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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Movie round-up continues...

Euro 2008 Film Festival -- first 5 films:



Even though the Euro 2008 soccer tournament does not start until June 7, I wanted to start watching my film festival screenings this year. In my past soccer film festivals (World Cup 2006, Copa America 2007), I was often watching the films while the soccer tournament was going on. This created a hectic schedule as I was often scrambling to give my attention to both the films and soccer games. Now, I plan to watch all my films before the soccer tournament so that I can enjoy the footie games peacefully.

I will do detailed write-ups of the movies and my selection criteria in upcoming months. Unlike the previous two soccer film festivals, this time I actually have a plan for choosing the movies.

Films in order of viewing:

  • Daywatch (Russia, 2006, Director Timur Bekmambetov)

  • Edi (Poland, 2002, Director Piotr Trzaskalski)

  • Goodbye Lenin (Germany, 2003, Director Wolfgang Becker)

  • Sorry for Kung Fu (Croatia, 2004, Director Ognjen Svilicic)

  • Zelary (Czech Republic, 2003, Director Ondrej Trojan)



  • Indian stop-over: Independent Cinema vs Bollywood

    Parzania (2005, Director Rahul Dholakia): Rating 7.5/10

    Gujarat experienced its days of hell in early 2002. It all started with a burning of a train in Godhra. What followed was nothing short of a genocide like extermination but was labeled by the media as riots or Hindu-Muslim clashes. Then further revenge killings took place to counter the initial violent acts. But what was the truth? Who lit the train on fire? I didn't gather much from the news as the investigation was very biased and muddy. Then I luckily came across Rakesh Sharma's eye-opening 4 hour documentary Final Solution in 2004. I had to watch the film in 3 sittings as the documentary was not an easy watch -- the film slowly peeled off the layers of hate to reveal the pure evil that lurked inside the hearts of weak and corrupt men. Yes it is only men who could have thought of such disgusting acts of violence.


    Parzania revisits those dark days in Gujarat's and India's history. Just like Deepa Mehta's film Earth, Parzania uses a Parsi family to document the hateful acts (in Earth the 1947 Partition violence was shown through the eyes of a young Parsi girl). In a way using a Parsi family gives a neutral ground to observe the events as Parsi's are neither Hindu or Muslim, so they should remain unharmed. But there are no neutrals during the blind rage that exists and as Parzania shows, even the so called neutrals are caught in the cross-fire. Parzania also throws in another neutral observer in Allan, an American who comes to Gujarat to complete his thesis on Mahatma Gandhi. He brings some objective perspective to the madness and questions how the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi can be filled with so much seething violence. It was in fact such hateful ideas that led to Mahatma's assassination in the first place, so it shouldn't be a surprize that these poisonous ideas would start to hover over the streets of Gujarat.

    Kairee (2000, Director Amol Palekar): Rating 6/10

    Throughout the 1970's and 80's, Amol Palekar was a darling of both India's art house & commercial cinema and gave some memorable performances in such films as Chhoti Si Baat, Safed Jhoot, Gol Maal and Khamosh. I had no idea that he had turned to direction in the early 1980's itself as I never got to see his early efforts. I knew that he made some waves with his 1995 directed film Daayraa. But the movie only made the trips on the film festival circuit and did not make it out to my part of the world. The first Amol Palekar directorial effort I saw was his 2005 Bollywood film Paheli. Thanks to Palekar, Paheli was a wonderful movie directed with such care and tenderness, much better than the regular Bollywood studio fare.

    When I came across Kairee I grabbed it and was eager to see Palekar's effort. But this film was a huge disappointment. The story is told from the view point of a 10 year old girl who is sent to live with her aunt after her mother passes away and her uncle does not want to take care of her. As the innocent girl starts to discover the complicated world around her, she starts to mature and grow up a little. There are some tender moments in the movie, especially with the girl and her teacher (played by Atul Kulkarni) where the teacher encourages the girl to write and adapt with the tough world.

    Jab We Met (2007, Director Imtiaz Ali): Rating 8/10

    I love it when word of mouth sometimes propels a movie well beyond its expectations. Such is the case with Jab We Met. No one had any hopes from this Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor film. Even though I had loved Imtiaz Ali's first film Socha Na Tha (I watched that movie three times), I decided to stay away from his second effort as the movie looked like a typical love story (Ofcourse, I should have known better as I said that about this first film before I fell in love with it).


    But then I only heard good things about this Jab We Met. Friends and family raved about it. Well I decided to listen to them all and in the end, I am glad I did. The story is nothing new -- essentially something along the lines of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge plus elements from other love triangles. But the strength of the film is the fresh screenplay and an amazing performance from Kareena Kapoor. Though I am not a fan of her acting, this was a role perfect for her talents. She acts with so much gusto and as the camera is focused on her face most of the time, she is completely at ease in delivering some fascinating dialogues.

    Also, some nice little touches by Imtiaz Ali. The film starts out with the lead character Aditya (Shahid Kapoor) not speaking a single line of dialogue for the first 8 minutes or so. Just by observing him, we can understand his gradual meltdown and suicidal urge. But despite his need to kill himself by jumping off a moving train, we can anticipate that he will eventually shout something because sitting across from him is Geet (Kareena Kapoor), a woman that never shuts up and keeps talking and talking, even in her sleep. Sure enough, once Aditya shouts back, the film moves into high gear of witty dialogues and energetic fun.

    Ofcourse, there are plenty of weak points in the movie. Besides the lead pair, the acting of others is average at best. The triangle love interest in the movie Anshuman (Tarun Arora) displays virtually no emotion while delivering his lines. Some of the production is quite sloppy as one can easily make out the fake trains and cars (seriously, is it that hard to get a decent crane shot of a moving car?).


    With both Socha Na Tha and Jab We Met, Imtiaz Ali has proved that there is so much scope that can still be explored in a framework of an Indian love/marriage story. Ofourse, it takes a talented writer and director to produce works which can be both fun and thought provoking.

    She's back!!!!!!



    "Madhuri Dixit is back". Only in Bollywood can 4 such words be used to promote a movie. But then again, Madhuri Dixit is no ordinary actress. No other woman has ever held such charm over modern Bollywood as Madhuri has. And in her 5 year absence, no new actress has been able to capture the energy of Madhuri. So she was sorely missed.

    Aaja Nachle (2007, Director Anil Mehta): Rating 8/10

    "Form is temporary, Class is permanent" (Unknown source, cricket quote?)

    Yes Madhuri is all class. Without her Aaja Nachle would fall apart completely despite having a strong cast of Konkana Sen Sharma, Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey, Irfan Khan, Kunal Kapoor and Akhshaye Khanna.

    The story is written by Aditya Chopra so that means we get a village that can only exist in Bollywood -- despite all the complications, a little song and dance is enough to solve all problems. An ordinary stage is supposed to represent the highest form of art against the big bad soul-less mall that is going to take its place. But I didn't go to see this movie because of its story. I went because of Madhuri. And good to know that despite her age, she can still light up the screen with one smile. There is truly no one like her.


    So just like the movie story, is her return temporary? Who knows but maybe someone can write a story to place her opposite Amitabh Bachchan, a pairing that has still not happened.

    Monday, December 24, 2007

    Recent movie round-up

    Springfield standing in for America:

    The Simpsons Movie (2007, Director David Silverman): Rating 7.5/10


    I am not sure what my expectations from The Simpsons Movie was. After more than 17 years of tv episodes, what really was there to cover in a full length feature? Maybe that is the reason I stayed away from the theater for this one. But I was still curious to see if maybe, just maybe, the movie attempted to take some risks. And as it turns out, there are absolutely no risks in the movie -- having Bart skate nude does not translate into risky material! The overall experience feels just like watching a regular tv episode stretched over 80 minutes. Yes the movie contains some hilarious moments and is enjoyable in parts. But the story is not a stretch from the tv show and even contains a theme covered in one episode -- the pollution of Lake Springfield. There are other familiar elements from the tv show such as the town begging Mr. Burns for turning on the power and spoofs of big Hollywood films.

    The movie feels too squeaky clean, as if the film-makers kept in mind that the movie would be shown globally so there shouldn't be any content to offend anyone. The only character who comes under fire in the movie is Homer himself, which is the easy choice. Overall, good for some laughs but a disappointing effort.


