be an American’s simplification of a British landscape but given the story, it didn’t matter. The story could have been set in New York just as easily. Yes the dialogue is not as sophisticated as some British dramas but it was never meant to be. Given the context of the movie, the dialogue the characters speak does not have to be intelligent, it has to be convincing enough for them to satisfy their needs. And in some cases, those words are cold and sparse but those are all the words they need!

Cakes, Penguins, Bears, Cars and Girls

What makes a good movie? So many ways to analyze a movie, so many ways to critique a movie but at the end of the day, one sure fire way to know what makes a good movie is if one genuinely likes it. Based on that likeness factor, I try to judge this week’s haul. There are a couple of highly praised movies but I just didn't like them. At times, I don't care about the objective state of a movie...here goes --

Layer Cake (Directed by Matthew Vaughn): Rating 9/10

I genuinely enjoyed this Brit gangster movie. Even though it is not on the same caliber as Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels , it is well made and decently acted. Daniel Craig gives us a sample about what we can expect when he finally makes his Bond debut. In the movie, Craig plays a simple nameless gangster who believes his crimes are justified as being just ‘business’ (been there, seen that in several countless Asian gangster movies). But his character is not street smart enough to look at the whole picture and understand the hierarchy about how the drug business really works. Because of his naivety, we can see the careless mistakes this gangster is making and as the audience, we have a sense of where these mistakes will lead his character. Nonetheless, it is a watch-able movie if you are in the mood for this genre.

March of the Penguins (Directed by Luc Jacquet): Rating 10/10

WOW! All the people associated with this movie should be very proud of their work. This is a beautiful and eye opening work. We learn something new and are introduced to a world which we will never encounter personally. And the film-makers spent more than a year living in the harsh icy land of Antarctica to bring us this film. For that reason alone, they deserve all the praise and credits! As for the film itself, it looks at the annual Empire Penguins mating and march routine. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, this is just a delightful and tragic story about what has to be one of the hardest parenting jobs out there.

Grizzly Man (Directed by Werner Herzog): Rating 7/10

This one is a tough documentary to judge. I first heard about this movie when it was doing the film festival circuits. The hype around this movie was huge. It was even sold out at the local film festival in my city and for one reason or another, I missed the regular theatrical screenings (after the festival) as well. So I had to make do with the DVD version. And I am glad I saw this on DVD because that gave me the chance to better assess this movie. But I don’t think it was a good idea to see this movie after I had seen March of the Penguins because my expectations were sky high. ..Penguins had given us a real insight into the strange yet beautiful animals so I expected a similar feat from Grizzly Man . That was my biggest mistake. Because this is not a movie about Grizzly bears but about a man who ‘believed’ he loved those creatures. I say ‘believed’ because after watching this movie, I am not convinced if the man in question really understood the bears. Werner Herzog does a pretty decent job of going through 100 hours of footage that Timothy Treadwell made about his Grizzly bear encounters over a span of 13 years. Ironically, Timothy was killed and eaten by the very creature he claimed to have loved. But despite Herzog’s best intentions, I didn’t find this to be an interesting documentary. This is not his fault because he didn’t shoot the original footage so he could only work with what he did. And some of the people he interviews are not the most interesting (not to take any names but one of Treadwell’s ex-girlfriends). Nor do I find any merit in listening to Treadwell hype himself up via his video diaries. It is clear that Treadwell was not doing anything to protect the bears even though he keeps repeating this several times. So why should I praise a documentary about a person who was clearly delusional? I don’t want to judge Treadwell but documentaries are usually an interesting film medium -- they sometimes help to shed light on uncovered topics but in this movie’s case, I didn’t find that to be the case. That being said, one scene really stands out from this movie. There was a scene when one of the bears is swimming. As the bear is heading towards the shore, Treadwell touches it slightly from behind. Suddenly the bear jerks backward in a reflexive manner expressing annoyance at having been disturbed. The bear’s reaction was a very human behaviour when we react at having been touched by a stranger. Treadwell never clued onto that cold behaviour from that bear or the several others he tried to befriend. He believed the creatures acknowledged him, and he himself wanted to become one of them. Some people do want to become someone (or something else) because they can’t stand the strange world they inhabit. But if movies were made about all such people, should we really stand up and praise all of them?

