Brazilian Cinema

Spotlight on Brazilian Cinema, part 1

Ah Brazil. Copacabana beach, Sun, Sand, Futbol, Samba, Carnivale, Dance, Music, Sugar Loaf mountain. Just some of the exotic symbols of Brazil that come to mind.


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However, in recent years (thanks to films and documentaries) other images of Brazil have been given attention -- favelas and the poverty. There are now even organized tours which give photo happy tourists a glimpse of life on the other side of society. And in the last few years, Brazil's government & economic quirks have ensured international economists and journalists keep Brazil in mind when churning out articles. But no matter what negative image is painted on Brazil, its futbol continues to excite and thrill. As an added bonus, in recent years its cinema has also produced some vintage displays of color, energy, emotion and plenty of passion. So in order to explore some Brazilian symbols, cliches and truths, I decided to shed a spotlight on Brazilian cinema with 5 works. Here is part one:

Chronically Unfeasible (2000, Director Sergio Bianchi): Rating 7.5/10

I could not have picked a better start to examining Brazilian life than this docu-drama by Sergio Bianchi. Bianchi examines the common problems that plague Brazil, such as poverty, attitudes of the rich, immigration, class differences and crime. This is neither a documentary nor a scripted film. Instead, we get to see staged version of the truth. As Bianchi points out, if he showed us the truth, then some viewers might find the images too offensive or others might take it as fiction. So Bianchi finds a middle ground -- he shows us some footage of 'real' events in various regions of Brazil and then goes on to shoot some staged scenes which highlight everyday problems that occur in that area. The result is a humorous meditation on human behaviour.

The film starts out in a restaurant where four rich people are busy blaming the problem of the country on the poor while having their expensive wine. Subsequent scenes show the professions of these four people and their behaviour with the common folk. A few other characters are added along the way to enhance the class differences between the rich and the poor. Besides class differences, regional hatred is displayed -- the North Easterners think the Southerners are to blame, the Southerners blame the North and so on. Bianchi shows that in some parts of Brazil, people are kept poor and given just enough music to be happy. While in another region, the rich unhappily live in Suburbs built on top of land tainted with blood of the natives.

A constant debate throughout the film is also regarding the merit of working. Some believe that work is necessary for man while others claim that man is being oppressed everytime he works. In a hilarious sequence, a labour union head oppresses and enslaves his people while asking them to conduct demonstrations against the oppression these people face from their employers. Overall, a very good place to start a spotlight on Brazil. Plenty of discussion points in this film.

Black Orpheus (1959, Director Marcel Camus): Rating 8/10

The energy, rhythm and joy of the Carnivale takes center stage in this re-telling of the classic love story between Orpheus and Eurydice. Right from the opening scenes, we are thrown into a pulsating & energetic Rio. The chaos of the festival is a backdrop to the tragic love story where death is always lurking for Eurydice around the corner. This is certainly an imaginative recreation of Orpheus's love for Eurydice and is completely different from Jean Cocteau's sublime 1950 film Orphée.

Hot Spoof

Hot Fuzz (2007, Director Edgar Wright): Rating 9/10

This spoof on adrenaline movies ends up being an adrenaline rush itself. Just pure fun! Hot Fuzz wisely incorporates concepts & scenes from multiple Hollywood flicks into a humorous story about crime in a small town British village. Overall, the concept of crime & small town cops reminded me of the hilarious Swedish film Kopps but Hot Fuzz is a different film. Kopps was a comedy where small town policemen commit crime in order to save their jobs. While Hot Fuzz is a spoof and the crime committed in the film is just another borrowed element beautifully woven into the story. On one hand, one can enjoy this movie by itself. On the other hand, it is also enjoyable to watch the jabs taken at other movies. For example, camera angles and action scenes from Bad Boys and a dramatic music beat from the The Matrix. The acting is spot-on with delightful cameos by Steve Coogan, Stephen Merchant & Bill Nighy. Time well spent!!

French vs German cinema, 2nd leg

A few weeks ago (March 25), my 1st leg of French vs German cinema featured 3 German films and 2 French ones. So it was appropriate that the return leg would have 3 French films and 2 German titles. Only one director was common over the two legs -- Werner Herzog. And like last time around, his movie was another volatile combination with Klaus Kinski.

Cobra Verde (1987, Director Werner Herzog): Rating 10/10

I knew nothing about Klaus Kinski and Herzog's collaborations until I saw the wonderful Aguirre. On the DVD commentary for that film, Herzog indicated the difficulty & challenges he had directing Kinski. The setting for that 1972 film was the Amazon and it was interesting to watch Kinski turn into a savage. So when I heard that Herzog put Kinski in the middle of Africa, well that sounded too good to pass up. And as it turns out, I got a bonus treat -- in Cobra Verde before Kinski lands up on the Western African coast, he starts out in hot and exotic Brazil.

No other person could have played the role of the bandit Cobra Verde as Kinski does. I am not sure that Kinski is playing the role -- he might be acting out his inner demons. The raw anger and emotions that he displays really make this film a riveting watch. Even though this is not a perfect film, it is a visual treat. The film starts out in Brazil when the slave trade was in full swing. Kinski plays a bandit who is feared by the locals. In fact, he may be the only white man that makes the locals stop in their tracks. Tired of his wild behaviour, the men in power hatch a plan to eliminate him -- they decide to send him to Africa to get some slaves. The rich business men have heard a rumour that no white man has survived the Benin king's wrath. So they decide to send Verde to his doom. But as expected, not only does Verde survive, he gains the king's trust and is elevated to power after the king is disposed in a bloodless coup.

There is a lot of sadness and muted anger simmering beneath the surface of Verde and this film. Both emotions are also evoked in the audience by the objective display of the slave trade. Only at the end of the movie do we see Verde give his opinion on human slavery. But until that point, we get to see the cruelty humans inflicted on others. Like in Aguirre, there are plenty of improvised scenes. The Benin and Ghanian locals acted out their customs and rituals while Herzog and his camera-man Viktor Ruzicka captured them. Even though the film is not strong on narrative, its real strength lies with its visual images of Brazil, Africa and Kinski. The last scene where Verde is trying with all his power to pull the boat out to sea is another one of those magical moments that Herzog seems to capture -- Verde is powerless and his inability to move the boat even one inch puts his life and situation in perspective.

I really wish that a movie could have been made which had featured Cobra Verde face to face with Brando's Kurtz!

Betty Blue (1986, Director Jean-Jacques Beineix): Rating 8.5/10

Sometimes we cross the same streets everyday and brush past the same people. Yet, we don't stop to give a second thought to some of those people. Movies can suffer the same fate sometimes. I walked by the DVD of Betty Blue on numerous occasions but never thought of picking it up. A recent recommendation made me give this film a go and I am fortunate for that. I truly relished being lost in the world of Betty and Zorg for almost 3 hours.

The film starts out with a raw sex scene but the scenes after that are very un-French -- cowboy hat, pick-up truck, beach-houses and brightly lit surroundings. In fact, the bright lighting threw me off the most. Most French films are often shot in Parisian suburbs where the bright light is often blocked. But not in this one this one. Even after the film moves to Paris (around the 40th minute mark), the couple settle in a detached house as opposed to an apartment. Another un-French like move. In fact, the film can be described as having shades of Verhoeven's Turkish Delight with an American cinematic beating heart at its core.

Betty wants to be a free soul and is frustrated with the restrictions around her. She is on the verge of giving up on Zorg when she stumbles onto his diaries. She reads through all of them and is convinced that Zorg is a great writer. She makes it her goal to get him published. But when that does not happen, she is crushed. After that, any happiness that comes Betty's way gets taken away. Or so she thinks. She is a restless person and lives on the edge of misery and ecstacy. Zorg is very patient with her and tries his best to take care of her needs. It is clear that the film is heading towards a sad ending and we are given some clues to Betty's irrational behaviour. At 3 hours, the movie is about 40 minutes too long but I still found it a rewarding watch.