    Grimsby standing in for England:

    This is England (2006, Director Shane Meadows): Rating 8/10



    Adolescence is a difficult enough experience for a teenager with hormonal changes, peer pressures and general angst. So any further complicated issues such as the loss of a father to war, having no friends and not fitting in just makes things worse. Such is the case of 12 year old Shaun who gets bullied at school and has no friends to look out after him. His life takes a turn for the better when he befriends some skinheads and the head of the group (Woody) takes Shaun under his wing. Things seem fine until the group's original leader, Combo, returns from jail. Combo and Woody are complete opposites -- Woody is a bit moderate and although he may indulge in vandalism, he won't engage in racist or neo-fascist violence; Combo on the other hand proudly believes in a 'pure England' and his years in jail have turned him into a hate mongering skin-head. So as these two opposing views clash, Shaun finds himself switching loyalties from Woody to Combo until a horrific incident makes him realize the poison that lies buried within Combo.

    The film is set in 1983 yet plenty of elements are true even today. There was a period in the mid 80's when the skinheads dangerous ideas propagated throughout England and even found their way into the soccer terraces around the U.K. However, the mid to late 90's saw a decline in such ideas in England. But in recent years, these hateful ideas are once again finding support not only in England but also in Germany, France and even Italy.


    India via several cities:

    Bheja Fry (2007, Director Sagar Ballary): Rating 7.5/10


    An interesting Indian adaptation of the hilarious French film The Dinner Game. The story is similar to the French version where a bunch of rich men have a weekly party and bring an 'idiot' as a guest. While they all laugh at the idiots, they also have a contest to see which person brought in the biggest idiot. In Bheja Fry, the idiot is Bharat Bhushan (Vinay Pathak), an honest government employee who has a passion for singing. This movie belongs to Vinay Pathak who is fantastic in every scene. Unfortunately, the remaining cast is not on par with Pathak's excellent performance.

    Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003, Director Sudhir Mishra): Rating 9/10


    Sudhir Mishra has crafted an intelligent movie that looks at the youth rebellion that existed in India during the period of Emergency (prior to and after that period in the 70's). We see three youths with different takes on what is required to take the country forward -- communism, capitalism or democracy. A smart movie that deserves a longer write-up in a future post.

    Dil Dosti, etc (2007, Director Manish Tiwary): Rating 7/10


    Just like Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, this film focuses on college youth but the movie is not really interested in politics. The film is more interested in examining the confused ideas that can effect college youth. While Sanjay (Shreyas Talpade) wants to run for college presidency, Apurv is not interested in politics or a career. He is not even interested in love but finds more pleasure in attempting to bed as many women as he can. While reading Sartre, Apurv freely quotes some random philosophy as he drifts through life immorally. Acting wise, Shreyas Talpade is the only one who has put in good performance. That is understandable as the rest of the cast consists of newcomers making their acting debut. Still, this had potential to be a much better movie than it turned out to be.

    Dhokha (2007, Director Pooja Bhatt): Rating 5.5/10


    The story of Dhokha is interesting enough but the execution could have been better. A police officer (Zaid played by Muzammil Ibrahim) goes to investigate a bomb explosion at a night club caused by a suicide bomber. The tables are turned on Zaid when he is shocked to find that he is the prime suspect in the investigation as the detective claims that it was Zaid's wife who was the suicide bomber. He fights the false charges but despite his best efforts, he is labeled a traitor and eventually suspended from his job. Eventually, he slowly starts learning the truth and it is indeed eye opening for him. The film shows some elements from other Indian films such as Mission Kashmir in how the abuse of power by police towards the Kashmiri Muslims only fuels the anger of the locals and turns them over to the fundamentalists. After Zaid starts finding the truth, the film turns into a predictable mess as other Bollywood movies and heads towards an unrealistic happy ending.

    Welcome (2007, Director Anees Bazmee): Rating 5/10


    It is always a bad sign when actors and filmmakers promote their movie by saying that the "audience should leave their brain at the door" while watching their film. This is a lazy way of saying that the movie was made without any thought or a screenplay. And when the film director is Anees Bazmee whose previous effort was the awful comedy No Entry, I had very low expectations from Welcome. Still the presence of Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor offered some hope. As expected, all four have put in a decent effort with Nana Patekar shining in every scene. But the silly screenplay and poor direction make this a painful experience. If the movie had ended after 90 minutes, it wouldn't have been that bad. Even at 2 hours, the film might have been passable. But a running time of 2 hour 40 minutes is pure torture. It was indeed a welcome relief when this mess of a film eventually ended.

    Friday, December 21, 2007

    A double bill of kidnapings and abduction

    Take One: 4 year old girl goes missing

    Gone Baby Gone (2007, Director Ben Affleck): Rating 8.5/10




    Some movies are best seen without knowing the story. The only thing I knew about Gone Baby Gone was that the movie was about a missing 4 year old girl. As it turns out, that is enough information to know because over the course of the film's 115 minutes or so, we learn everything else in small doses.



    The missing girl story ends after 30 minutes or so. After that, a second story starts up but even that ends after another 30 minutes. Then a third act appears to start, a segment which on first glance appears to be an examination of the events from the first hour. But there is a tiny hint that there aren't three segments in this movie but one story, told in pieces. The reason the story is told in such a piecemeal manner is because the main character only learns the whole plot one step at a time. And so do we. There is one shot just after the hour mark which indicates something more sinister lies underneath the layer of evil. The camera focuses on a character in such a way that it triggered me to look at the character in a different light. We can't see the character's eyes because he is wearing shades. But the way his face is hanging coupled with the background music reminded me of a role this character played in a 2005 film. I made a mental note of this shot and wanted to see if in the end, this was how things turned out. Sure enough, this shot had a purpose. Not only did it reveal something sinister, it showed how the main character of Patrick (Casey Affleck) observes this other shady character.

    Sometimes good hides behind an evil mask. And in the end, this is one of the key themes raised by this movie. If someone's intention are good, then if that person uses bad means to achieve a good result, then is it really a sin? The topic of good vs evil is brought up in a subtle manner throughout the film. But each person perceives good in a different manner. And hence the conflict between the 'good' characters.

    The film starts off with Patrick's voice over narration describing the importance of a city in people's lives. But this movie is not about a city's influence on people, it is instead about people's mistakes and personality. Some people never change no matter how much responsibility is thrust upon on them. They will continue to make the same mistakes over and over. Such people exist in every city and not just in Boston, where the film is shot.

    Gone Baby Gone is based on Dennis Lehane's novel. Lehane also wrote the emotionally powerful novel Mystic River, which was also filmed in Boston and nearby areas just like Gone Baby Gone. I haven't read either book but can only assess both stories via the movies. Mystic River primarily focuses on three men's lives. Via flashbacks, we learn that these three men's lives were forever altered during an kidnaping incident in their childhood. One of the three friends was kidnaped and abused, while the other two were lucky to have escaped. The moral consequences of that incident effected all three friends and set them on a miserable and tragic path. Gone Baby Gone stays in the present moment of the little girl's kidnaping and shows how the other adult characters react. Still, this story appears to take place on an opposite street from Mystic River. Both films highlight a present (Gone Baby Gone) and future view (Mystic River) of the emotional damage that can result from such a kidnaping. Mystic River was dark and unrelenting -- there was no hope but plain despair right through the end. Whereas Gone Baby Gone shows a glimmer of light, a tiny hope that despite all the evil and wrong doings, maybe things will turn out ok.

    Note: To Ben Affleck's credit, he does include a shot which carries Gone Baby Gone away from the present and shows what the missing girl's future might be if she grew up in her neighbourhood. Near the film's start and end, he lets the camera linger on a teenager who is living in the same neighbourhood as the missing girl. One can imagine if the missing girl grew up in such a neighbourhood, she would look like this teenager.

    Take Two: Family man goes missing

    Rendition (2007, Director Gavin Hood): Rating 10/10




    Egyptian man living in America. Suspicious. Perceived threat. Must protect the nation. Dubious 'intelligence'. So the only safe option for a nation's safety is to kidnap the man. No need to inform the family.