Breathless (1960 movie directed by Jean-Luc Godard): Rating 7.5/10

This movie is considered to be one of the classics of modern cinema! I am sure I would have felt differently about this movie if I had seen this back in 1960 and not in 2006. Because back in 1960, this movie would actually have been different! But in this day and age, I find it quite dull. Yes there are lots of interesting parts to this story about a French car thief and an American girl but overall, I was not that bowled over. In 1960, this movie’s pacing might have felt ‘breathless’ but nowadays even the most amateur movie can splice frames at a frantic pace.

Fat Girl (2001 movie Written and Directed by Catherine Breillat): Rating 6.5/10

You sometimes know what to expect when you are watching movies from certain directors. I had seen an earlier film by Catherine Breillat and read about her latest film Anatomy of Hell , so I prepared myself for the worst. Contrary to my preconceived notions, I didn’t find Fat Girl that shocking. It is brutally honest in its portrayal of teenage girls, sibling rivalry and boys but what annoyed me was the direction this movie took in the final 20 minutes. Surely there was a more effective way to end this movie? I felt like the Breillat didn't know how to end the story so she decided to end it with a bang just because...The movie focuses on the relationship between two sisters, a thin 15 year old and a fat 13 year old. The two already share a love-hate relationship when the older sister meets a young Italian boy. Mix sex with raging hormones and you have a complicated range of emotions. Like in other Breillat movies, the camera does not flinch but instead invites us to watch closely as the characters go about their lives. A bit too closely at times….

End of the month wrap-up

Out of four movies that I saw in the last few days, three of them bored me to tears. So I won't be objective at all but as subjective as I can be. Here are the culprits:

Me and You and Everyone We Know (written and directed by Miranda July)

Phew! To say that I disliked this movie would be an understatement! In fact, I found this movie to be an utter waste of time. Now given that this movie has won tons of critical acclaim (Cannes included) and has made plenty of best 2005 movie lists, I just didn’t fancy it. Yes this is a completely unique and original movie. In fact, I found a lot of good things about this movie like the acting of the two kids and the father, the nice ending (where the little boy learns the truth about the noise in the morning) and the overall good dreamy feel to the movie. But what really annoyed me was the acting of Miranda July, who happens to be the movie’s writer and director. Yes her character is supposed to be like that, but everytime her character opened her mouth, I cringed. I watched the entire movie because I was still remotely interested. I found the opening 10 minutes the most annoying but I got settled to the overall mood of the movie after that. Because of the dreamy music, the movie can’t be taken seriously even though it portrays some serious issues. How can I describe it? Well take some parts of Larry Clark’s movies (a very tiny portion), add some essence of Todd Solondz’s Happiness , mix some American Beauty components and combine with plenty of scoops of sugar and churn mixture in a blender for a few hours. Serve the final product chilled with a touch of sunshine. End result: not my cup of juice!

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (directed by Wes Anderson)

Now I don’t expect a Wes Anderson movie to be a laugh out humour fest nor do I expect his movies to be a dramatic tear jerker. Rushmore was interesting and The Royal Tenenbaums was brilliant. But The Life Aquatic is quite boring. Sure it is original and contains some very interesting characters but overall I could care less. After the 40 minute mark, I lost all interest. Now, there are some funny moments until the end but they are so spread out in a dull and dreary movie that it is hard to stay awake.