My life to Live (1962, Director Jean-Luc Godard): Rating 9/10

In 12 chapters, we see Nana's life dreams slowly dissolve. She came to Paris to become an actresses but eventually finds herself earning money as a prostitute. The strongest aspect of this film is its cinematography. Godard knows exactly what he wants to show and where the camera should be. Examples:
-- When we first meet Nana in a cafe, we don't see her face. Instead, the camera shows the back of her head. Eventually, the mirror at the left hand side of the cafe shows us her face. We can see both her face and the back of her head, along with the dangling cigarette in her hand. Simple yet effective shot.
-- The scenes where Nana becomes a prostitute are shot uniquely. We don't see any sex shots but instead we see the mechanics of the business. The camera focuses on the money changing hands, a man's hand placed on Nana's bare shoulder and the cold emotionless embraces that Nana has to make.
-- The best segment in the film has to be when Nana is dancing in the pool hall. As she dances around the bar, the camera freely follows her. We see a happy side of Nana but also, we can see how she is trying to entice a man. The camera work here is pure pleasure.
Quite a film!!!

The Disenchanted (1990, Director Benoît Jacquot): Rating 7.5/10

This film makes a perfect double with the above Godard movie. Like My Life to Live, we see a female life in flux. This time however, it is a 17 year old girl, Beth. Beth wants to be free (a la Betty Blue) but she is pulled in different directions by the people in her life -- boys and men want her; Beth's mom wants her daughter to follow in her footsteps and become a prostitute. Beth's mom is ill and can't satisfy her sugar daddy. So Beth has to take her mom's place to ensure the family continues to get a pay cheque. But unlike in Betty Blue and Nana in My Life to Live, Beth does run away to freedom. At 75 minutes running time, this is a concise work.

Destiny (1921, Director Fritz Lang): Rating 7.5/10

Even though this film was shot and made in 1921, it is still an entertaining watch. We can see how experimentation with lighting and editing produce some fascinating effects such as showing ghosts, people walking through walls, a flying carpet and some other magical feats. The story features how a woman who wants to rescue her fiancee from the clutches of Death. Death is shown to be a compassionate understanding man who makes gives the woman four chances to save her love. In the first three chances, she has to save the life of one person from three different parts of the world -- Turkey, Austria and China. Each story has its pros and cons (and stereotypes, it is 1921 after all). Quite entertaining for the most part. It is amazing that moving images with some title cards can still make for absorbing cinema whereas special effects and plenty of dialogue make for annoying noise!

Volver & Catch a Fire

Volver (2006, Director Pedro Almodóvar): Rating 9/10

I have to admit that I have enjoyed all the Almodóvar films I have seen so far. That is seven movies in total -- Bad Education, Talk to Her, All About My Mother, Live Flesh, Tie me Up! Tie me Down?, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Matador. And now, I can easily add Volver to that list as well. Put simply, Volver is vintage cinema!

All Almodóvar films have interesting stories, vibrant characters and rich dialogue. The dialogues in his movies are so well tuned that you forget you are watching actors speak lines; the words spoken are natural and don't feel contrived. Ofcourse, in most of his movies, the city is also an essential ingredient -- the characters words and actions are reflective of their environment. A city's heat induces passion (Matador) and in the case of Volver, it is the town's east winds that inspire madness. The cinematography & background score are also top-notch in Volver. The camera draws our attention to only relevant details, be it a dirty sink, empty beer can or even Penélope's cleavage. Every shot has a purpose to it. The background score is a throwback to the days of Alfred Hitchcock -- the music warns us of mystery and danger. The acting is sublime; every expression is spot on. Penélope's additional weight for the role only adds to the realism of her character and she shines in every frame.

Usually, women play a central role in Pedro's films, be it as an affectionate mother, a loyal lover, a femme fatale or an object of desire. But Volver is all about women; there are no men around. Three generations of women are shown and interestingly all their lives are linked by a cyclic chain of events. The consequences of a crime committed in the first generation leads to action & eventual resolution in the third generation. The women shown here are strong and independent to handle anything that comes their way. In the movie, both the oldest woman and youngest girl have the mental & physical strength to either take revenge or defend themselves. The men in the women's lives are un-trustful, abusive and cheating scum. As a result, the women are left to work multiple jobs and do all chores. With time, the women learned to trust each other more and do without men. Ofcourse, sometimes the women have to interact with men for day to day business needs. But they have no problems as long as they keep the men at a distance. And in this movie's case, it is a good thing that the men don't get too close to the women. Otherwise, the engaging drama that is powered by these wonderful female actors would have lost its gloss a little bit.

Catch a Fire (2006, Director Phillip Noyce): 7/10

How does a revolution start? The oppressor either humiliates the occupied or the occupiers presence is a constant insult to a nation's natives. Then a local group attacks a symbol of the occupiers. The occupiers strike back harder. And in their quest for revenge, the occupiers torture a few innocent people. Some of these innocent people can't stand the humiliation and stray over to the other side and start a revolution. Cycle of violence continues, the flames of revolution are lit! Freedom fighters or terrorists? Various films have tackled such similar revolutionary struggles -- The Wind that Shakes that Barley (Irish vs British), The Battle of Algiers (Algerian vs French), Bhagat Singh (Indian vs British), El Violin (Mexican farmers vs Army). Catch the Fire shows the true story of a South African's fight (Patrick Chamusso) in the apartheid era of the 1980's.
While the movie has a good heart, it does not catch fire like its title. Even though there are some beautiful moments (likes the scenes depicting the songs of revolution), the movie feels like a static snapshot of few critical episodes from Patrick's lives. There is no flow from scene to scene and no energy in the movie whatsoever. A worthy watch but it had the potential to be a whole lot more.

Note: It was a nice touch to show the real Patrick at the end of the film. Watching him talk of his emotions lend some perspective & realism to the film.

Stuck in the Commercial Zone

Strange week really. I have not watched any real cinema but have simply numbed the mind with a few Bollywood movies. Amazingly, I didn't dislike all the flicks as much as I had anticipated and even managed to find some positives in all the features.

Namastey London (2007, Director Vipul Amrutlal Shah): Rating 6/10

The highlight of the film has to be gorgeous cinematography of the Indian locales & the scenes involving the search for an Indian husband -- Mr. Singh (Rishi Kapoor) tries to find a suitable Indian husband for her Brit-Indian daughter, Jasmeet or Jazz (Katrina Kaif). So in that quest, they go from city to city meeting the most eccentric Indian males. But the strange character found in Delhi has to be the best -- since the boy watches Indian soap operas, he repeats everything three times just like they do in any Indian soap. Funniest moment of the film!

The movie does contain moments of true pleasure but overall the story is still recycled material of Indian vs second generation Western cultural identity issues -- the story's origin can be traced to a variety of older Bollywood films such as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) and Pardes (1997). Frustratingly, the aspect of good Indian values is repeated over and over in Namastey London just like in other jingoistic Bollywood films of the past decade. On a positive side, Katrina is a breath of fresh air throughout the film. Also, the opening credits contain some tender shots of a London and some of its multi-cultural inhabitants.

Just Married (2007, Director Meghna Gulzar): Rating 6/10

The movie tackles the complicated issues of marriage & relationships. After their hastily arranged marriage, Abhay (Fardeen Khan) & Ritika (Esha Deol) head off to Ooty for their honeymoon. Still strangers to each other, Abhay and Ritika encounter other couples in different stages of their relationship. No matter how happy or unhappy the various couples are, they each offer a glimpse into the various relationships that exist (unmarried lovers, childhood friends, love marriage, etc). Overall, a mature handling of some issues regarding marriages, but the inclusion of too many needless songs and a contrived ending ruins the movie's flow.

Salaam-E-Ishq(2007, Director Nikhil Advani): Rating 5.5/10

Six love stories! 3 hour 26 min running time! I miss the good old days when Bollywood tackled only one love story or a love triangle. Even though Aditya Chopra released his torturous 4 love story Mohabbatein in 2000, the concept of multiple love stories didn't catch on in Bollywood. Until now that is. In the last few months, a handful of films have tackled multiple marriages or love stories. The sad truth is that Bollywood directors can't handle one love story, so 6 relationships is too much for them.

Each of the love stories in Salaam-E-Ishq have their interesting moments but the problem is that the movie is too long to be engaging. Some scenes display a mature understanding of relationships (the scene where Priyanka Chopra and Anil Kapoor's characters discuss spousal infidelity) but the rest of the movie is dripping with emotional melodrama. The music & songs are very good but most of the videos are poorly choreographed and in some cases, the wrong song is chosen for the occasion (the bachelor party at the start of the movie called for a more upbeat number rather than a cheap imitation of Kajra re). The movie borrows scenes & techniques freely from various Bollywood, Hollywood and Asian films. And in the case of Akshay Khanna, his character has shades of his Dil Chahta Hai character (especially in some of the dialogue delivery).

