15th Kolkata Film Festival 2009 – Day 4

It just gets better and better. All the 3 movies that I saw today were impressive to say the least. This year German movies are taking all the honors. I have seen 3 German movies and those 3 movies impressed me the most till now.

Now Andrzej Wajda is coming to Kolkata tomorrow from what I have heard. If it’s true, tomorrow is going to be special.



Made in Hungaria
Dir: Gergely Fonyo
Hungary/ 109 min

Finally a musical! Such a refreshing change from the other movies till now.

The film is about a small town in Hungary set in the early 1960s. Miki (Tamás Szabó Kimmel) along with his family returns from US and tries to make his own band and play music influenced by American artists. Being a communist country, Miki along with his band-mates faces objection from the authorities for playing American music.

First of all, the soundtrack (especially the songs) is phenomenal. That itself elevates the movie a few notches than average. There isn’t much to write about the story, as it is fairly predictable. But the movie is very enjoyable and pretty humorous. Since it is a commercial, mainstream film, several cinematic liberties are taken and in certain sequences the songs seem forced and doesn’t quite gel. Still even with those flaws, it is a good watch.




Cherry Blossoms – Hanami
Dir: Doris Dorrie
Germany/ 127 min

Sometimes one is dumbfounded after watching a movie. That is exactly what happened to me after I watch the movie.

The movie is about an elderly couple Rudi (Elmar Wepper) and Trudi (Hannelore Elsner) and what happens when suddenly Trudi dies. Rudi visits his son in Japan, as it was Trudi’s unfulfilled dream to visit Japan, watch Mt. Fuji, cherry blossoms and Butoh, a dance form of Japan. Rudi befriends Yu (Aya Irizuki), a Butoh dancer, while in Japan. The movie then becomes about their journey.

The storyline itself is the highlight of the film. Very few films deal with love between an elderly couple. But the trump card is the relationship between Rudi and Yu. The bonding they share becomes special.

I didn’t find a single flaw in the movie. Every scene felt like poetry. The cinematography and editing are just phenomenal. Aya Irizuki and Elmar Wepper are just outstanding. What performances!

The climax is one of the most fascinating climaxes I have seen in my lifetime. It provides one of the most exquisite unions of souls in the history of cinema.

Very highly recommended.



Moscow, Belgium
Dir: Christophe Van Rompaey
Belgium/ 102 min

Now this movie had the best reviews among the movies being played in the festival. So I expected a lot from it. Maybe that is why I was a tad disappointed.

The movie is about Matty (Barbara Sarafian), a mother of three, who is going through her separation with her husband and how she meets a truck driver Johnny (Jurgen Delnaet). Matty and Johnny starts to like each other but their relationship is opposed by her teenage daughter Vera (Anemone Valcke). Matty thus faces a dilemma between choosing Johnny and her husband.

The storyline is predictable, but what really makes the movie standout is the treatment. It seems very real. Of course the performances help. Barbara Sarafian is really good as the worn out, confused Matty. But to me, Anemone Valcke nailed it as Vera, the teenage daughter. There is not a single wrong expression. The movie is pretty funny too which makes it enjoyable.

Moscow, Belgium is a good film to watch mainly because of the treatment. However, its better if the expectations are low.

15th Kolkata Film Festival 2009 – Day 3

Day 2 was much better than Day 1. So I hoped it continues with Day 3 too. It did. I did a couple of changes to the schedule and it worked again.



Zift
Dir: Javor Gardev
Bulgaria/ 92 min

A neo-noir with a narrative style like Tarantino and Ritchie is what I was told about Zift. I didn’t think twice.

It tells the story of Moth (Zahary Baharov) who is out on parole after being imprisoned for 15 years for a heist. It is his journey to find his wife. There is also another track involving Moth’s old partner trying to find him to settle old score.

The film was nothing new. Technically however it was superb. Cinematography, editing were top notch and so was the background score. However, a lot of scenes were just unnecessary and stood like a sore thumb. Few of the comedy tracks seemed forced. Also too much philosophy during voice-over spoiled the flow. It became a tad tedious.