Tears of the Black Tiger (written and directed by Wisit Sasanatieng)

A colourful Thai Western! Sounds interesting and I am sure it is. But I guess I was no mood to watch a movie and had really lost all interest even before I had started this one. The only reason I wanted to watch this movie was because I had missed the director’s recent feature Citizen Dog in the London Film Festival. So I wanted to give this 2000 movie, which put the director on the map, a watch. It really puts a twist on the whole western genre and is funny with colorful backgrounds and visuals. But on some other day, this movie would have had more of my attention. The overdramatic colorful scenes reminded of one too many Bollywood movies and I just had to rush through this one.

Rize (directed by David LaChapelle)

This documentary starts out with the statement that none of the footage is speeded up. Which is a good thing to know because watching the energetic dances in this movie, one does wonder if it is all real? Can people be that flexible and move that fast? Ofcourse they can! Watching the brilliant moves is pure joy. But I was a bit let down when the movie tried to scratch the surface to bring the story behind the dance. I have seen a couple of really good documentaries in the last few years covering the gang aspects of life on the American streets that this movie just seemed to rehash the same elements. One can argue that the story of the dance can't be told without the gang element. Sure enough, but I wish those sections were presented in a better manner. Still this one is worth a watch because it opens one eye's to a different kind of 'clowning' life style.

Jean Cocteau and Orpheus

Incredibly I had not seen any works of this legendary French film-maker until recently. And I managed to make up some ground by watching his Orphic trilogy -- The Blood of a Poet , Orpheus and The Testament of Orpheus .

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Le Sang d'un poète was Cocteau’s first movie released in 1930. This is a very abstract movie along the lines of Luis Buñuel’s Un chien andalou which was released in 1929. The story of Cocteau’s first feature is broken into a few sections, each interesting in their own way. All the sections are sandwiched between an image of a falling chimney. The chimney is on the verge of collapsing at the start, and after all the sections are done, we see an image of the chimney as it finally falls down. The opening section lays the foundation for the next 3 episodes that follow. A painter erases a picture of a woman’s lips from his canvas. Next thing, he finds that her lips have imposed themselves on his palm. In order to get rid of the living, breathing lips, he covers his palm onto a statue’s lips. And just like that, he brings the statue to life. But the lips manage to spin things around for the painter and he finds himself plunged into a different world. The statue asks the painter to step through the mirror into another dimension. Even by today's technical film-making standards, the images in Cocteau's film are remarkable. The sequence of the painter walking through the mirror into another world is just done superbly.

Orphée (released in 1950) : Of the three movies, this is the most structured movie with a defined story. That being said, the story is not as simple as it seems but Cocteau wanted his audience to interpret the movie in their own way. The movie is loosely based on the Greek myth of Orphée who goes to the Underworld and asks his dead wife be returned to the earthly world. The wife is sent back with one condition – Orphée must never lay eyes on her again (directly or indirectly via a mirror) and if he breaks this condition, his wife would be sent back to the netherworld. While all this is going on, the princess of death falls in love with Orphée and wants to be with him. That complicates matters as she can’t spend her life with a mortal. So what is the resolution of all this? I don’t want to talk too much about the story because it is worth watching without knowing what happens. A lot of elements from The Blood of a Poet show up in this movie like the difficult walk through the Underworld, going into another dimension via the mirror, etc. Overall, this is an excellent movie!!!!

Le Testament d'Orphée, ou ne me demandez pas pourquoi! (released in 1959)

The title translates to ‘The Testament of Orpheus or Don’t ask me why’. This was Cocteau’s farewell to cinema and he signed off with this autobiographical movie which mixes elements from his real life and revisits characters from Orphée . The film consists of Cocteau thinking out-loud and it is fitting that he plays himself in the movie and is present in almost every frame of the film. Fellini's 8 1/2 comes to mind as The Testament of Orpheus progresses. There are discussions about science, time travel, art, death, life and everything else in between. Cocteau even gets into a debate with Heurtebise (one of the main characters from Orphée ) about what some elements from the movie Orphée meant. Throughout the movie, Cocteau is accompanied by his real life adopted son, Edouard Dermithe. Dermithe reprises his role of Cégeste from Orphée but this time he gets a better living role. One thing that comes up a few times in the movie is that Cocteau laments making Cégeste spend most of Orphée in the Underworld and in order to make up for that, he has made Cégeste accompany him on the real world in this movie. The film has a thoughtful pace but provides some very memorable images and scenes.