Nishabd (2007, Director Ram Gopal Varma): Rating 7/10

Vijay (Amitabh) is a 60 year old man who falls for his daughter's 18 year friend, Jiah (Jiah Khan). The aspect of an older man falling for a young girl brings Lolita to mind but the film has nothing to do with that. The acting is good and the visuals are well framed and beautifully shot. The background score is perfectly tuned to capture all the tense emotions that are taking place. But the film still feels like a compromise. Vijay is shown totally intoxicated with Jiah and is clearly under her spell. Yet, at different points, he offers explanations for his feelings, as if to justify himself to the audience. But when it comes to gangster films, Ram Gopal Varma does not ever water down his characters or show any remorse. Still not as bad as I had expected but not as bold as some people are calling the film.

Stock Market and the Bedroom

Of the two viewings this week, the indie Indian film was certainly a refreshing experience whereas watching the Bollywood movie was painful.

Gafla (2006, Director Sameer Hanchate): Rating a very subjective 8/10

An unheard of film yet just pleasing to watch. Even though this movie about the stock markets lacks the intensity of Wall Street or Boiler Room, it is a worthy watch. The story is tailored around the real life of Harshad Mehta, an ordinary man who rose from poverty to become a driving power behind the Indian stock market. Yet, his decline was as swift as his rise and he was jailed in a large financial scam and eventually died in jail. Circumstances surrounding his imprisonment and even his death were sketchy and seemed straight out of a Ram Gopal Varma film.

In the film, Subodh Mehta (Vinod Sharawat) plays an everyday man is willing to do anything to become rich; he does not want to take baby steps to achieve success but instead dreams of jumping past everyone to the top. Subodh is given a crash course on the workings of the stock market by Hari (Brijendra Kala in a delightful role) and quickly learns the ropes. He is willing to take risks and plans on some clever strategies to reap profits. His new ways draw plenty of fans but even create a few enemies. In the final scenes of his decline, he echoes the same sentiments shown in the recent Mani Ratnam film, Guru, where the main character also complained about the system trying to hold people back. Both Guru and Gafla try to show that sometimes outdated rules have to be broken for individuals and nations to progress. Ethically, these ideas may seem murky but they do contain some truth in that financial models have to be re-evaluated as international economies grow.

Despite the low budget (example: the stock market floor clearly looks like a set), the visuals are sharp and well shot. The opening scenes of Mumbai are breath-taking and some of the best ever shown in recent Indian films. Acting wise, the best performance is by Vikram Gokhale who plays a seasoned stock market pro with enough experience to know when to switch sides. The characters of Subodh, his love interest Vidya (played by Shruti Ulfat) and Hari play their parts well. There are some subtle references in the films that I didn't catch at first. Subodh's love interest is called Vidya which means knowledge. The other woman who enters his life is called Maya (Illusion). The names clearly indicate the two separate paths before him and even foreshadow Subodh's fate. Just like Black Friday, I enjoyed this Independent Indian effort and I am glad that it was made. Even though the movie is not perfect, it is still better cinema than some of the mindless commercial movies that are made.

Red: The Dark Side (2007, Director Vikram Bhatt): 5.5/10

Neel (Aaftab Shivdasani) has a hole in his heart and is facing death. Luckily, his life is saved after the hospital finds a heart donor. Despite all the hospital disclosure rules, Neel is keen to learn about the man whose heart saved his life and seeks out the donor's wife. Safe to say, Neel falls for the widow and is happy to jump into bed with her. After that point, a murder conspiracy mystery is crafted yet right from the outset, it is obvious what is happening.

Some of the night scenes are shot well using only street light. But a few good visuals can't salvage this mess of a film. Yet another disaster from Vikram Bhatt. Celina Jaitley still can't act and the rest of the cast are mere props. Yawn.

A glimpse into Iranian Cinema

There was a very interesting article by Doug Saunders in the weekend edition of The Globe and Mail about censorship and Iranian cinema. It seems the censors have been increasing in what can be eliminated from the movies. In the past I have read about Iranian movies being banned and even certain scenes being left on the editing floor, but in the article Doug Saunders outlines the procedures to get films made in Iran --

Step One: The government must first approve the script.
Step Two: The government then provides shooting approvals, lighting and equipment.
Step Three: After the film has been made, "the government can edit, alter or ban the film, and controls the time and quantity of its exhibition."

Doug interviews three film-makers and their different approaches to handling the censors.

1) Bahman Ghobadi -- The award-winning director of the wonderful Turtles Can Fly and A Time for Drunken Horses is debating leaving Iran for good because of the censors. Ghobadi's new film, Half Moon, is about female musicians but he had to "remove every scene of women making music, or even appearing in the same room room as any music". Despite all the concessions he made, the government informed him that his movie would never be shown because they felt "that it contained messages of Kurdish independence." Going by his previous films, that accusation seems highly unlikely. But what might be possible is that the movie contains Kurdish characters just like in his previous films and ofcourse, the fact that Ghobadi is a Kurd himself might have sealed this decision.

In the end, the censors were preventing him to work freely. Also, the fear of the ministry was causing Ghobadi to censor his work in advance while writing and editing his films. Currently, Ghobadi has decided that he can't work in such an environment and will finally leave Iran for Toronto.

2) Rakshan Bani-Etemad -- Rakshan's example is extraordinary. She has been able to make films on controversial topics such as Iranian bureaucracy (Off Limits), the wasteful nature of the Iraq-Iran war (Gilaneh), a passionate love triangle (Nargess) and heroin addiction in Iranian society (Khoon Bazi). But all her films have been distributed and shown in Iran. Rakshan approach is that she works with the censors and "willingly gives up scenes of images, or even sometimes entire film ideas, in order to get the important things across". She does admit that she is not happy with the system but for her, it is very "important that Iranians see her movies that she is willing to sacrifice almost anything within them". Rakshan does feel that is she being "pushed to her limit" regarding what she can or can't say, but for now, she is staying put.

3) Jafar Panahi -- Jafar's films are a treat but they also get the full brunt of the censors. He refuses to submit to the censors and a result, gets his movies banned. But film festival, critics and cine fans around the world have bestowed awards and praise on his sublime features -- The Circle, Crimson Gold and Offside. For him the challenge is to stay in Iran and continue to make films without giving up even a scene. In 2003, he was arrested by the Information ministry and interrogated for four hours. He was asked why he doesn't leave Iran since most of his audience lies outside the country? But that would be playing into the government's hands as per Panahi: "The government is encouraging people in all kinds of cultural and political activities to move outside of Iran. I can't let them win this way."

So for now, Panahi faces a tough and lonely battle. What hurts him the most is that people in Iran can't see his movies and as it stands, he is left "without an audience in his own language".

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Despite all these restrictions, I have always found watching Iranian films a rewarding experience. All their films are alive and vibrant -- they have something to say and are not pointless entertainment. The characters are so real that any of them could easily step out of the silver screen and assume an honest living in Tehran or other Iranian cities. Inspired partly by the article, I decided to find some Iranian films to watch. In the end, the three random picks ended up being a great choice, especially the Panahi & Abbas Kiarostami film.

Crimson Gold (2003, Director Jafar Panahi, Writer Abbas Kiarostami): Rating 10/10

Vintage cinema! Film-making of the highest order. A simple story yet so beautifully done; it also manages to convey messages of certain universal society class differences.

There was a scene in the film Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin (1996, India, Director Sudhir Mishra) that has stayed with me for over a decade. A couple of street gangsters break into a middle class apartment during a party and hold the people hostage. While they are killing time, one of the men waves his gun around and tells his accomplices that no matter how much power they get or how much money they make, they won't ever get respect like the people in the apartment. Those words are quite true and an unfortunate reality about societies all around the world, even North America -- people are quickly judged by their profession or their clothes. And even if certain people try dress the part, they won't ever get the respect they deserve because of preconceived notions. And this feeling of class difference is at the heart of Crimson Gold.

Ali and Hussein are average men who go about making an honest living by working as pizza delivery men. When Ali finds an expensive purse, he comes across a receipt for an Italian necklace which cost 75 million Tomans. The two are shocked that someone could spend so much on a necklace. So they decide to visit the jewelery store and look at what such an expensive necklace looks like. But the jeweler refuses to let the two in because of how they are dressed. So a few days later, Hussein dresses smartly and returns to the store with his fiancee and Ali. But even then, the same jeweler manages to find a way to get the message across that this store is not for people like them. This insult eats at Hussein and results in him going over the edge.