    At the film's start, we see the wife (Isabella played by Reese Witherspoon) and her 6 year old son in Chicago. After a quick shot of the husband (Anwar played by Omar Metwally) in Cape town, the film moves to to North Africa (Morocco) where majority of the story takes place. Washington is shown on certain occasions because that is where the orders for the kidnaping and torture come from. Two stories are shown -- one of the husband's kidnaping/torture and the other being a love story. Both stories are connected and it is credit to the film-makers that the two stories are spliced equally together -- this narrative style balances the weight of the stories, mixing the innocent young characters with the evil men that are just doing their job.

    This is easily one of the best movies of the year but why on earth did it disappear without any attention? Can such a story take place? One only has to look at Maher Arar's story and everything shown in Rendition seems life like. But what about the Moroccan love story? Is there is a need for that? Yes. The film tries to show two sides of the equation -- the enemy and the good guys. The film does not attempt to take sides but just shows how in the quest for good, characters will act the way they do. One side's good is perceived as evil by the other side. But it is important to understand the motives of the other side. One has to get to the roots of evil, otherwise there will be no solution. Force leads to counter-force, which leads to more force, which leads to even a bigger counter-action. Loop forever.

    Note: I am not sure why Rendition only used the generic term North Africa to describe Morocco. One first glance, I thought the Moroccan city was Rabat. Then the second shot appeared to be Fez but by the third glimpse of the city with the market square and reddish house walls, there was no doubt that it was Marrakesh. And just to emphasize the point, the famous Djemaa el-Fna market square is shown on two occasions.

    Abuse of Power:

    "With great power, comes great responsibility." Spider-Man.

    That quote from Spider-Man applies to both the above movies. In both films, certain characters want to do good but in doing do, they throw out reason and common sense. As a result, their blind actions lead to painful consequences. Blindly attempting to do good can turn into an evil act because such blind actions have no foundation in reason and logic. And when the actions of the law turn out to harm the innocent, well the job of the evil men just becomes easier. The evil men can use photos of the tortured innocent as evidence that all law is wrong and simply abuses power. So the young and feeble minds are lured as bait to commit evil acts in the name of a greater good.

    Political Disappearances:

    The kidnapping in Rendition is along the same lines of those committed by dictatorship regimes in Argentina, Brazil, Burma, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Cambodia and several other nations. The Indian film-maker Gulzar explored such topics about abuse of power by police back in 1996's Maachis (Matchstick). Maachis was a phenomenal movie which showed how police brutality fed the flames of terrorism. Even though Maachis was set in Punjab, one can imagine similar situations leading to uprisings in Kashmir, Assam and other parts of the world.

    Soccer, to lighten the mood:

    Once again soccer provides the answer! The clue to the husband's innocence in Rendition lies in soccer. What? I am not making this up! I do remember watching the 1990 Soccer World Cup and the soccer team in question. When some of the names of those players were shown on the screen, I didn't think too much of it until Jake Gyllenhaal's characters stumbles across the answer in the movie.

    Sunday, December 16, 2007

    A Fixer, Gangster and Survivor

    Michael Clayton (2007, Director Tony Gilroy): Rating 8/10



    Crisp white envelops filled with money -- a reward for a job well done. Even though Michael Clayton (George Clooney) only gives such an envelope once in the movie, one can expect him to have distributed many such gifts in the past. Unofficially, he is the law firm's fixer -- he patches things up or does whatever is required for the good of the firm. He works off the radar and on the company record books, his job is insignificant. Only the firm's senior partners recognize his value and in case the senior partners disappeared one day, Clayton would be the first to be fired.

    At the core, the story is about a whistle blower, in the mould of Michael Mann's The Insider. The evil company in this case is U North, a company that appears to follow in the foot steps of Monsanto and other biotech agricultural companies shown in documentaries such as The Corporation, The Fight for True Farming and The Future of Food. The film is polished and features smart witty dialogues that one expects from Hollywood films where the lead actor appears slick and well dressed in all scenes, no matter what the situation. But to Gilroy's credit, he does add some hesitation to Tilda Swinton's character. Tilda plays Karen Crowder who works for U North and her character's actions are true to what is portrayed at the film's start -- she is nervous, insecure and tries too hard to impress. So it is easy to believe that she is capable of making the mistakes that are shown as the movie progresses.

    There are two interesting sequences in the movie. One is the scene with the horses. It is early in the morning and Clayton is returning irritated from a 'fixer' meeting. The sun has not risen yet when he sees three horses. He gets off from his car and is reaching out to the horses, almost helplessly. That scene is the only one where you can detect weakness in his character -- he is struggling and wants help himself. In all the other scenes, he is confident and is the person that others come to for help. The other interesting sequence is the final shot in the cab. The camera stays focused on Clooney's face as the closing credits roll. Just a nice sequence at odds with other Hollywood movies which feature too many quick cuts.

    Note: A minor point about one sequence which appears to be weak. Clayton sees Arthur (Tom Wilkinson) in the alley-way and pulls the car over. He leaves his son in the car and asks him to lock the doors. Clayton approaches Arthur. When Arthur is talking, the camera only focuses on him and his bag of dozen (or more) baguettes But when the camera shows Clayton, you can see his car in the background. My initial thought was that Gilroy wanted us to see the car because there could be something regarding his son. After gradual cuts, the camera narrows the focus in Clayton's background but we can still his car and even taxi cabs going by. Eventually, the camera does only focuses on Clayton. I am still not sure if there was a purpose to keep the car in the background and let it be a distraction or if that was a lazy sequence where the camera was not directed to only show the relevant characters.

    American Gangster (2007, Director Ridley Scott): Rating 8/10


    "If we stop bringing drugs into the country, then we will put 100,000 people out of a job."



    That is probably one of the most accurate lines about the police's battle with drug trafficking. Ofcourse, it is not surprizing to hear such a line from a detective like Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe) because Ritchie is shown to be one of the few honest cops in the film. In a way, Ritchie's comment makes sense as countless officers are hired to keep arresting drug pushers and top mobs. However, there is no attempt to eliminate the problem at roots. So the end result is an endless cycle of the same mistakes.



    "This is my home. My country. Frank Lucas don't run from nobody. This is America."

    In the end, that is the problem with all top gangsters. They will never run away but stay around until they get taken down. As a result, all such gangster movies follow the same pattern -- small gangster rises to become top boss, police get on his trail and eventually he is either jailed or killed.

    One interesting aspect shown in the movie is how Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) strove to keep a low profile. But a few signs of flashy money initiated by his fiancee and brothers lead to him appearing on the police's radar.

    "My man." "The Po-lice".

    That is Denzel delivering dialogues like he did in Training Day. "The Po-lice".

    Overall, American Gangster is a good film but like Michael Clayton, it still feels like a typical studio movie. After countless mob movies, there is not much more that can be explored in a gangster story.

    Rescue Dawn (2006, Director Werner Herzog) Rating 8.5/10




    Herzog has directed an absorbing film about Dieter Dengler's (played by Christian Bale) escape from a prison camp in Laos/North Vietnam after his American fighter plane was shot down. Herzog has paid careful attention to little details regarding how Dengler escaped the camp and survived in the dense jungles. There is one scene which reminded me of Herzog's 1972 feature Aguirre, Wrath of God. After Dieter and Duane (Steve Zahn) escape the camp, they float down the river on a raft. Even though the raft scene in Rescue Dawn is shot differently from the final raft scene in Aguirre, both scenes contained the same tension that an enemy could attack from any point in the forests.

    I have not seen Herzog's documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly which accounts the same story. In interviews, Herzog mentioned that Dieter's story was so extraordinary that it had to be made into a film. But due to lack of finances he made the documentary first.

    The endless labyrinth of conspiracies and lies

    I knew of the book long before my eyes saw it. I knew of the author and the book's subject as well. In fact, I could have gotten the book long before that day in Dec 2006 but for whatever reason, I decided not to pursue it earlier. But last year, something compelled me to get the book. It had nothing to do with the book's cover which was plain black and only contained the author's name and the title (in caps):

    Bernard-Henry Lévy
    Who Killed Daniel Pearl?