These three movies are very unique and one would be hard pressed to find such soul in modern movies. It is clear that Cocteau wanted cinema to be an expression of poetry (or art) and he detested how cinema was being reduced to a money making industry in the hands of ignorant producers. Given how things have advanced since 1960, it is clear that some of Cocteau's fears turned out right (he felt the money makers would shut art of the movies in place of brain dead entertainment). But even in the middle of such commercial junk that gets produced today, there are some real cinematic gems to be found. Sort of like a lotus growing in a pond of mud. Cocteau was that precious lotus who left us with a fine collection of rare images and words. A true poet, indeed!

Look at me, Witnesses, The Blue Angel

Comme une image (Look at me, directed by Agnès Jaoui): Rating 9.5/10

Director Agnès Jaoui knows how to make a beautiful movie. And she and co-star and co-writer, Jean-Pierre Bacri know how to write a realistic script. They did that in 2000’s The Taste of Others which is a movie I quite liked. In 2005, the two of them combined for this wonderful movie which won them best screenplay at the Cannes Festival. Yet again, Jaoui and Bacri show the complex relationships that exist between people which lead them to created complicated messes for themselves. The two of them know to how to integrate realistic everyday elements into their story. For example, there is a scene in which the wife (played by Jaoui herself) is sitting on a couch watching tv. Her husband shows up, is tired and tries to tell her his problems. She is feeling a bit cold so she takes a blanket and tries to get more comfortable. As the husband is busy sulking, she is busy trying to find the tv remote control which is buried somewhere beneath the blanket. That’s the scene, simple yet realistic.

Lolita (Marilou Berry) is preparing for a musical concert. As she continues to practice her vocals, she has to deal with the fact that her father, a famous writer (Étienne played by Bacri), does not pay enough attention to her. The father is busy with his life and is married to a much younger wife, Karine (Virginie Desarnauts, who sort of looks like Naomi Watts in parts). Then there is Sylvia (played by Jaoui) and Pierre (Laurent Grévill). Sylvia is a music teacher who is training Lolita. Pierre is a struggling writer who is hoping his third book will make it big. Sylvia is a huge fan of Étienne and when she finds out that Lolita is her daughter, her attitude changes. She is star-struck and agrees to spend more time with Lolita even though she often complained about Lolita to Pierre. As is the case with most French movies, you take a complicated bunch of characters and then throw them together in a French cottage outside the city and watch the sparks fly. There are a few other interesting characters thrown into the mix such as Sébastien (Keine Bouhiza) and Vincent (Grégoire Oestermann). A wonderful movie which makes for a pleasant afternoon watch!

Svjedoci (Witnesses, 2003 movie directed by Vinko Bresan): Rating 6/10

This Croatian movie made a name for itself at the European film festival circuit. It is told in Rashômon style. But despite the technique, the film is flat and never really seems to take off. Three young Croatian soldiers are planning to blow up their neighbours house. The neighbour was not expected to be home so the three are startled to find him present and one of them ends up shooting him. The three soldiers flee the incident and take a witness as a hostage. A police inspector and a crime reporter try to dig the truth up. This simple incident is told over and over from different angles, each time another layer of the story is added. But the problem is none of the additional information makes the movie interesting. There is nothing in this story which should really be hidden or presented in this manner. The movie clocks in slightly under 80 minutes and even that seems to be a bit long. Might have been more interesting as a compact 20 minute short film!