Besides this class difference, other interesting aspects of Iranian society are shown:

-- the police are keen to arrest young people coming from a party where the men and women have been drinking. Such parties are deemed illegal.
-- there are some references to a time when women didn't have to cover up in Iran.
-- attitude difference of Iranians who live abroad and return to Iran are shown.
-- the poverty and rich life is shown.

Unlike the characters in Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin , Hussein gets to taste the rich life for one amazing night.

Under the Moonlight (2001, Director Seyyed Reza Mir-Karimi): Rating 7.5/10

This is a touching film that looks at people living on the fringes of society -- unemployed people who are forced to live under bridges or seek shelter by the roadside. Sayyed is studying to become a cleric. Yet he is only doing this to please his parents wishes. He does not exhibit the behaviour of a devout religious person. For example:

1) he continues to read sport magazines even though such an act is frowned up by the elder clerics.
2) Sayyed is not comfortable with the idea of wearing a turban which is a requirement.

But he continues to quietly go through the motions. For the final part of his graduation, he needs to go buy the proper attire. He makes a trip to the city center to buy his robe, shoes & other materials required to perform the final rites as a cleric. On the train ride back, a young boy steals the bag containing these items. Sayyed sees this as a sign from God that maybe he was not meant to be a cleric. He is curious to find the boy and learn to see what caused the boy to commit the theft.

From there on, Sayyed becomes a spectator himself and watches the harsh life of a few street people who society has forgotten. He brings food for these people and even spends a night under the bridge with them. He is clearly effected by these people's plight and his confusion between the need to pursue religion vs serving these people only increases. In the end, another sign helps him make the right decision.

Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine (2000, Director Bahman Farmanara): Rating 8/10

Death in all forms hangs over every frame in this film. This means physical death, mental death, and even perceived death that comes when society makes living so hard for its citizens that they are like the living dead. Bahman is shown to be a film-maker who has not made a film for over two decades since he was banned by the Iranian government. For Bahman it is essential to not live a futile life and making films is a big part to ensure that does not happen. In that regard, he is happy to make a comeback with a documentary about funeral rites in Iran. In following Bahman,Smell of Camphor... is broken up into 3 acts --

Act One: "Bad Day" -- His son's phone call in the morning is the best thing to happen to Bahman all day long. After he leaves the house, death follows him around everywhere -- he sees his dead wife, he gives a ride to a woman whose one day baby was born dead, and the thought of his dead friends stays with him. When he goes to visit his wife's grave, he finds that someone else has been buried in the plot next to her grave -- he had reserved the plot next to his wife for himself.

Act Two: "Funeral Arrangements" -- This is where Bahman tries to get props and hire his friends to play actors. Scenes of typical funeral rituals are shown. Also, Bahman visits his mother who suffers from Alzhemier's and can't recognize him. Bahman considers his mother's equivalent to death itself.

Act Three: "Throw a stone in the water" -- This is where Bahman confronts his fears of death. The death circus that surrounds him & his confusion regarding whether to make the movie or not, has shades of a Fellini film.

Overall, despite the depressing topic, elements of dark humour, surreal dreams and self-mockery made this a refreshing viewing.

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Update, Oct 2011:

All the quotes are taken from the March 31, 2007 article which is now available online via Doug Saunders' website. Also, given the recent injustice against Panahi, Saunders' interview is even more relevant.

Also, the following line that I typed back in 2007 is now sadly even more true.

So for now, Panahi faces a tough and lonely battle.

Director profile continued: David Lynch

Two weeks ago, I saw 3 David Lynch features over 2 nights. This time, I doubled that tally -- 6 features & short collections over 2 days. Since I saw Dune and Mulholland Dr. previously, I am done going through all the works of Lynch that I wanted to view. Now, I am throughly ready for Inland Empire.

So here are the films in order of viewing:

The Straight Story (1999): Rating 9/10

This has to be the most straight-forward (no pun intended) David Lynch film out there. In fact, if one didn't look at the credits, then one would never know that David Lynch was behind this work. Atleast Elephant Man included a few dream sequences which hinted at the director's familiar arsenal but The Straight Story is a clean and emotional journey. It was also the last work of Richard Farnsworth and this is clearly his movie from the first frame. Farnsworth plays Alvin Straight, a man who undertakes a 300+ mile journey on a lawn-mower to see his brother, Lyle. Alvin has not talked to Lyle in almost a decade after a falling out, but after Lyle has a stroke, Alvin decides he needs to make this journey on his own terms to set things right.

We get to see the wide open road, beautiful fields & shining stars as Alvin makes his brave journey. Along the way, he encounters an interesting collection of people (a runaway teenager, competition cyclists, a deer-loving woman who is agonized by deers hitting her car on a weekly basis) and wins everyone over (except the deer loving woman who is in too much grief) with his straight forward no-nonsense approach to life. Personally, I am a sucker for journey films and this story is as improbable as any journey film out there -- it is based on a true story but even if it was not, that would not have lessened this film's sincerity. The Straight Story is well acted and leisurely paced so that we can soak up every minute of clean country air.

The Short Films of David Lynch (2002)

This diverse collection goes through Lynch's first animation feature, his first short and even has clips of a mini-tv show episode he did. Lynch gives us the background story before the start of each short and that is useful in giving a road map of his work. We can see how his first animation allowed him to get money to buy his own camera with which he was able to make future works, which led to him getting a grant and eventually headed towards his first feature. Also, along the way, we get to see elements which would feature in his latter films like Eraserhead, Lost Highway and Mulholland Dr..

Six Men Getting Sick -- This 1966 quick-draw animation started it all for Lynch. Although the title tells all there is to know about the animation, Lynch's purpose with this effort was to experiment with moving pictures. The animation is basically a one minute segment repeated 4 times -- 6 men get their stomaches upset and throw up. The repeating annoying siren sound is highly distracting and combined with the images, achieves the intended purpose of causing distress and frustration in the audience. By today's standards there is nothing remarkable about the animation itself but this was his experimental effort back in 1966. It cost Lynch $200 to make this animation.

The Alphabet (1968, 4 min) This combination of animation and film gives the first glimpse of Lynch's recurring dream motif used in many of his works. The idea for this came to David when he heard of his wife's niece having a recurring nightmare where she repeatedly uttered the alphabets. So Lynch uses that to craft a semi-horror effort about a girl's constant torment with her nightmares. A significant technical leap forward from his first effort.

The Grandmother (1970, 34 min) This work was made with the help of a grant and marks Lynch's first feature short. A boy is abused and tortured by his parents. One day, he finds a bag of seeds in an unused bedroom in the house and plants the seeds on the bed -- the seeds grow into a weird plant which gives birth to a caring and compassionate grandmother. Is the grandmother real or a figment of the boy's imagination? Did the boy craft this scenario to escape his tortured life? One can see the seeds of Eraserhead in this short and even imagine that the boy would grow up into the lead character in that film. Also, the birth of the grandmother is accompanied by the plant oozing mud, similar to the blood and other liquids which gush out of the chicken and the baby in Eraserhead.

The Amputee (1974, 4 min) Nothing grand about this but just an interesting experiment. A woman is busy writing a letter and caught up in her emotions while a nurse is removing the bandages on her amputated leg. Suddenly blood starts gushing out from her wounds and even the nurse is at a loss to stop the flow. But the woman is so busy in her thoughts of jealousy and muted anger that she hardly notices anything. We are trying to listen to the woman's voice-over narration while trying to keep focus on the action happening in front of us. Eventually, the actions over the blood loss on her amputated leg takes precedence and we don't care about her letter or voice anymore.

The Cowboy and the Frenchman (1988, 25 min) David Lynch did this mini-series after Blue Velvet and as part of a TV series called "The French as seen by..". Different directors were asked to interpret the French in their own way and Lynch managed to combine "two cliches" in one film (as per the producer's words). Harry Dean Stanton plays Slim, a stone deaf cowboy who notices a strange manly creature heading towards his farm. His two assistants capture the creature and they all try to determine what this person is. When they open this man's bag, they find items such as bottles of wine, baguettes, snails and some cheese. Still they are clueless to his identity. But when they pull out a plate of french fries, they finally figure out that their strange capture is a Frenchman. This short packs typical cliches and is amusing for the first 10 min or so but after that ends up being dry & dull.