    There is nothing to incite a person to buy the book. Sure there are were promotion quotes by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times Book Review on the cover. But I never go by these blurbs or quotes when buying a book. In the end, I bought the book. Maybe it was the vacation in New Delhi? I don't know. The book was tucked away trapped within other countless books on a bookshelf. Nothing about the book screamed to be picked up. But I saw Lévy's name on the cover. Maybe that was it. Whatever the reason, looking back now, the choice of finding the book in a bookstore in New Delhi was appropriate. Because in the complex labyrinth of the story behind Daniel Pearl's murder, there is an investigative link that leads Lévy to New Delhi as well. But it is only a tiny part of a giant complex puzzle that Lévy attempts to solve. Maybe he has come the closest. Or maybe he is further from the truth? No one will ever know. But one thing is clear -- this is one of the best and most challenging books I have read in a while.

    Part of the challenge is how Lévy skillfully manages to combine his thoughts, feelings, abstract words and actual facts in one flowing paragraph after another. This is how he writes normally and this is why I enjoy his words. In this book, that style allows the reader to observe things from Lévy's perspective. And this becomes challenging because Lévy is visiting the darkest places in a complex web -- what he sees is not pleasing, what he learns is troubling. And his style allows the reader to get a front seat to all the events. At times, reading the book became too much for me. I simply could not carry on. But then I returned back, and every time I read the book, I didn't want to put it down. But I had leave it because I was getting sucked into a world I didn't want to get into.

    Lévy is searching for the truth about Pearl's murder. In order to get to the truth, he first places himself in Pearl's mind and visits the same places that Daniel did. Then Lévy places himself in the mind of the killer. He studies both people's lives and tries to piece together what led to such a horrific incident. Then Lévy visits terrorist recruiting locations, interviews plenty of important people and gets lost in the names and facts. He follows a trail and writes pages about it, only to realize later that was wrong. He does not hide the failed attempts from the readers. Every now and again Lévy emerges with a new idea and decides to pursue it. In the end, despite all the wrong turns and misinformation, he puts together a reasonable hypothesis. It may be the truth or it maybe another trap door leading to more lies.

    The movie:

    I didn't want to see Michael Winterbottom's movie A Mighty Heart until I had finished reading Lévy's book. But the movie and book are completely separate. Although, there are some overlapping similarities (hotel names, characters), both are structured differently. Who Killed Daniel Pearl? pieces together events which happened in the past and picks up the trail after all the incidents took place. Whereas A Mighty Heart, which is based on Mariane Pearl's book, shows events in the days of Danny's kidnaping leading up to his killing.

    In the movie, the complexity of the kidnaping is shown by a white-board chart that Asra (Archie Panjabi), the journalist whose house the Pearl's stayed in, maintains to track all the characters. Even though the white-board shows how the web of conspirators grows into a messy spiral, the film maintains a linearity that allows the tension and helplessness of the incident to sink in. There are some amazing moments when Winterbottom reverts to using Digital cameras to show the scenes when the police go through a maze of apartments and narrow alley-ways in order to arrest some of the suspects. In those moments, the film appears to be a documentary and not a scripted effort.

    Acting wise, both Angelina Jolie and Irfan Khan have done a great job of portraying the complex emotions that is required of their characters. Irfan Khan brings the calm measured performance required of his 'Captain' character, a person that Mariane trusted from day one. Overall, for me Lévy's book & Winterbottom's film compliment each other in helping to give a better picture as to what happened. Still, the final truth does seem elusive. What is apparent is that there exists a lawless section in the world, a complex web where no government can reach. This is where evil and conspiracies are allowed to fester. Hate is manufactured here. Links to recent events can be traced to this part of the world. This is what Daniel Pearl was after and maybe he had found an answer. Or maybe he was asking the questions that he was not supposed to be asking?

    The past gives an answer, but often the world ignores it. When an Air India flight was hijacked on the eve of the year 2000, the World saw the event, reported it, but did nothing. India was in a real bind. The hijackers wanted 4 imprisoned terrorists released and in the end, the Indian government had no choice but to give into those wishes. America and the West ignored that incident. And one of the 4 terrorists released that day went onto kill Daniel Pearl and even mastermind the collapse of those two towers. Maybe.

    Friday, December 14, 2007

    When Sunday Comes...........

    Arsenal vs Chelsea; Liverpool vs Manchester United

    The sun isn't shining as brightly as it was a few weeks ago. There are some hints of a few dark clouds hovering on the horizon. Although the clouds are not causing complete darkness, they are blocking the sun rays. So the easiest way to bring the sunshine back is to dispense one cloud at a time. Sunday's game against Chelsea offers a chance towards restoring a sunny weather outlook.

    Age does weaken one's memory. But I do recall that more than three years ago, 5 dropped points in the first half of the season was not much cause for alarm. Ofcourse, the nature of the league has changed in the last three seasons. Wenger's previous analysis of 75 points being good enough to win the league is no longer true. In fact, the bar has been pushed much higher and it started with Arsenal's unbeaten league season in 2004.

    Stats:

    The points of the top two teams and their cumulative points total over the last few seasons:
  • 1999/00: Man Utd (91), Arsenal (73), Total: 164

  • 2000/01: Man Utd (80), Arsenal (70), Total: 150

  • 2001/02: Arsenal (87), Liverpool (80) Total: 167

  • 2002/03: Man Utd (83), Arsenal (78), Total: 161

  • 2003/04: Arsenal (90), Chelsea (79) Total: 169

  • 2004/05: Chelsea (95), Arsenal (83), Total: 178

  • 2005/06: Chelsea (91), Man Utd (83), Total: 174

  • 2006/07: Man Utd (89), Chelsea (83), Total: 172


  • The 2004/05 season stands out not only for Chelsea's point total of 95 but the high number of points the second placed team, Arsenal, grabbed. Since that season, the second placed team has earned 83 points, a total which would have been good enough to win the league in two of Man Utd's triumphs in 2001 & 2003. So if 90 points are the new approximate standard to guarantee finishing the season on top, that leaves an error margin of 24 points (out of the possible 114 points available from 38 games). Dropping 24 points over 38 games does not leave too much room for error. But these point totals only show a narrow view at the top. An accurate picture has to take into account point totals of all the league teams. Last year, the third & fourth place teams (Liverpool and Arsenal) only got 68 points each, much lower than the points earned by previous years third place teams (75 in 2003/04, 77 in 04/05, 82 in 05/06). And also at the bottom end, there have been a few teams that have performed worse than previously. The lowest dip at the bottom was in the 2005/06 season when the bottom two earned only 45 points (compared to the range of 58 - 66 over the last few years) with Sunderland only getting 15 points (West Brom got 30).

    But the statistics can only give a picture of the past. If in a particular season, there are 2-3 strong teams setting a blistering pace, then the final tally of points required to win a title will be dictated by how many points the chasing teams earn. For example, the huge number of dropped points by the chasing pack account for the low total of 80 points needed to win the 2000/01 season. So far this season after 16 games only three points separate the top three.

    Law of Averages:

    Arsenal have not beaten Chelsea in the last 6 league games. In order to look at Arsenal's current poor results against Chelsea, one has to look back at that record breaking unbeaten season. In 2003/04, Arsenal met Chelsea 5 times – two league, one F.A Cup and two Champions League games. Arsenal beat Chelsea three times by a 2-1 margin (including a memorable F.A Cup win with two superb Reyes goals) before the Champions league tie. The first leg at Highbury ended 1-1 and the second leg was tied 1-1 with 4 minutes to go. Then the law of averages turned on its head and Arsenal lost 2-1. It seems that Arsenal had used up their quota of wins against Chelsea because since that season Arsenal have not beaten Chelsea in any competition.
    Had Arsenal gotten past Chelsea in that Champions League tie, they had a great chance to advance to the final, where they would have met Porto, managed by a certain Jose. But Arsenal didn't have to wait long to clash with the un-shaven one.

    The painful years with Jose Mourinho:

    Jose arrived at Highbury for the first time on Dec 10, 2004 with his Chelsea team. I can't forget this game because it also marked my first visit to Highbury. But since I could not get a ticket, I had to make do with seeing Highbury from the outside (although a year later I found out from Rick B. that he had a ticket for me). So I soaked in as much pre-game atmosphere as I could. When the Chelsea bus arrived first, I expected a chorus of boos to ring out. But there was almost complete silence. Not one fan around me shouted anything. It was so quiet that I could even hear the hoofs of the police horses marching around. The silence prompted a solitary Chelsea fan to shout out something along the lines of how nervous everyone was. And still no one said anything. All the Chelsea players got off from the bus and headed up the stairs. Then Jose stepped out and finally a chorus of boos rang out. But Jose simply looked towards the fans, smiled and waved. That only increased the jeering but he appeared to be relishing the hatred.