Der Blaue Engel (The Blue Angel, 1930 movie directed by Josef von Sternberg): Rating 8/10

This movie is considered a classic! More than the director, it seems that the actress Marlene Dietrich got more of a star billing after this movie. But seeing this 1930 movie in 2006 does not have the same effect. On top of that, the grainy VHS copy of this movie had poor subtitles (subtitles were missing in parts) and choppy sound. But I tried to overlook all that and tried to enjoy the movie as much as I could. That being said, it is an interesting character study. A strict professor (Prof. Immanuel Rath played by Emil Jannings) is tired of his students neglecting their studies for the alluring Lola (Dietrich), a dancer in the Blue Angel club. The students go watch her show after school and during the day, they pass her photos around in class. So Prof. Rath decides to go the club and give Lola hell. But he too is smitten by her charm. And he starts neglecting his job and daydreams about her. Lola decides to misuse the Prof. and agrees to marry him. The two of them leave their town and head for the road with the night club show troupe. But she threats him horribly and reduces him to nothing. On top of that, the professor is forced to play a clown in her traveling night shows. The professor withstands this for 5 years but when he is asked to be a clown in the Blue Angel club in front of his former colleagues and students, he can’t take it anymore. He hates his life and despises Lola. The fantasy has become a living nightmare.

The 4th Man, The Woman Next Door, Salò and Tokyo Drifter

The insane movie watching in the first month of the New Year continues. After this week, this excessive movie watching will hopefully stop. I have been watching movies faster than I can write about them.

The 4th Man (1983 movie directed by Paul Verhoeven): Rating 8/10

Long before Basic Instinct came along, Paul Verhoeven directed this gritty and interesting movie about a deadly femme. The movie is not subtle but packed with tons of symbols and foreshadowing, which makes it an enjoyable watch because the viewer is able to clue onto things much before the main character does. The opening scene lets us know straight away what is in store – a spider is shown trapping its insect victims. The scene is shown while the credits are rolling so initially I didn’t pay attention to how many victims the spider traps. But half way through the movie, I realized the number had to be 3. And sure enough, it was. And then the title of the movie makes sense, the 4th man refers to the 4th victim of the mysterious Christine Halsslag (played with utmost creepiness and coldness by Renée Soutendijk). Jeroen Krabbé plays a popular writer, Gerard Reve (same name as the author of the book on which this movie is based), who is invited to give a speech in a small town. Along the way, Reve encounters a series of bizarre incidents and even has some hallucinations (which turn out to be premonitions). But he dismisses all of this when he meets the chilly blond Christine. Reve falls for her immediately. In a drunken state, Reve comes across old home movies of Christine’s past husbands. At this point, the viewer is fully aware what fate could have befallen to her 3 ex-husbands. But Reve is lust crazy not only for Christine but for Christine’s new fling, Herman. Eventually, he does see the truth for what it is and tries to warn Herman lest one of them becomes the 4th man.

La Femme d'à côté (The Woman Next Door, 1981 movie directed by François Truffaut):
Rating 7.5/10

Gérard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant play two former lovers (Bernard and Mathilde respectively) who find themselves reacquainted by chance after 8 years or so. Both are now married and Bernard even has a little son. Initially, he tries to ignore Mathilde but eventually he falls for her again. Their fiery relationship boils over until it ends up in a public fight in front of all their families and friends. Just as things seem to be getting back to normal, the fire is lit once more for an explosive finale. The movie starts off interestingly but it gets a bit too predictable near the end. Not bad though.

Salò (1976 movie directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini): Rating an unwatchable 0/10

With all due respect to Pier Pasolini, no one should have to watch this movie! I never thought I would see a movie which would make movies like Tokyo Decadence and other shock Japanese/Korean movies appear like light hearty family movies. Now, I knew this would be graphic (words like 120 days of Sodom and Marquis de Sade gave that away) but I had no idea it would be so poorly done and be utterly boring. Pasolini wanted to make a political statement against the evils of Fascism with this. Fair enough, but could he not have made an interesting expose of the crimes that men, yes men, would stoop to for the sake of entertainment? The picture quality, the music and the editing were all choppy in my copy. And the acting is not that great either. Enough said.