Lumière and Company (1995, 52 seconds) In order to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of the original camera used by the Lumière brothers, various film directors were asked to submit a film shot in the same manner as it would have been made in 1895. That meant using the original camera, restricted to a length of 52 seconds and using only synch sound and original light. Needless to say, Lynch packs a lot in his 52 seconds -- a noir style mystery & a strange lab with a naked woman in a cylinder. Unfortunately, I was unable to give this a second viewing but Lynch seemed to have used up his precious few seconds quite well.

Blue Velvet (1986): Rating 9/10

I finally managed to watch this sublime effort in its entirety. Almost 10 years ago, I saw bits and portions of it. Back then I had caught some of the critical scenes in the first hour -- the severed ear in the field, Frank Booth's (Dennis Hopper) bizarre entrance to Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) apartment. But now, all the pieces were tied up. The movie starts and ends up in a happy white picket fenced town. But between those scenes, we are introduced to a "strange world" where evil people lurk in the night-time. The film is really about the loss of innocence. Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) is an innocent young man who finds a severed ear in the field one day. He dutifully heads down to the police station and gives it a detective (detective Williams). But he is curious to know who the ear belongs to. Detective Williams tells him that he can't give answers as it is too early in the investigation. But the detective's sweet and innocent daughter, Sandy (Laura Dern) gives a few clues to Jeffrey. From then on, Jeffrey's curiosity gets the better of him and leads him down a dangerous collision with Frank and the town's evil underbelly. Jeffrey & Sandy's innocent view of the world is changed forever and they are forced to grow up. Even in the end, when the nightmare is apparently over, Jeffrey may never be the same again. The dreamy music in the ending has shades of the music used in Naomi Watts dream episodes in Mulholland Dr. but in this case, Blue Velvet ends on a happy note and does not give any clues to any lurking evil.

Superb and brave performances all around with Rossellini convincing as the abused jazz singer, Hopper playing the perfect madman (a role he seems to cherish) and MacLachlan & Dern going through the range of emotions as they gradually lose their innocence. And the haunting title song is enchanting and inviting.

I really should have stopped my screenings here because it went downhill from here on....

Twin Peaks:Fire Walk with me (1992): Rating 5/10

The first sign of trouble appeared in the opening minutes -- David Lynch appeared playing a semi-deaf cop. He can't really act and his poor acting raised fears about the film's possible averageness. But that minor worry was temporarily put to rest as Kiefer Sutherland and Chris Isaak looked convincing playing two detective investigating a murder in Twin Peaks. However, all hopes of the movie making a full recovery vanished when Chris Isaak's character vanishes after he finds a green ring during his investigation. We next encounter Kyle MacLachlan as a detective who can enter a dream realm world and use that ability to solve his cases and predict future crimes. But after David Bowie makes a quick meaningless entrance, the movie really starts to sink. We are then returned to Twin Peaks a year into the future when another woman (Laura Palmer) will be murdered.

The second part of the film centers on Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). The green ring makes its appearance in her story as well, as do some strange dreams. In a way, the green ring and the dreams have the same mystery appeal as the blue box in Mulholland Dr. but the problem here is that we solve the mystery too soon. Very early on, it is clear who the murderer is and what is going on. Yet, the movie continues to add subplots while slowing down to include needless scenes of nudity, drugs, alcohol and sex along the way. At a running time of 2 hours, 14 minutes, this movie was sheer torture to watch. The only positive is that mistakes in this feature and Lost Highway eventually led to a polished effort such as Mulholland Dr.

Wild at Heart (1990): Rating 4/10

It was a huge mistake to watch this film after Twin Peaks. I still can't believe this horrible mess won the main prize as Cannes. Sure, there are some worthy acting performances but the story is cliched. Or maybe it seems so in the year 2007. Right off the bat, the film's title rings true. A few minutes into the movie, Sailor (Nicolas Cage) kills a man because he threatened Sailor. Sailor is madly in love with Lula (Laura Dern) but Lula's mother does not approve. After serving his time in jail, Sailor and Lula escape on a cross country road trip. They pass their time having wild sex, talking and drinking. But Lula's mom wants Sailor dead and sends contract killers after them. And sure enough, there are some strange characters thrown in for fun, along with semi-nude women added as decoration. Yawn. Sorry, seen that.

Hotel Room (1993)

A 3 episode tv series with Lynch directing two efforts. All 3 episodes are set in the same New York city hotel room, #603, in different time periods. And in all 3 episodes, the same bellboy and hotel maid are used.

Tricks: Rating 8/10 -- This is the best of the 3 episodes. It takes place in 1969. Moe (Harry Dean Stanton) brings a prostitute (Darlene, played by Glenne Headly) to room 603. Just as Darlene is about to get undressed, there is a knock on the door. The unwanted visited is none other Moe's bothersome nemesis/friend, Lou. It seems no matter Moe says, Lou ignores him. And Lou is more confident and suave with Darlene than Moe. But things are not as what they seem and we are given some clues at the start to help us untangle the mess. The segment keeps our attention throughout and is well acted by Stanton.

Getting Rid of Robby (Director James Signorelli): Rating 6/10 -- Set in 1992, this one is at odds from the other two Lynch episodes. Sasha (Deborah Unger) and her two girlfriends gossip about men and relationships while Sasha waits to dump her boyfriend, Robert. But it turns out that one of her friends had a fling with Robert a long time. That leads to some arguments and a predictable climax when Robert arrives. Of all the three shorts, this one is brightly lit and much more playful in tone than the other two. Near the end, it attempts a darkish end but even that feels like more like a comic effort.

Blackout: Rating 7/10 -- Set in 1936, this one relies on an intense conversation between Danny (Crispin Glover) and Diane (Alicia Witt), a young couple who have come to New York because of Diane's medical problems. Danny is 22 and Diane is 20 and they two have been in love for 17 years. As they two talk in darkness because of a city wide blackout, slowly we are given clues as to the exact nature of Diane's medical problems. Not as impressive as the first episode.

A brief comedic break

Before I tackle my second leg of David Lynch movies, I opted to buffer my senses with two commercial comedies -- the first went straight to DVD & video and the second operated with a significantly higher budget. Even though, both films are vastly different, they contain one underlying message -- people should read more! Otherwise, stupidity would set in, which leads to the first movie in question:

Idiocracy (2006, Director Mike Judge): Rating 7/10

I had never heard of this movie until a good friend recommended it a few weeks ago. And I have to admit, I am glad for the recommendation because it is a funny movie. The best part of Idiocracy is the story idea -- Mike Judge envisions a future society where the stupid vastly outnumber the intelligent. The problem starts in the present when all the intelligent couples are so busy with their lives that they delay having kids, while dumb jocks and trailer park men are busy impregnating countless partners. So if that dumb gene ratio is taken a few hundred years in the future, then the future turns out to be pretty idiotic.

A few glimpses of the bleak future -- garbage piled up to the skies; crops are dead; no one drinks water but only sugar drinks; the only items people read are entertainment magazines; local language is a mix of Hillbilly and inner city slang; corporations dominate everything (some big name stores even offer in-store college education); health-care is dismal; currency is severely devalued and the arts are dead. In fact, the most popular & biggest award winning film is called "Ass" and is a 90 minute long movie simply focussing on a man's ass. Phew! Okay, I have to admit, some parts of the movie are indeed scary because present day society exhibits similar stupid tendencies. But Mike Judge has taken present day dumbness and projected it to the worst possible scenario.

Not much to say about the acting in the movie -- with the exception of Luke Wilson, everyone is supposed to be dumb and easily play their part convincingly. There are some logic problems with the plot and some unanswered questions -- for example, everytime someone in the movie talked about the world, it was only in reference to America. I never did quite get if the entire planet was stupid or only America? What about Canada? Is it safe to dismiss this question by saying that in this instance, the movie follows Hollywood summer blockbuster logic -- America is the center of the world, other nations don't matter. Anyway, I did like the overall idea of the movie. And the movie's short length (just about 80 minutes) ensures that the jokes don't get too dull.