    The arrival of the Arsenal bus was greeted by loud cheers and every player was duly greeted. Henry got of the bus and quickly jogged up the stairs without even looking sideways. He had his headphones on and appeared focused (his quick goal did indeed prove he was in game mode). Only two Arsenal players looked towards the crowd, one of them being Reyes. But Reyes's smile and wave to the crowd appeared more accidental than anything -- his bag was a bit too big for him and he almost stumbled as he got off the bus. So that led to some fans cheering him and he smiled back. Ofcourse, the loudest cheers were reserved for Arsene Wenger who stopped at the top of the steps and waved towards the fans in all directions.
    Arsenal should have won that game by a 3-2 or 4-2 margin. But at that final while of a pulsating 2-2 draw, I never imaged that this would have been Arsenal's best chance of beating a Jose lead Chelsea team. The return fixture ended 0-0 and subsequent league games with the Blues ended 0-1, 0-2, 1-1, 1-1 along with 2-1 defeats in the Carling Cup final and Charity Shield.

    But Jose is no longer there. So…

    When Sunday comes

    Will the normal balance of the universe be restored and Arsenal return to winning ways against Chelsea? Ofcourse, sunday is also a big day for that other important clash between Liverpool and Manchester. Rafa Benitez & Liverpool also have a need to restore their own universal order over Man Utd. Rafa may have outsmarted Jose on a few occasions (one league & F.A Cup plus two Champions League wins) but he has yet to lead his Liverpool team to a victory over Man Utd in the league; Liverpool's 1-0 win over Man Utd in a 2005/06 F.A Cup tie is the only time Rafa got the upper head on Ferguson.

    Ofcourse, an Arsenal win coupled with a Liverpool victory would help ease the pain of last weekend when both teams suffered their first league defeats. But it won't be easy. Sunday will be full of nerves and tense battles. The only thing I am willing to say with certainty is that Senderos will have a peaceful sleep on Sat night as Drogba is not playing. But Senderos was never going to be in the starting line-up anyhow. Now, that is a soothing thought given his recent form or lack of it.

    Ah, when sunday comes, sleep will not matter! A 6:30 am (mountain time) kick-off for the Liverpool-ManU game followed by the 9 am Arsenal vs Chelsea game.

    Wednesday, December 12, 2007

    Spotlight on Africa

    Back in February, inspired by an article in Sight and Sound, I sought out films from Africa. But the search proved challenging as most of the films mentioned in that article were elusive. In the end, of the four titles I got, only Touki Bouki (1973, Senegal) was highlighted in the article. My other three picks were random, basically whatever I could find. Out of the three, only When the Stars meet the Sea, a mythical fable from Madagascar was a personal favourite; Quartier Mozart (1992, Cameroon) & La Vie Est Belle (1987, Zaire) were decent enough as they provided some interesting moments of humour centered about themes of witchcraft & love. But these four were not enough for a decent spotlight, so I always wanted to find more titles from Africa.

    About 10 months on, the search still proved difficult but I managed to track down a few more titles from that Sight and Sound article, plus I got enough different films to atleast have a decent overview. The films also neatly fall into two distinct regional areas -- West Africa & North Africa.

    The West – Soccer & Films:

    Pic from: My Travel Guide

    Western Africa has provided a rich dose of films and soccer players over the last few decades. In fact, some of my favourite African soccer players have hailed from West Africa. Players such as Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast), Abedi Pele (Ghana), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), George Weah (Liberia), Kanu & Jay Jay Okacha (both from Nigeria) have fascinated me over the last 15 years or so. But these are just a handful of players from an impressive selection. Ofcourse, it is a bit easy to know about West Africa's pool of players because a huge number of them ply their trade in top European teams.

    There is also a rich selection of directors and films that have graced the international scene from the complex diversity of 16 countries that constitute West Africa. The films range from artistic & poetic tales to crude commercial works that cater to local cinematic palates. Stories that feature both harsh reality and magical myths are shown in equal measures, sometimes in the same film.

    Exile and the return: Sissako & Mambéty

    Professional African soccer players may be the highest paid people of the group that leave Africa for European employment. But plenty of other people who leave the continent struggle to earn an income in Europe. Some of them manage to do fine but find themselves longing for life back home. Such is the case of the main character Dramane in Abderrahmane Sissako's Life on Earth. Dramane (played by Sissako himself) decides that he wants to usher in the new century (2000) in his native Mali.

    At the film's start, we find Dramane wandering through a grocery story packed with numerous varieties of cheeses and other food items.


    He returns home to a village where the craziness of Year 2000 couldn't be further. It is a peaceful place where one would be thankful for finding even one brand of cheese.


    The relaxing life allows Dramane to ponder his life and even the fate of Africans on a global scale.


    I first saw Sissako's Waiting for Happiness (2002) and was impressed. That film was about a young man waiting to head to Europe for a better life (as the title indicates). So his days are spending waiting while watching people go by. Well Life on Earth is about a character's return back to Africa from Europe to find happiness. But this movie was made first, so it forms an interesting circle with his later work. And, there are some characters in the film who simply sit around and watch the world go by, much like in Waiting for Happiness.


    Exile is also a central idea in Djibril Diop Mambéty's 1992 film Hyenas. This time however, it is a woman who returns back to her village to seek revenge not peace. When she was a young girl, she was forced into prostitution by a man and had to leave the village in shame. After she has earned riches abroad, she returns to set things right. Besides the revenge aspect, the film is an interesting look at greed and how money can shift politics in one easy go. One absurd segment in the movie revolves around a trial which is rendered useless when the returned woman offers to buy the judge. While all the political games are going on, the hyenas (literally) are simply laughing on the sides. I saw Mambéty's Touki Bouki (1973) back in February. The title of that surreal road movie translated into ‘Journey of the Hyena’. Well, almost two decades later, Mambéty truly exposes the hyenas disguised as men.

    An element of exile is also tackled in Moolaade. A rich village elder's son is back from France to marry a local woman. The son is prized because of his French education and he returns with modern ideas which are at odds with those of his father. For example, the son supports equal rights for women as opposed to his father who wants the women to be oppressed like the old days. Interestingly enough, both the son in Moolaade and Dramane in Life on Earth find inspiration in the words of French poet Aimé Césaire, a person who fought for the rights of French colonies in Africa and the Caribbean.

    Old tradition and values vs winds of change:


    Certain traditions such as the importance of family are best kept and nurtured. But old traditions such as the oppression of women are best buried and forgotten. Ousmane Sembene's brilliant film Moolaade looks at a village’s old practice of female circumcision. Problems arise when a local woman supports the decision of a handful of girls to avoid the ritual. Her defiance leads to a mini revolution which shakes the old male dominated rule.

    In order to oppress the village people, the elders decide that radios should be banned because they are influencing the minds of the people and exposing the villagers to dangerous foreign ideas. So an order is issued to collect all the village radios and burn them. This scene echoes the burning of books depicted in Fahrenheit 411.


    The clash of traditional vs modern values is also depicted in Haramuya, a film set in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougo. The film also shows the economic difficulties that exist in the city where some people struggle to earn an income and have to resort to petty theft to make ends meet.

    Gaston Kaboré's Wend Kuuni is mostly the story of an orphaned ‘mute’ child and the family that takes him in. But around the boy, we can see old practices and beliefs dominating the people. Through a flashback, we learn about the traumatic event that caused the boy to lose his voice -- his mother had been accused of being a witch and killed. While the film shows that sometimes old beliefs can cause harm, the movie also highlights how traditional values can benefit as the boy in Wend Kuuni is lovingly raised by his new adopted family.