Tokyo Drifter (1966 movie directed by Seijun Suzuki): Rating 7/10

Yakuza movies have come a long way since the 1960’s but a lot of the core ingredients can be found in this Suzuki movie – gangs making complicated deals, gangster trying to go clean, and the question of loyalty to name a few. In fact, this movie could be considered a precursor of sorts for the 90’s wave of Japanese crime movies. Two of the most interesting aspects of this movie are the usage of colour and music. The opening scene of black and white ends with a bright red colour image ( Sin City used the same technique with a bright red dress against black and white in the opening scene). And then there is the main character’s ever dependable blue suit. White snow, yellow backgrounds which change to red depending on the mood of the scene, etc all add to the visual appeal of the movie. The catchy title song adds to the movie’s appeal; the title song is repeated through the movie and the main character is found singing it as a monologue of sorts. However, other than these two aspects of colour and music, I found the movie slow and dull in parts. The story is straight forward -- a gangster and his boss are trying to go clean but they are sucked back into the business by a rival. This leads to killings and chases. Until, everything is resolved in the end. More or less…..

Broken Flowers, 2046, 5 x 2, Enduring Love and Off the Map

I have seen a mixed bag of movies recently with one or two surprises like 5x2 . So here’s a quick summary of the 5 movies:

Broken Flowers (written and directed by Jim Jarmusch): Rating 9/10

Any Jim Jarmusch movie is worth a watch. And Bill Murray has now perfected his dead-pan look – he can look funny without moving a muscle or even lifting a finger. So as expected Murray is perfect in this movie as a former Don Juan (named Don Johnston) who one day gets a mysterious letter in a pink envelope from one of his former lovers telling him that his 19 year old son may come looking for him. Who sent this letter? Johnston does not care. But his neighbour, Winston (played hilariously by Jeffrey Wright) is obsessed with solving the mystery and makes Johnston drive across America visiting his 5 previous lovers from 20 years ago.

2046 (written and directed by Wai Kar Wong): Rating 9 / 10

The visual beauty of the film is one would expect from Wai Kar Wong and his usual cinematographer Christopher Doyle. The mood and music gave the movie a feel of In the Mood For Love which made sense as the movie is supposed to be a sequel.  Ziyi Zhang looks gorgeous (as usual) and there are bit roles from a trio of heroines from Wong’s previous movies – Gong Li, Faye Wong and of course Maggie Cheung. Tony Leung is perfect and it is quite enjoyable to see characters from one movie inhabiting another movie, like Leung’s and Ah Ping’s character (the annoying friend who is always seeking to land the hot woman).

5x2 (directed by François Ozon): Rating 9.5/10

Can sweet love go bad? Ofcourse, it can! And this movie uses 5 scenes to illustrate how the innocence of love can be shattered by time. The movie works backward in giving us glimpses into the lives of the couple in question (the brilliant Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Stéphane Freiss play Marion and Gilles respectively). We first see Marion and Gilles going through their divorce, followed by a simple party scene where we can see the strains of their marriage in the open. The next three scenes involve their child birth, marriage and first love. This really is a well done movie which in a few scenes manages to show the complexity of relationships. There is a scene near the start, right after the couple are divorced, Gilles tries to force himself onto Marion. When she turns him down, Gilles attacks her. Facing the door and with her back towards Gilles, Marion sharply shouts out. Something about that scene really stood out for me. We could tell upto this point that Marion is a basically good person but she can’t take Gilles abuse anymore. As the movie moves on we learn that Gilles has his fears (whatever they are) and alienates Marion when she needs him most, like leaving her alone during the child birth. When this movie opened in my city, it didn’t last too long. No one went to see it. Which is a shame really because this movie is worth seeing! I have not seen Bergman’s Scenes of Marriage so I have to regard 5x2 as one of the best relationship movies out there. On an unrelated note, both the lead actors and Michael Lonsdale (who plays Marion’s father) had bit roles in Munich . Lonsdale played the impressive Papa in Spielberg’s movie.