Night at the Museum (2006, Director Shawn Levy): Rating 7.5/10

I lasted this long without having seen this movie. But then again, looking at the dismal line-up of movies currently at the multiplex, this looked like the only movie which I could sit through. Going in, the trailers had already informed me what the movie was about and when to expect some of the funny moments. I knew there was no point in judging the story or the direction as finding faults would be too easy. So I sat back and enjoyed the movie as much as I could. Here were some positives:
a) Ricky Gervais has a funny cameo -- his character is a loose extension from The Office. An odd quirk to character is that he never finishes all his sentences and leaves words in mid-stream.
b) Steve Coogan and Owen Wilson are an amusing miniature duo.
c) Brad Garrett has some hilariously stupid lines as the voice of the Easter Island statue -- "Dum Dum want gum gum" and "Quiet. My Dum Dum wants to speak." Silly stuff.
d) The camera work is good and that should not be a surprize considering that Guillermo Navarro was behind the lens.

And the moral lesson shown in the movie is that if people read more books, they would be more aware of history and other cultures and would be better equipped to deal with all situations.

German & French cinema

The latest viewing included 5 films, 3 from Germany and 2 from France. The directors were -- Werner Herzog (2 movies), Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Eric Rohmer & Claude Chabrol.

Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972, Herzog): Rating 9/10

I never saw a Herzog film until Grizzly Man came out in 2005/06. As it turned out, that was the wrong point to start watching his work. Not until I saw his first feature, the beautiful Signs of Life, did I understand the importance of Grizzly Man. And now having seen Herzog direct (a brave feat in itself) Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, do all the pieces start to fall in place. Now I can appreciate if there was anyone who had to make sense of Timothy Treadwell and his love of Grizzly bears, it had to be Herzog. A common thread in all these 3 Herzog films is that they are great character studies of men who are on the verge of insanity; these men who inhabited different time periods believe they are on the point of greatness, yet they often tip over the fine line that divides greatness from insanity. But Herzog also makes beautiful poetic films and all these movies have an easy going rhythm to them. He loves to let the camera discover magic by having long uninterrupted shots, and at times, leaving the camera running, just a little bit longer to discover that something extra.

The story of Aguirre is simple enough -- the Spanish head to Peru & Amazon to find the city of gold and riches -- "El Dorado". But the journey is packed with dangers -- the climate, unknown forest, native tribes lurking with their spears and poisonous darts. And when there is an internal mutiny among the group, well the outcome is obvious. Man vs Nature is not really a contest in non-Hollywood movies (Nature always wins) but (Man vs Man) vs Nature is even more of a bleak situation. But yet, Herzog has crafted a movie that is absorbing to watch. While the recent Apocalypto ends before the Spanish hit the New World shores, Aguirre.. gives us a closer look at Spanish attempts to penetrate the New World deeper. Aguirre (Kinski) wants to emulate the Spanish discovery of Mexico by carving out his own riches in the Amazon. He convinces his men and even a priest to drive further and further up the Amazon looking for gold. But when the men start dropping dead like flies, the remaining crew label Aguirre as a madman. But Aguirre does not care -- he is lost in his dreams even though in reality his raft is dominated by 400+ monkeys and all his men are dead. The final shots in the film are sheer beauty and as Herzog admits on the DVD commentary, those shots feel into his lap. He happened to come across 400 monkeys at the Peruvian airport, where they were about to be checked onto the plane. Herzog made a false health claim and managed to take away all 400 monkeys. He then placed them on the raft with Kinski and remained there only with his camera man, Thomas Mauch to film the drama. In the movie, when 50 or so monkeys jump from the raft and appear to be escaping in the river, they really are escaping. Herzog and Mauch just stood back and filmed the chaos unfold and what happens is something that scripted film can't ever do. Klaus Kinski is so emersed in his character that he improvises the scenes with the monkeys perfectly.

It is hard to believe that Herzog took all the actors and crew into the dangerous Amazon terrain back in the early 70's, with such a limited budget and managed to craft such a fine work. In that regard, this film is another example of a time when directors were strove to make movies not for commercial sake. Coppola was another director in the same decade who stuck past terrible weather and persevered to make Apocalypse Now.

The Enigma of Kasper Hauser (1974, Herzog): Rating 8/10

Kasper Hauser is in some ways similar to John Merrick (labeled Elephant Man in Lynch's film) -- both men are outcasts to a society which finds it amusing to watch and poke fun at the two men. Yet, both individuals could not be as physically different from each other. Kasper looks normal but since he was abandoned at birth and never raised in a proper family, he never learned the rules and words required to exist in a society. John Merrick was by birth considered a physical anomaly and not considered appropriate for society. As chance has it, both characters end up as circus attractions -- while Kasper is called a riddle, John is labeled as freak. But when both men are rescued and given proper education, the two turn out to be quite learned. As their minds are nourished with the arts, they start having vivid dreams -- Kasper's dreams involve far off places such as the Sahara and even the enchanting temples of Angkor War. However, just like in The Elephant Man, the men's past comes to haunt them and eventually leads to their demise. Like John Merrick, Kasper leaves the physical world in his sleep.

The opening credit sequence is a beautiful shot of the crop field swaying in the wind. There are a few other such picturesque shots found in the movie but in the end, the movie is about Kasper and society's rigid rules to mould every person in their shape.

Claire's Knee (1970, Rohmer): Rating 8.5/10

Oh the evil games men and women play! This story may have shades of Dangerous Liaisons all over it, but it is not as sinister. On a vacation, Jerome (Jean-Claude Brialy) encounters Aurora, an old friend. Aurora is writing a novel and wants Jerome to play a guinea-pig for her story's sake -- she wants Jerome to seduce the innocent 16 year old Laura. Jerome is a month away from getting married but after years of being with women, he has lost all interest in women -- sex does not interest him. So he attempts to play the game, but young Laura is not as nieve as she seems. She understands the game and in turn tries to make up her own rules with Jerome. Jerome is quite bored by the whole thing but when Claire (Laura' step-sister) arrives, he is intrigued. Claire already has a boyfriend but Jerome wants Claire to break up with her oaf of a lover. The end result is a complicated match of desires and feelings. The title hints to the body part that Jerome identifies as a weakness in Claire, and something he can use to gain her trust. Overall, an interesting character study of men and women, and the numerous emotions and feelings that relationships contain -- trust, jealousy, possession, freedom, friendship, love and physical desire.

Les Bonnes Femmes (1960, Chabrol): Rating 7/10

Are all men predators? Chabrol's 4th feature starts out by introducing us to a quiet motorcyclist -- he seems to be lurking and waiting for the women to appear. And when the woman do come out of the theatre, two loud predators emerge as well (Marcel & Albert). It is clear that Marcel and Albert are after women -- Marcel is the vocal smooth talking guy, while Albert is the quiet yet equally lustful man. They get in their car and chase two women -- Jane and Jacqueline. After they manage to get the two women in the car, they go out for dinner and a cabaret. All the while, the motorcyclist quietly follows. During the cabaret, the true animal nature of Marcel and Albert comes out. Jacqueline eventually gets away but Jane is left behind and Marcel & Albert have their way with her (even though it is not shown, it is hinted). The movie then focuses on Jane and Jacqueline's day to day life -- job, trips to the zoo, theatre and restaurant. Every now and then, we do see the motorcyclist following Jacqueline quietly. In the film's final third, when Marcel and Albert land up a public swimming pool and start bothering Jacqueline and Jane, the motorcyclist ends up saving the day by chasing them away. The quiet motorcyclist is Andre and he has been in love with Jacqueline all along but was waiting for the perfect opportunity to talk to her. The two engage in a romantic affair, all the while one question keeps coming up -- is Andre a good man or a predator as well?

There are some moments of pure cinematic energy to be found in this film, like the chaos & elegance of the cabaret sequence. But there are a handful of needless scenes which add nothing to the film. Overall, a dark and chilling look at the predatory nature of men -- can anyone really be trusted?

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972, Fassbinder): Rating 6/10

If Claire's Knee was about the game between men and women, this Fassbinder film is about the games that women play with each other, in work, society and in love. Petra Von Kant is an aging fashion designer who falls for a young 23 year old model. However, as the title indicates, there is no happiness for Petra Von Kant. During all her bitter episodes, Petra's secretary, co-designer and slave maid, Marlene, quietly watches. Marlene's eyes sometimes hint at her disbelief at some of Petra's choices but she quietly obeys everything she is told to do. The entire film takes place inside Petra's bedroom and was adapted by Fassbinder from a play by the same name. Interesting for some of the ideas about love and society, but overall, not very gripping.