    Myth and witchcraft:

    My first introduction to the witchcraft that existed in Africa was through soccer. June 8, 1990. Argentina, the defending World Cup Champions, stumbled to an unbelievable defeat against Cameroon. No one could have predicated Cameroon's 1-0 win. I still remember that day and the reaction of shock that surrounded that win. Very soon afterwards, almost all neutrals were cheering for Cameroon and its 38 year old star Roger Milla. Most soccer players stop playing soccer in their early 30's, so it was extraordinary to see Milla playing at the top level at 38 (even more remarkably, Milla played in the 1994 World Cup and currently holds the record for the oldest player to have scored goal at the age of 42!). Milla was not supposed to have been in the team for the World Cup because he had retired from the game prior to 1990 but he was asked to play thanks to Cameroon's president. And what a great decision it was as Milla scored crucial goals to lead Cameroon into the quarter-finals. In fact, Cameroon were 7 minutes away from the World Cup semi-finals before England knocked them out. But despite the heroic on-field efforts by Cameroon, talk of witchcraft hovered around the team. It was rumoured that a witch doctor was brought in to bless the team. Was this blessing merely a stunt or an actual belief? Whatever the case maybe, with each subsequent World Cup, the talk of witchcraft does return whenever Cameroon or even Nigeria play. Witch doctors do make headlines predicting World Cup winners and even game scores! Such talks of witchcraft are not limited to Western Africa only but also find roots in almost all parts of Africa with maybe the exception being North Africa.

    When did the first mention of witchcraft originate? Probably with some of the oldest myths that can be found in a country’s history. Souleymane Cissé's film Yeelen beautifully films an ancient Mali myth about a battle between father and son (Nianankoro). Set in the 13th century Mali Empire, Nianankoro must tackle an entire cult group along with his wizard father while trying to restore his family name. The folk story is peppered with elements of magic and witchcraft in depicting the family battle. Because Nianankoro holds the power of magic, he is equally feared and respected.

    Kenyan author Ngugi Wa'Thiong'O's book Wizard of the Crow also features witchcraft in the story about a corrupt African ruler set in a fictional African country. In fact, the book's title comes from a magical curse that a character (a beggar) invokes in order to ward off the policemen chasing him. The beggar is amused to find that a simple hand written sign threatening a curse could have such a powerful effect on the adults and scare them into submission. Such is the power of magic on the minds of the people. I am still in the middle of reading the book so I am not sure if in the end reality will win over black magic.

    The Third Wood: witchcraft, love and family

    What is the third biggest film industry in the world? This Guardian article first drew my attention to the answer which stumped me -- Nollywood. The entirely video film industry in Nigeria churns out movies at a rapid rate behind the studios of Hollywood and Bollywood. Since none of the movies are shot on film or shown in a theater, producers and film-makers can quickly shoot and produce movies on video. The films are often distributed and sold at road-side stalls for an eager audience.

    Recently Film Int studied Nollywood in great detail. The essays ranged from history of the film industry to the themes covered and the social & political impacts of these movies. Unfortunately, none of those in-depth essays are available online but here a few quotes:

    "The first Nigerians to shoot feature fictional films on video were artists from the Yoruba travelling theatre tradition, who turned to video when making films on celluloid became prohibitively expensive as the result of Nigeria's catastrophic structural adjustment programme". Jonathan Haynes, Nnebue: the anatomy of power.

    "The Video film is arguably the most popular mode of cultural expression in Nigeria, produced at a rate which arguably makes Nigeria the hothouse of the genre in the world". Chukwuma Okoye, Looking at Ourselves in our Mirror.

    On Nollywood's essential themes: "the corruption, moral turbulence and pervasive anxiety of the post-oil-boom era; the garish glamour of Lagos; titillating and dangerous sexuality; melodramatic domestic conflicts; and immanent supernatural forces including both dark cultic practices and Pentecostal Christianity." Jonathan Haynes, Nnebue: the anatomy of power.

    "From its very beginnings in the 1990s the 'home video' industry in Nigeria has churned out movies that were constructed around a mode of narrative that seeks to naturalize the supernatural by dwelling on stories or plots that blend reality with fantasy. These movies have seized the imagination of audiences in Nigeria, across Africa and the African diaspora. It would seem that Nollywood movies have the strong capacity to appeal to deep currents in the psyche of its captive audiences, particularly its African audiences. The interplay between the magical and the real is part of the African consciousness and is part of the popular culture of postcolonial Africa." Hope Eghagha, Magical realism and the 'power' of Nollywood home video films.

    Even though Nollywood started out in Nigeria, a few articles show how the industry and its practices cover neighbouring Ghana and Ivory Coast as well. One of the most surprizing things I discovered was how a certain number of Nollywood films were inspired by Bollywood films. In fact, some Nollywood films entirely lifted the stories or even dance steps from Bollywood films such as Taal, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Maine Pyaar Kiya. In a way, it should not be a surprize that Bollywood's appeal reaches to the Nigerian audiences as the tales of domestic problems and love stories should have no problems finding homes in countries with a strong focus on family life.

    Images of a region:


    German filmmaker Ralf Schmerberg's 45 minute black and white documentary Hommage à noir manages to capture both the African village and city life in a series of gorgeous black and white visuals accompanied with resonating music. His camera captures tribal practices, leisurely soaks in all the sights and sounds of a local market and even records a local soccer game. Filmed mostly in Cameroon, the abstract images could be used to apply to certain Eastern, Central and Southern parts of the continent as well.

    Moving on to the North...


    The North – Football & Cinema:

    Pic from: My Travel Guide
    North Africa also has an amazing selection of top class soccer players but only a few of them leave for Europe. The Egyptian soccer league is the most established of the North African countries with the Moroccan league providing some worthy teams as well. One of my favourite North African players is Mustapha Hadji (Morocco) who was named African Footballer of the year in 1998. He had limited success in the English league but scored some amazing goals for Morocco.

    But sometimes football can indeed tale the state of a country or even a region. Professional Egyptian soccer is certainly better known than its other Arab North African counterparts, much like how Egyptian cinema and literature dominates its Northern African neighbours. In fact, for the longest time it was Egyptian film that dominated the entire Arab world. But in recent years, other nations such as Tunisia and even a few of the Middle Eastern countries have started making in-roads towards establishing a unique cinematic identity of their own. Tunisian film-maker Férid Boughedir’s insightful documentary Caméra arabe (1987) looks at the development of Arab cinema and its rise against a background of turbulent political pressures. It was interesting to watch Boughedir’s documentary but unfortunately, I was only familiar with one director in that 60 minute film -- Youssef Chahine.

    Coming of age via the lens of Férid Boughedir:

    I first came across Boughedir thanks to his 1996 film A Summer in La Goulette. Sometimes a movie impacts a person tremendously. In that regards, ..La Goulette was one of the first few foreign films to overwhelm me and leave me breathless. I was seduced by the film and its three female characters, one Christian, one Arab and one Jew. I too wanted to travel to the beaches of La Goulette to bask in the white walled town where the three girls wandered, leaving men speechless in their wake. It was a tremendously enjoyable film and showed that no matter what religion the girls followed, their fathers were equally stressed and worried about their daughters; the fathers wanted to protect their daughters from the eyes of the local boys at all costs but they didn’t realize that it was their daughters who were the ones eyeing boys with equal passion and lust in the first place.

    But before Boughedir showed the coming of age of teenage girls, he beautifully portrayed the maturing of a young boy Halfaouine: Child of the Terraces (1990). The film starts with the following images of the boy.


    What are the interesting images that are holding the boy’s attention? Well his mother has been talking him to the local Hamam since he was a little boy but she has not realized her boy is growing up fast and developing an interest in girls and women. His eyes are wide open because he is staring at the naked girls and women around him.

    The film is shown from the point of view of the little boy. We see what he sees and at times, we are given a few glimpses into the political revolution that is taking place around him. Not too much time is spent detailing the political struggles against a dictatorship regime because the boy does not understand what is going on. He has no idea why some people get arrested, why some disappear or how writing some harmless slogans on the wall could get someone in trouble. His goal in life is to understand the female species and to that end, he does accomplish his goal.


    The purpose of a film and struggles along the way:


    The last viewed film turned out to be an appropriate choice to close out the African spotlight. Youssef Chahine’s Alexandria Again and Forever details a film director’s struggle to get a movie made, the struggles he has with himself and his lead actor, the pressure of his producer, the overwhelming expectations of film festivals and the challenges posed by a writer’s strike. Chahine plays the main role in a film that can be described as his 8 ½.


    The issues described in the film could possibly plague every film-maker as they could find themselves questioning the relevance of each scene and even the impact that their work would have. And surely there are plenty of directors out there who have one eye on the film festival circuit during their film’s post-production. Indeed, some directors attempt to get their movies completed in time for that prestigious film festival screening. So when a director is working with an end goal already in mind, it is not far fetched to believe that the pressure of expectations could creep up into some of their decision making during the filming.