Sweet Rush
Dir: Andrzej Wajda
Poland/ 85 min

This was the first time I watched any movie of the Polish auteur. He delivered and how!

Sweet Rush is about an elderly woman, Marta (Krystyna Janda) who is married to a doctor. It is about how she wants to be young all over again after she meets a guy (Pawel Szajda) who’s much younger. There is also a parallel track where Krystyna Janda plays herself and tells about her life. The movie is about how both the reel and real life becomes one.

After watching this movie, I am a fan of Wajda. I just loved every single frame of it. The setting, the locations, the cinematography, the performances, everything is perfect. There is a monologue about 10 minutes long where Krystyna Janda plays herself and talks. It is just out of this world. The way that scene is lit up, shot and the way Krystyna Janda performed gave me goose bumps.

Phenomenal!

Landscape No. 2
Dir: Vinko Modernorfer
Slovenia/ 90 min

This one surprised me completely. Didn’t expect the movie to be this good.

Landscape No. 2 tells the story of two burglars, Sergej (Marko Mandic) and Polde (Janez Hocevar) who steal a painting from a retired general’s house. Along with the painting, Serjej by mistake steals an important document of World War 2 which if leaked might create huge uproar in the country. The movie is about the consequences the burglars face when the general hires someone to get the document back.

Although a few cinematic liberties are taken, still Landscape No. 2 works big time. The movie is highly entertaining, crisply cut, has great cinematography and a super background score.

Hilde
Dir: Kai Wessel
Germany/ 136 min

Day 3 ended with a bang. What a movie it was! And what a performance! Speechless.

Hilde is a biopic on Hildegard Knef, one of Germany’s biggest post World War 2 stars.

What a life this lady had. From being an actress in West Germany, to being a soldier during World War 2, going to Hollywood to be a star and being able to do nothing, being super successful in Germany after coming back and then leaving it all to do what she loved most, singing. Just not singing, but to be one of the most popular singers ever.

All of the above would not have been possible had Heike Makatsch not played Hilde. She nails it. The movie covers 30 years span and what a performance she gives. It deserves standing ovation.

Everything in the movie is pitch perfect. The sets, cinematography, editing – which is just awesome. One of the best biopic I have seen in a long time.

15th Kolkata Film Festival 2009 - Day 2

After a slightly disappointing first day, I went back and rescheduled couple of films from Day 2. It did wonders. But the highlight of Day 2 was to meet Helena Ignez, the actress of The Woman of Everyone and daughter of director Rogerio Sganzerla, both of whom had come to present the film.



The Woman of Everyone
Dir: Rogerio Sganzerla
Brazil/ 93 min

The movie should have been renamed ‘Making out in VIBGYOR’. The print was horrendous. The movie had different color tones on different scenes throughout. The first couple of minutes was Red and then suddenly changed to Green and then changed to Violet and like that.

The movie had nothing to say. It only showed the skin of Helena Ignez. The film is about Angela (Helena Ignez) and her adventures with different men. All she did throughout the movie was scream in the world’s screechiest voice and make out with atleast 20 guys throughout the movie.

Even as soft-core porn, it does not stand a chance. It is that bad.

A Woman’s Way
Dir: Panos H. Koutras
Greece/ 111 min

After watching one of the worst movies of my life, I was really scared to watch this movie. Love story between a convict and a transsexual is a very unusual storyline and if not handled with immense sensitivity and maturity would fall flat on its face. Thankfully the movie had both and in plenty.

The movie tells the story of Yiorgos (Yannis Kokiasmenos), a convict who gets released after 15 years of imprisonment and his relationship with a transsexual, Strella (Mina Orfanou). There is also a parallel story of Yiorgos trying to find his son.

The movie is very complex and in films like these, the climax is the most important aspect and most films falter there. However, with utmost sensitivity shown by the director and with help from the cinematographer, the film stands tall.