Cycle of Violence + Multiple Shades of Takeshi & Paris

The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006, Director Ken Loach): Rating 8.5/10

Ireland, 1920. British troops terrorize the local Irish boys. The Irish can't take the abuse anymore, so they start to fight back. The Irish want freedom and the British out. But the British are in no mood to leave, so they terrorize the locals with even greater force. And the cycle of violence continues. Then out of nowhere, a compromise is reached. The British take one tiny step back, allowing the Irish a little breathing room. But that little breathing room comes with its restrictions. Some Irish accept the tiny freedom, others want to continue fighting. Then the two divided Irish ideologies clash in a horrific way -- the two groups fight among themselves and even take over the role of their past British occupiers by killing their own friends. Repeat the same pattern with Bhagat Singh and India's fight of freedom or even with other battles of Independence (Battle of Algiers). It is the same pattern that is found all over the world. And when the occupiers finally leave a land, they leave their legacy of power behind. Locals step into to fill the void and kill each other to get their slice of freedom.

The second hour of Ken Loach's film is more powerful and absorbing than the first hour. Right off the bat, one has to get used to the bits of gaelic dialogue (without any subtitles) and the Irish way of life. But the story really gets interesting when the locals debate about the ways to get complete freedom from the British and then engage in cleansing their own to keep the facade of peace up, lest the British return back. "Divide and Conquer" -- The British knew their game really well! The engaging cinematography gives us a front row seat to the interesting political debates and even the horrific torture.

Gangster: A Love Story (2006, Director Anurag Basu): Rating 8/10

The only reason I am giving this film a high rating is because of its story, Shiney Ahuja's intense acting and the lovely visuals. Anurag Basu clearly has talent as a director but his screenplay needs more work. It seems he took Mahesh Bhatt's story and shot it as is, without working too much on a screenplay. To his credit, he has stripped the film of any irrelevant characters. The story takes a twist on the regular fairytale romantic triangle -- a gangster (Shiney) falls in a love with a woman (Kangana Ranaut) but endangers her life. A princess charming (played rather dully by Emraan Hashmi) comes to rescue her from the gangster's clutches. But things are not as easy as they seem. Shiney hardly says anything in the movie but his intense expressions steal the film. And when he does say a few words, he is brilliant. Kangana makes a decent debut and plays the drunk lover quite well, but her voice gets irritating as she narrates her life via flashbacks. Did Anurag not notice that it would have been better to use little dialogue in the flashbacks? Anyway, still a worthy watch. The emotional ending is just beautiful. Poetic!

Takeshis' (2005, Director Takeshi Kitano): Rating 6.5/10

One man but two names. When he directs a movie, it is Takeshi Kitano. But when he acts in a film, it is Beat Takeshi. Beat Takeshi has come in some very impressive acting roles (Zatôichi, Battle Royale) and Takeshi Kitano has directed a wide array of film genres -- from art (Dolls) to gangster/action flicks (Brother and Fireworks). So what was left? Well combining the two personas in one film ofcourse! So Takeshi Kitano directs both himself and his separate ego, Beat Takeshi in a film. The movie begins with Kitano the director running into Beat Takeshi, a struggling actor. Kitano wonders what his life would be if he was in Beat's place? His assistant remarks that just like the wanna-be actor, Kitano would struggle for parts and jobs. From them on, the film jumps into Beat's life and dreams. While Beat is stuggling for acting parts, he drifts into pseudo dreams about becoming the famous actor Beat Takeshi played by Takeshi Kitano. Characters from Kitano's previous films make tiny cameos along with framed shots from his older movies, like the beach scene from A Scene at the Sea. Takeshis' is an easy drifting film for about an hour but after that, it is reduced into a dull endless dream of bullets and gangsters.

Paris, je t'aime (2006, Multiple directors)

20 directors, 18 shorts about different Parisian neighbourhoods. What sounded like a good idea on paper ends up being a lackluster cinematic viewing. That being said, there are some interesting moments from all the directors but the end result does not translate completely. At least all the directors do a good job of covering various issues and aspects of Paris -- parking troubles, people watching, chance meetings, love at first sight, loneliness in the city of love, religion, immigrant issues, single working mothers, racism, violence, gay Paris, art & artists, mimes, subways, tourists, cafes, wine, divorce, red light district, music & sex. Some directors tackle topics familiar to them:
For example, after working as a cinematographer on countless Asian films, Christopher Doyle looks at the Asian side of Paris; Gurindher Chadha tackles a refreshing cross-cultural love story; the Coen brothers have a dull dark comedy with Steve Buscemi playing a cliched tourist whose fears come true in a subway; Gus Van Sant expands on art & gay themes in a very contrived short; Olivier Assayas picks up where he left of in Clean and directs a drug addicted Maggie Gyllenhaal; Wes Craven tackles a ghost story with a twist; Tom Tykwer shoots his love story as fast paced as his Run Lola Run. Then there are some surprizes as well:
-- Oliver Schmitz's well edited 5 minute short makes efficient use of flash-backs to recreate a stabbing and tackle immigrant struggles in Paris.
-- Alfonso Cuarón plays with the audience in a tiny and sweet segment starring Nick Nolte. When we first see Nick Nolte with a young woman, we think he is her lover. But we are surprized to find her as the young woman's father. However, in the next 30 seconds, we are given another surprize as to the reason for his first ever Parisian visit.
-- Vincenzo Natali directs a visually stunning and playful vampire love story yet his effort is at odds with the rest of the shorts. Natali shows a back-packing Elijah Wood lost in the haunted streets of Paris (cute touch having the Canadian flag on Wood's backpack).
-- Alexander Payne directs the final and the best short -- an American woman tourist comes to Paris for her vacation. Yet she is not impressed by the hype of Paris and finds herself lonely and unable to understand the local culture. But slowly, she finds beauty in just the most average looking park and eventually falls in love with the city.

Besides Alexander Payne, I enjoyed the words of Oliver Schmitz, Tom Tykwer, Gurindher Chadha, Alfonso Cuarón and even Vincenzo Natali. I also thought Gérard Depardieu & Frédéric Auburtin's directed effort of an American divorce in the Latin Quarter was interesting. I rather forget the works of Walter Salles, Doyle, Joel & Ethan Coen.

David Lynch

Director Profile: David Lynch

Waiting for Inland Empire. But it will be a long wait. I have given up on seeing this in a theatre but hopefully the DVD comes out by summer. In the meantime, I have decided to go back and watch all of Lynch's features & shorts so that I can be fully prepared to tackle Inland Empire. Another reason for going through all his cinematic effort is because even though I have heard of every single Lynch film, I have only seen a handful of his movies. So that record needed to be set straight.

Eraserhead (1977): Rating 9/10

A cinematic treasure!! A true measure of a film is that it transcends time and remains fresh no matter which decade it is watched in. It is hard to believe that Eraserhead was released almost 30 years ago. Even today, very few films can match the cinematic richness that David Lynch offered with this flick. This black and white film is one of those works that are tailor made for film studies courses -- hours can be spent discussing the lighting, the dreamy imagery, the haunting background score and the abundant symbolism. For example, the alien baby that Henry and his pseudo girlfriend have provides enough material for dissection -- the baby represents an alien creature who imposes on the life of this couple and alienates them further. That the baby looks like an alien only reinforces the idea. This is a film that needs to be watched with all the lights off and is a work that one can easily be lost in.

The Elephant Man (1980) : Rating 8/10

I still can't believe this is a David Lynch film. With the exception of the opening and closing scenes, the rest of the film is a linear humane story. On top of that, the locale is Victorian England, not America. However, this Black and White feature seems an appropriate follow-up to Eraserhead. Both The Elephant Man and Eraserhead start with images of birth -- in Eraserhead, we see an alien life form taking shape whereas in The Elephant Man, we see how a woman's child will be disfigured and take on the title of Elephant Man. The performances of Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt are top-notch and the screenplay is highly touching. Even though the story is inspired by a real tale, the movie had shades of the The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Now, both this movie and Eraserhead contain elements that appear in other Lynch films, especially Mulholland Dr. -- the stage theatre and chilling dreams. On the stages of Eraserhead, I almost waited to hear the words "Silencio" echoed so hauntingly in Mulholland Dr.