    Final notes:

    Africa will once again take centre stage for me at the start of 2008 thanks to the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament held in Ghana from Jan 20 – Feb 10. 16 nations from all corners of Africa would complete in this usually entertaining competition.

    Group A: Ghana, Namibia, Guinea, Morocco
    Group B: Nigeria, Benin, Mali, Ivory Coast
    Group C: Egypt, Sudan, Zambia, Cameroon
    Group D: Tunisia, Angola, South Africa, Senegal

    Ideally I would have liked to have a film festival to coincide with the soccer games but unfortunately, I would struggle to find films from all nations. As it stands, I have atleast seen films from 8 of the 16 countries. This spotlight was definitely an improvement in terms of getting films from African. But there are plenty of classics out there which are either lost or not distributed in North America. Slowly, but surely, maybe some of these works will start finding their way across the ocean.


    Film (Year, Director): Ratings out of 10
  • Life on Earth (1998, Abderrahmane Sissako): 9
  • Hyenas (1992, Djibril Diop Mambéty): 8
  • Moolaade (2004, Ousmane Sembene): 9.5
  • Haramuya (1995, Drissa Toure): 6.5
  • Wend Kuuni (1982, Gaston Kaboré): 6
  • Yeelen (1987, Souleymane Cissé): 8.5
  • Hommage à noir (1996, Ralf Schmerberg): 8
  • Caméra arabe (1987, Férid Boughedir): 7
  • Halfaouine: Child of the Terraces (1990, Férid Boughedir): 8
  • Alexandria Again and Forever (1990, Youssef Chahine): 7.5
  • Friday, December 07, 2007

    Back to the Theater 2: still more robbers and killers

    Redacted (2007, Director Brian De Palma)

    I went to see the movie that De Palma made. But a few minutes into the movie, I longed for another another movie that existed within Redacted. Redacted starts off with two video journals, one by an American soldier and the other from two French journalists. The French journalist diary only focuses on one checkpoint that the American soldiers in the film control. We get a voice over French narration as the camera hovers around the soldiers stationed at the checkpoint. No dialogue or action takes place but enough tension is created from the simple checkpoint images because we know how incidents at these checkpoints could end up -- either innocent Iraqis will be mistakenly killed or an ordinary person could be a threat? There is a moment when the camera shows us the viewpoint from a soldier's eyes -- we can see the soldier calculating each Iraqi as a threat or harmless.

    Checkpoints are a source of high drama by themselves. The purpose of checkpoints is supposed to be for maintaining security but they end up being a show of power. Those stationed at the checkpoint are in power and determine the fate of the people wanting to get to the other side. More often that not, those in power abuse the innocent. I would have preferred to see an entire film about this American checkpoint, much like the brilliant documentary Checkpoint (2003) which showed the drama that takes place daily at Israeli checkpoints. That documentary simply placed a camera on the side and recorded events as is, without any narration. Such a simple documentation gave plenty of insight into the frustration that Palestinians feel as they attempt to make daily crosses across the absurd checkpoints, whose rules change on a daily basis.

    But the main focus of Redacted is not about the checkpoint. It is about another incident about the abuse of power -- rape. The movie is a fictional account of a real incident about the rape of a 14 year old Iraqi girl by two American soldiers. There is nothing nice about the American soldiers shown in the film and their actions can easily be predicated. Ofcourse, the soldiers frustration only increases when they are not allowed to go back home. It is so easy to label the actions of a few soldiers as actions of some "bad apples" but one interesting idea that this film conveys is if the leadership at the top is rotten, it filters down to the bottom at the soldier's level. So if a soldier is a "bad apple", one has to follow the trail back to the top to see how the soldier was rotten in the first place.

    In a way, it is good to see an American director make such a bold statement with this movie. One can even feel the anger throughout the film that comes to a boil in a few scenes. But given the number of books and documentaries that exist about Iraq, Redacted appears to add nothing new. De Palma blends multiple formats within the film such as video journals, internet videos, mock TV interviews and video diaries. Some of these separate segments are interesting but they appear to be disjoint within the overall story of the soldiers. I truly longed for a story about the checkpoint but I couldn't fathom the loud and annoying story about a few immature men working as soldiers and looking to satisfy their primal male urges.

    The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007, Director Andrew Dominik)

    There are moments of beauty in this 2 hour 40 min film. There really are moments of shimmering beauty. The shots of the fields, abstract shots of everyday objects like a rocking chair. Why is no one sitting on the rocking chair? Well, Jesse James used to sit there. But not anymore. It is beautiful how a character's affair with a married woman is shown in a few shots -- she is stitching on her porch at night-time, rocking in her chair. We hear the door open behind her yet the camera stays only on her face. We can detect a hint of smile across her lips. She knows who it is and we know what will happen next. We get to see beautiful snowy Alberta which shines in such beauty that one forgets how the awful cold makes life miserable.

    Yes there is beauty in the background score which dances on the smoother side, a soft peaceful tranquility. There is beauty in the calm voice over narration which leads us through the life of Jesse James and Robert Ford. A beautiful calm descends before Jesse James is killed cowardly. Any other movie would have ended there but the film's title also has another name, Robert Ford. And the movie continues as we see Ford's misery increase.

    There is so much beauty in the film but the experience of watching this in a theater was a painful one. In fact, my experience was similar to the feelings I had when I read Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 100 years of solitude. I was quite excited to read the book and enjoyed the first few pages. Then my sentiments went through uneven proportions of like and dislike. When the dislike was winning, I wanted to stop reading the book. But I continued. When I finished reading the final words and closed the book, I was thoroughly satisfied. I did feel that it was a good story with a perfect ending. But I didn't enjoy the process of getting to the end. Similarly, I enjoyed the ending of ..Jesse James.. but I didn't enjoy the process of getting to it. I know which shots and segments I liked and which I disliked.

    Credit for all the cinematic beauty goes to Roger Deakins, who was also recently responsible for bringing some peace and beauty to the Coen brother's No Country for Old Men.


    Ratings (out of 10):
  • Redacted: 6.5
  • The Assassination of Jesse James...: 7
  • Sunday, December 02, 2007

    Coming Soon -- The Euro 2008 Film Festival!

    Dec 2, 2007: By early sunday morning (5 am Mountain time, 1 pm European Time), the draw for next summer's European Championship was completed. It gives soccer fans plenty to look forward to next year but it also gives me the chance to assess the potential match-ups for my Euro 2008 film festival.

    Here are the groups:

    Group A: Switzerland, Czech Republic, Portugal, Turkey
    Group B: Austria, Croatia, Germany, Poland
    Group C: Holland, Italy, Romania, France
    Group D: Greece, Sweden, Spain, Russia

    The Group of Death, almost:

    Leading up to today's draw, the fear of a 'group of death' was a real possibility. Such a group would have featured France, Italy, Holland and Germany. Well Group C comes close with Romania standing in for Germany. Romania are not an easy team to beat and might even nick a point or two off France & Italy. Romania also had the upper hand over Holland in the qualifying group -- the Dutch could only manage a 0-0 time with Romania and Romania won the group top spot by beating the Netherlands 1-0.

    The German conspiracy:

    About two months ago, Germany were poised to qualify as the highest rated team from all the European qualifying groups. This would have given Germany the highest seeding for the tournament along with co-hosts Austria & Switzerland and defending champion Greece. That would have meant that Germany would have avoided meeting these three teams in the Euro 2008 Group stages. It was at this time that I noticed articles mentioning that such a high seeding for Germany would be a disaster as they would miss the easy points they could pick up against Austria, Greece or Switzerland, the three weakest teams in the tournament. Sure enough, in the final three games, Germany duly lost at home to the Czech Republic and drew 0-0 with Wales to finish behind the Czechs and miss out on the top qualified team spot.

    So the Germans got the draw they wanted. They are indeed drawn with the tournament's weakest team in Austria but the Germans will not have easy games against Croatia and Poland. Still, despite their planning, the Germans could have been in the group of death with France, Italy and Holland. But as it stands, I am sure they are happy to in Group B.