Enduring Love (directed by Roger Michell): Rating 6/10

What a mess! An absolute mess! I am sure Ian McEwan’s novel is much more absorbing than this movie. Even though the movie starts out with one of the most unique opening scenes – a couple (played by the new Bond, Daniel Craig and Samantha Morton) head to an open field to have a picnic. They have their champagne glasses out when a hot air balloon suddenly lands behind them. A man falls out of the balloon’s basket and is trying to bring it to a stop while a little boy is helpless inside the basket. Joe (Daniel Craig) rushes to help the man and is immediately joined by a few other men who come in from different sides. The men manage to stop the balloon. But a gust of wind blows by and the balloon takes off with the men hanging onto the basket and an additional man hanging by the rope. As the balloon continues to rise, one man lets go of the basket. The others follow suit expect the man hanging onto the rope. Eventually, his grip loosens and he falls to his death. Now, there’s a whole range of possibilities as to where this movie could have gone. But it takes a turn towards the love crazy stalker angle with a difference – a man stalking another man. Jed (played by Rhys Ifans) believes that he and Joe shared a special love when the two of them prayed together for the dead man. Also, there are some subplots put in the movie only for the reason of trying to cover different elements of the novel but not for the benefit of the screenplay (one of the subplots was why did a man who was afraid of heights not let go of the balloon rope? And if never took risks in his life, why did he rush to help a complete stranger?). The movie is sharply shot but it could have been much more engaging.

Off the Map (2003 movie tenderly directed by Campbell Scott): Rating 8/10

What a surprise this movie was! I had never heard of this one but picked it up based on the interesting pairing of Joan Allen and Sam Elliot. The two of them play a couple (Arlene and Charley) who really live life off the map – they live in an isolated house in the middle of nowhere with no phone and no tv. The couple hunt for their own food and try to be as self-sufficient as possible. They have a young bright 12 year old daughter, Bo (played amazingly by Valentina de Angelis). Bo wants to leave her home when she grows up and move to the city to lead a normal life. She is very mature for her age and is tired of her parent’s unorthodox ways. One day, the couple gets a letter in the mail informing them they are being audited by the IRS. Arlene finds that odd as their annual household income is less than $5000 dollars. Moreover, Charley does not work and is continuously depressed. When the tax auditor shows up, Bo believes this is her ticket for freedom. But as it turns out, the auditor gets sick and ends up living in the household as well. Bo is infuriated at the adults around her and at times seems like the only mature person. The young Valentina is so perfectly cast -- you can see the intensity in her eyes and she really steals the movie with her strong lively performance. Joan Ackermann adapted her own play for this movie and Campbell Scott has done a good job of tenderly portraying the different characters as they go about their lives (odd yet simple) in New Mexico.

The Machinist

Directed by Brad Andersen, written by Scott Kosar: Rating 9/10

Making movies is a highly complex process. And The Machinist demonstrates that perfectly. After not finding any funding for the movie for almost 2 years, Andersen and Kosar found a Spanish producer. Which meant that Barcelona had to be made to look like L.A, and that involved carefully making changes in everyday filming like replacing Spanish licence plates with American ones, Spanish traffic signs with English language props, etc. But the most challenging aspect of the movie had to be to get the lead actor to look like 120 pounds. How can a male look that skinny? By not eating ofcourse! And that is exactly what Christian Bale did -- he didn’t eat for an extended length and ends up looking like the human skeleton that was required for this role.