Lost Highway (1997) : Rating 7.5/10

Out of the darkness and into the light! After 2 black and white films, the color of Lost Highway threw me off. Despite being initially blinded by the color, I could still see all the foundations for Mulholland Dr. in Lost Highway. I am glad that I saw this movie almost 10 years after it was made and after having seen the fascinating puzzle of Mulholland Dr. and the chilling terror of Caché. Because Lost Highway starts off like Caché did. In both films, a couple gets video-tapes where someone has recorded their home from the outside. However, in the Lost Highway the spy physically enters the couple's home and tapes them sleeping. However, in Caché, the spy does not physically enter the couple's home but penetrates the main character's psyche.

I was quite surprized to see that Lost Highway was slammed by critics. Ofcourse, those same critics then went on to praise Mulholland Dr.. And now, those same very critics have called Inland Empire a masterpiece. In that sense, maybe Lynch has completely developed his dreamy version of life in L.A that he started in Lost Highway? I won't be able to judge until I see Inland Empire. But I truly enjoyed Lost Highway. Ofcourse, I was trying to compare it with Mulholland Dr. and finding common ground. Both movies have ample puzzles and have mysteries which need to be unlocked. Lost Highway plays with the concept of time and space more than Mulholland Dr.; it is also more loose in terms of plot and has plenty of extra scenes that are thrown in for no real purpose. Whereas, everything in Mulholland Dr. was connected and wrapped up in one mysterious blue box! One negative of Lost Highway is that none of the performances stand out. There is no Naomi Watts to light up the screen!

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In conclusion, it was a real pleasure to lock myself in David Lynch's world for 2 nights! I will revisit Blue Velvet and tackle Twin Peaks along with a few of his short films in upcoming weeks.

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Part II of the profile -- The Straight Story, collected short films, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, Wild at Heart and Hotel Room.

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Inland Empire.

The Science of Sleep

No sooner was I lamenting the lack of good movies out there, appears this refreshing flick on DVD. The Science of Sleep picks up the pieces of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind and injects it with plenty of colour and creativity. Both these Michel Gondry movies stick a camera into a character's head but whereas Eternal Sunshine.. jumped into a character's past memories, The Science of Sleep is concerned with the present and dreamy thoughts which pass through a human brain. The end result is a highly original film that is riveting to watch. Even though I can't say that I enjoyed every frame of the movie, I could not take my eyes away from it. And in some cases, I had to go back and rewatch a sequence again.

The story revolves around Stéphane (Gael García Bernal). We get to see both his dull everyday real world and his colorful inner world, sometimes at the same time. Stéphane is an inventor and a highly creative person. His thoughts are far more imaginative than the mundane things he has to put up with in his daily life. Safe to say, he prefers his inner world. But when he falls for his neighbour Stéphanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg), things get complicated. At first, Stéphanie finds Stéphane interesting but when she is not interested in a serious relationship, a rift occurs within Stéphane and he drifts towards the inner safe haven of his mind. Open Your Eyes (remade as Vanilla Sky) and Hubert Selby Jr's wonderful novel Requiem for a Dream (also a film by Darren Aronofsky) explored similar ideas of people finding solace in their dreams but with different shades of darkness. Open Your Eyes was not entirely dark but Requiem for a dream was situated completely in the deep end and showed what happens when a person loses touch with reality and exists only in a constant dreaming state. The Science of Sleep tackles this completely differently, existing in a child-like innocent state between happiness and darkness. One truly feels sorry for Stéphane as his world starts to crumble around him and we can only hope that he can save himself.

(2006, Director Michel Gondry): Rating -- a very strong 8/10

March Blues

March 8, 2007:
Good football is dead. Arsenal, Barca, Lyon & Madrid are all out of the Champions League. With the exception of the Bundesliga & La Liga, all the other European league titles are almost decided. Yawn. Boring.
1-0 and 0-0 boring football is here to stay. As long as it can win games, ugly futbol will not go away. And as more and more money men invest in football teams, you can be sure that winning will become the only objective.

Just like box office numbers are killing good cinema, so is the business like approach to calcio. Thanks FIFA. Thanks really for selling the game out.

No real movies to watch. Multiplexes are gearing for summer releases, so no good movies will be out. Sure one can go watch manufactured fancy commercial movies too busy trying to be cool and pretending to be hip. Seriously, just because a director makes a slick movie about old genre titles does not make his film art. Entertaining, yes. But art, no!

Do we need art? Sure in little doses. But when there is nothing around, then what to do? Film festival season is far far away. Cannes does not count because it is not open for film fans.

CIFF and VIFF are far far away......

Books are the only saving grace. Sure, old classic movies can be rented to fix the addiction but when there is quality cinema in the world and one can't get to watch it, that is painful. North American Distribution really knows how to restrict real movie titles from making it out here. Hey, if it can't make money, then what is the point?

And if an independent theatre does book quality movies, no one goes to see them. People want fast and CGI-laced flicks not slow and picturesque cinema. Oh well, this feeling will pass too.

Maybe one day, beautiful futbal will triump. Mayone one day, real cinema will shine. In the meantime, thank God for those books.

Streets of India

It has been a slow week for movie watching as I have been busy catching up on my reading. But I managed to watch these two very different Indian films in between glimpses of La Liga futbal games.

Traffic Signal (2007, Director Madhur Bhandarkar): Rating 8/10

I was one of the few people who was not bowled over when Madhur's 2nd feature Chandini Bar earned rave reviews in 2001. In fact, I used that film as an example to point out the problems in Bollywood story-lines in my first on-line article published on rediff. Chandini Bar started off with an interesting concept of showing the lives of dance girls in Bombay's red-light district. However, once the camera left the bar, the movie fell into a typical cliched Bollywood gangster film which combined street gangs with politics. On the other hand, I was much impressed by Madhur's 2003 film Satta which throughly tackled the corrupt political games played by politicians. His last two films Page 3 and Corporate attempted to give us an inside look into Mumbai's celebrity and business world lives respectively. Although, both movies had plenty of merit, they suffered from poor acting and a dull screenplay. So having tackled Mumbai from the street level to the high-rise board-rooms, it was appropriate that Madhur completed the circle and returned back to the street level from where he made his name.

Traffic Signal portrays the lives of people who work at Mumbai's traffic light intersections. Bhandarkar interestingly shows how a giant profit making network operates/controls the street level beggars and workers who sell their goods on the street signals.Once a car stops at the traffic signal, the street workers job begins. The movie's first hour is absorbing as we observe the lies and cons that operate at the street level. But then the movie starts to get repetitive until it ends with a highly contrived ending -- safe to say, such an ending would never occur in the real Mumbai and feels like a happy Bollywood ending stamped on an other-wise non-Bollywood movie. There are some brilliant performances in this film -- Konkana Sen Sharma as the prostitute and Ranvir Shorey as the chillingly realistic drug addict. Konkana seems to have no problems with any role given to her and proves that she is comfortable in whatever language she speaks (Hindi, English, Bengali or Tamil) -- she is truly one of the best actresses in India. Like Page 3 and Corporate, Traffic Signal also suffers from some substandard acting when it comes to some of the secondary characters.

Overall, not a perfect film but still worth watching. And if one looks closely, one can see a Chandini Bar in the background at a traffic signal. In a sense, a Mumbai cinematic circle from 2001 to 2007 is complete for Madhur.

Strings (20056, Director Sanjay Jha): Rating 4/10

Good ideas on paper don't often translate into watch-able movies. Such is the case with this movie. Jha had an interesting idea alright -- to explore themes of love and faith against the background of the colorful and religious Kumbh Mela in India. The story does contain elements which could have produced powerful cinema. An Englishman (Warren Hastings played by Adam Bedi) comes to India to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and is keen to find out what made his grandfather love India. Warren is a confused lad who is easily influenced by others. On the other hand, Tanishta Chatterjee plays a priest's daughter who is grounded in her religious beliefs. However, her faith is tested when she sleeps with Warren. What could have been a great film ends up being a terribly painful watch. One of the big reasons for that is poor acting by all involved, especially Adam Bedi (Kabir Bedi's son) and Sandhya Mridul (actually overacting is the problem in Sandhya's case). The only thing that saves this movie is the gorgeous cinematography which captures the breath-taking scenes of the Kumbh Mela. However, the same great shots are repeatedly sliced in between different scenes of the movie and eventually lose their charm. Shooting a movie against the million+ crowd in Nasik must have a hard task but that can't be blamed for this movie's faults. Sanjay Jha did a much better job with his first film Pran Jaaye Par Shaan Na Jaaye which explored life in the Mumbai chawls.