    Such conspiracies are not new to German football. In 1974, West Germany were rumored to have thrown their match against rivals East Germany (1-0) so that they could avoid meeting the tournament's best team Holland. In the 1982 World Cup, West Germany and Austria settled on a 1-1 draw which ensured both teams reached the knock-out stages at the expense of Algeria. This was especially cruel on Algeria who had managed a brave 2-1 win over the West Germans.

    The Two Hosts:

    I am sure Switzerland will do fine and have a good chance to advance from Group A. But currently the Austrian national team is in shambles and if things don't get better, they could find themselves with no points from all 3 games next summer.

    Regional Rivalries:

    There are plenty of intriguing match-ups with some old rivalries bound to surface. The Swiss had a turbulent match-up with Turkey for the 2006 World Cup where the Turks were eliminated by the Swiss. Expect a fiery match-up between these two.

    France and Italy must be sick of each other. Next summer would mark the 4th competitive meeting between these two teams in less than 2 years of international football -- their dramatic match-up in the 2006 World Cup final was followed by two eventful encounters during the Euro qualifying stages.

    The numbers game:

    An interesting event took place during the draw. To begin with, all the 1st place spots in the four groups were filled such as Group A1, B1, C1 and D1. Next, the slots for the remaining three group positions were to be randomly drawn. Meaning, any of the remaining teams could have occupied positions 2, 3 or 4. Initially only the 4th position number was drawn for all the four groups -- A4, B4, C4 & D4. Next, only the third spots were drawn -- A3, B3, C3 & D3. It was amusing to see the random drawing of positions by 4 different people resulting in the same numbers being pulled out in sequence.

    Film Festival:

    I had a great time mixing soccer with film for the 2006 World Cup and 2007 Copa America. So I am looking forward to next summer's Euros. And unlike the World Cup and Copa, I am guaranteed to find films from all the countries taking part in the tournament. Also, this time I won't wait until the soccer tournament begins to start watching the films but will start in the next few weeks. I already have some early film candidates in mind.....

    Let the games, errr, film watching begin!!

    Back to the Theater: Robbers and Killers

    After a long break, I finally braved the cold weather and snow to return back to the movie theater to watch some films.

    The Robbery -- the oldest cinematic story:

    The first feature film ever made was The Great Train Robbery back in 1903. Since then, the heist or robbery film has been crafted and refined countless times -- from simple train robberies to bank hold-ups to sophisticated museum & casino thefts. Director Sidney Lumet made a memorable bank hold-up movie back in 1975 -- Dog Day Afternoon. Dog Day... was based on a real life bizarre story about a man's attempted hold-up and the media + police circus that followed. Over the years, shades of Dog Day.. can be found in quite a few heist movies. Now, at the age of 83, Lumet has directed a new kind of heist film -- Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is a robbery + dark family drama.

    The core story penned by Kelly Masterson is wickedly evil and engaging but unfortunately the screenplay and final execution could have better. The first hour of this 2 hour film is weak but the movie gets better after the hour mark and ends on a strong note.

    A few minutes into Before the Devil.., the robbery takes place. Then through a series of flashbacks, we are shown how all the characters got to the situations that resulted in the robbery. There is really no need for the flash back stories as it is obvious why the characters would attempt the robbery -- one look at the characters and their situations can be assessed completely. Also, the manner of the flash-backs is quite weak -- the same scene is repeated from a different camera angle to bridge the past events with the present. But, there is no need for these repeated scenes as they add nothing to the film. Moreover, the situations of these characters is not that complex to begin with so all the flash-backs scenes are overkill.

    The real juicy movie takes place in the second hour when all the characters attempt to deal with the aftermath of the robbery. Dark, evil & intense. Revenge at all costs!

    From an evil in the city to the country side monster:

    Evil and blood are to be found in ample doses in the new Coen brothers film No Country for Old Men. It is a welcome change that the brothers head back to the dark murky evil territory that they first explored in their wonderful debut film Blood Simple (1984). At one point, I considered Joel and Ethan Coen to be geniuses and felt they could never make a bad movie. But then came along Intolerable Cruelty (2003) & The Ladykillers (2004) and I began to have my doubts. Now, a partial excuse for those two dull movies could have been that the brothers directed material they never originally wrote as opposed to the gems they wrote & directed such as Blood Simple, Barton Fink & The Big Lebowski. Ofcourse, O Brother Where Art Thou? was amazing but it was not a direct adaptation but a crafty blend from Homer's Odyssey to the deep American south. In that regard, I had some lingering doubts about No Country for Old Men because it is also based on material (Cormac McCarthy's novel) that the brothers didn't write. But thankfully, it is much better than their previous two adapted features.

    As far as the story is concerned, it is a traditional good vs evil film, with the evil manifested in the form of a super villain (Anton Chigurh played by Javier Bardem). Anton oozes evil from every pore and can't be killed, or so it appears. He conducts his business on strong principles and appears to believe in the probability theory of creation. Anton probably believes that the universe was created on a dice roll and that is why he gives his victims the options to survive via a coin toss -- Anton is not doing the killing but it is fate that is driving him to via the invisible hand that is tossing the coin. Near the film's end, Anton calmly explains the significance of the coin toss and claims that it was the 'coin that brought him' to his victim's house.

    While the battle between good and evil is going on, we have a person attempting to investigate the events in the form of Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones). The sheriff wants to help the good guy (Llewelyn Moss played by Josh Brolin) but I felt his role was not that of an enforcer but more of a neutral observer. It is a very interesting role as the sheriff reflects on the changing violent nature of the land. Ofcourse, the sheriff's memory only goes back to his grandfather's time when the land was quiet. Once upon a time, it was a rough country side with violent killings. Then peace reigned and in the present times, an influx of drugs and weapons is resulting in another violent phase. Which is where the movie starts off with multiple dead bodies lying on the ground while the vast and isolated desert looms large.

    The movie could have been 20-30 minutes shorter. For me the weakest section was the last 10 min. Maybe it is something present in the book (the talk about old values and dreams) or maybe it is a means to justify the presence of this supreme evil killer? Another scene that bothered me. Near the start Anton is about to kill an innocent man and asks the man to "hold still". In the next scene, we see Llewelyn hunting and just before he pulls the trigger, Llewelyn whispers "hold still". Yes, the connection between hunter and prey is obvious but could this not have been handled in a subtle manner? But this is a minor niggling point as this is the only such symbolic scene in the movie. This scene reminded me of a similar usage in A History of Violence -- when a little girl wakes up screaming, her father tells her that there are no such things as monsters, only to show a real life killer in the next frame. For some reason, these scenes remind me of B-grade movies from an era long gone when the cinematic narrative options were not as well developed as they are now.

    Ratings (out of 10)
  • Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Director Sidney Lumet): 7.5
  • No Country for Old Men (Directors Joel & Ethan Coen): 8.5
  • Saturday, December 01, 2007

    Finally, a zero rating!!!

    Just when it looked like the year might end without any 0/10 rated films, along comes a movie so bad that even Ed Wood would have been embarrassed. Prior to watching this awful flick, the front runners for my personal worst 2007 movies list were Anubhav Sinha's Cash & Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag. Now, Ram Gopal Varma has had plenty of good movies to his name in the past so maybe he can be forgiven for the odd bad movie he churns out every few years. But currently as it stands, Anubhav Sinha is heading straight for the Ed Wood hall of fame with his awfully constructed films. Still in all his 5 movies, Sinha has not managed to make anything as bad as Vikram Bhatt has this year.

    So here it is....drum roll..............

    Speed (2007, Director Vikram Bhatt): Rating a solid 0/10

    Contrary to what the title might indicate, this is not a Bollywood version of the 1994 Keane Reeves bus thriller. It is instead a ripped off version of the 2004 Hollywood film Cellular. Vikram Bhatt has made a habit of 'borrowing' plots from Hollywood movies but as bad as his movies are, they are usually watch-able to some extent. But Speed is a laughable effort.

    I have not seen Cellular but the story does not sound too bad for a thriller. The problems with Speed are everything else Bhatt has modified to adapt the movie -- terrible screenplay & awful timing of the songs (a hot sexy number moments before the assassination has to take place). Urmila Matondkar has put in a decent acting effort but the rest of the cast do their best impersonation of B-grade flicks. Ofcourse, credit for all the wrong things has to go to Vikram Bhatt. And no truly bad Bollywood film would be complete without the patriotic angle where any ordinary Indian can save his nation!