The story has shades of other movies ( Fight Club mostly and Memento to a lesser extent) and keeps one guessing as to what is going on -- Trevor Reznik has not been able to sleep for a year. He works the graveyard shift as a machinist. He is losing weight on a daily basis. Slowly, he starts losing his mind as well. Incidentally, he starts getting paranoid at the same time as he meets Ivan. Who is the mysterious Ivan? Images get hazy as Trevor tries to stay awake to find out what really is going on.

Overall, I quite liked this movie. The build up was amazing and even though the ending was subdued, it was logical. The entire movie is wickedly shot with excellent production values. The gray and dark visuals combined with the eerie background score give the movie a dark feel, something straight out of a Kafka novel. As far as the locations go, I think in a few scenes, I could make out that the setting was not America at all (I think the subway trains was one), but I figured it might have been a small American town which had some European elements. But I didn’t imagine the entire movie was shot in Barcelona.

And despite all the hardwork and sacrifice by the new Batman, did this movie really find an audience in North America? No. Making movies is a really complex process? No, that is incorrect. Making good movies is a really complex process!

Z, Midaq Alley and Central Station

Z (1969 movie directed by Costa-Gavras): Rating 9.5/10

I tried reading the book by Vassili Vassilikos but I soon got tired. I was sure there was a wicked story buried in there but I didn’t make it past the initial pages. Instead I opted for the movie and I am glad I did. This is one of the best movies I have seen! Along with the Battle of Algiers , this is one of my favourite movies. And interestingly enough, like that movie, this one is in French and shot in Algiers as well. This is an excellent political movie which shows how quickly freedom can evaporate and how abuse of power can cripple the truth. A political leader is hit on the head and eventually dies. But proving his death was a murder turns out to be quite an ordeal. The movie moves at a quick pace and the footage is shot in a very realistic way, with nothing flashy or glossy. And in the end, despite all the truth being exposed, nothing is done. The lies continue and more lies are spun until the truth never seemed to exist in the first place. Sounds quite familiar to modern times! And if a movie can remain timeless, well that is just perfect.

Midaq Alley (1995 movie directed by Jorge Fons): Rating 6.5/10

It was never a good idea to watch a movie right after I finished watching Z because any movie would have been a let-down. And sure enough, Midaq Alley was a huge disappointment. The only reason I picked up this movie was because I wanted to see how Naguib Mahfouz’s book was adapted from Cairo to Mexico City. The story was generic enough that it would have been easy to adapt but I still wanted to see how it turned out. This movie was made quite a few years before Amores Perros and contains the same structure – one incident is shown, one story thread is followed, then the movie rewinds to that initial incident and follows another character’s thread. However, Amores Perros was brilliant and engaging, it focused on three central stories. Whereas Midaq Alley diverges too much from the original characters shown in the first scene and after a lengthy running time of 140 minutes, tries to tie everything together. By that point, I had lost interest. It contains decent acting (Salma Hayek is the only major star on the cover) and shot nicely.

Central Station (1998 movie directed by Walter Salles): Rating 7/10

Road movies are tricky, either you like them or you don’t. In a year where my favourite movie was a Brazilian road movie, Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures , I wanted to see how what I thought of this highly praised Salles movie. I knew the movie would be well shot because Walter Carvalho was the cinematographer. And sure enough, it is a visual delight. The technical aspects are all top notch (smooth editing) and the acting is very good. But I was not floored by this one. This one is much better than Salles’s Behind the Sun which I gave a higher rating because I actually cared for that movie. If one gets hooked emotionally by Central Station then one will love it. At the start of the movie, the credits mention that the movie is based on an idea by Walter Salles. As soon as I saw the letter writer character, my first instinct was that Salles got the idea from Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay where Irfan Khan plays a letter writer who takes money from people but never sends their letters. It was a minor character so I figured Salles expanded on that. Ofcourse, he adds a real story and more depth to a cheating letter writer’s character. Maybe if I had seen this some other day, I might have liked it a bit more.