But, the best part of the movie is Mina Orfanou’s performance as Strella. It is just unbelievable. It is one of the best performances by a female actor in recent times.



A Year Ago in Winter
Dir: Caroline Link
Germany/ 128 min

Having missed this movie yesterday due to scheduling conflict, I made sure I get to watch this. I have heard and read so much about the movie, and everything positive. So went to watch the movie with huge expectations. It delivered and how.

The film tells the story of a family and how they heal themselves after the loss of their son. The parents want to get their son’s portrait done for the 1st death anniversary while the daughter Lilli (Karoline Herfurth) is dead against it. It also tells the story of the bonding that grows between the painter and her.

Every single scene felt like poetry. Not a single scene seemed unnecessary. The direction is so assured. The equations between different characters within the family are beautifully shown. Cinematography is phenomenal and so is the editing. Karoline Herfurth as Lilli gives a superlative performance.

All in all the best film of the festival so far and probably will be.



Aching Hearts
Dir: Nils Malmros
Denmark/ 117 mins

After coming out of Caroline Link’s film, I thought of going home as I was sure to be under-whelmed by the next one. I am glad I watched it.

The film tells the story of a group of high school kids and their experiences with love and sexuality. It spans three years and can also be interpreted as a coming of age drama.

Although the movie is fairly slow to begin with, it still keeps the viewers engrossed. Since the movie is from the protagonist’s point of view, a lot of voice-overs are used. It felt very similar to ‘The Wonder Years’. The cinematography is really nice with some great wide shots. The performances are uniformly good. Although a number of movies in the recent past dealt with subjects like that, still the theme is such that one slowly cares for the movie. We all love to watch the charm of the school days and the confusion created due to love, especially if it’s well made.

15th Kolkata Film Festival 2009 - Day 1

With so many films to choose from I was really confused. I also had to make sure I choose movies by looking that their running time. Finally, after a few hours I was done with my schedule for Kolkata Film Festival. I will be watching 26 movies 7 days. Phew! Some crazy week this is going to be.

I started with Fellini as I thought most people would have seen his work so the theater would be less populated. And I was correct indeed.


Variety Lights
Dir: Federico Fellini
Italy/ 93 min

I really wanted to watch the movie, as it is Fellini’s debut film as a director. I was surprised to see that it is unlike most of Fellini’s work. It has a very straightforward narrative and it is completely void of any symbolism. The narrative is similar to `La Strada’ and `Nights of Cabiria.’

The film tells the story of a troupe of performers and what happens when a beautiful, young woman with dreams of perusing her career in showbiz joins the troupe. How the equations of relationship change and how much the troupe and the people in it are affected by it. The three main leads, Peppino De Filippo (as Checco), Carla Del Poggio (as Liliana) and Fellini’s wife Giulietta Masina (as Melina Amour) give superlative performances. The film is highly enjoyable with lots of humor thrown in. The ‘behind the scenes’ of the performing troupe is shown with lots of detailing.

Variety Lights is definitely not among Fellini’s best works, but still a very enjoyable movie with good performances.


Lost Song
Dir: Rodrique Jean
Canada/ 102 min

After beginning with Fellini’s movie, I was worried if the next movie would not meet the already set expectations. Just like I thought, the second movie was a damp squib.

Rodrigue Jean’s Lost Song tells the story of a couple, Pierre (Patrick Goyette) and Elisabeth (Suzie LeBlanc), and their struggle with post-partum depression. While the subject is interesting, the execution is absolutely not. So much so that I was wondering what was the necessity of the first 30 minutes. It seemed like 3 or 4 sequences over and over again. It felt like a montage of similar sequences without making any sense. It was frustratingly slow.

The characterization of Elizabeth, the mother, is very uneven. So sequences which should have resulted in sympathy towards the character, results in cheap shocks for the confused audience. The only plus point of the movie is the superb performance of Suzie Le Blanc as Elizabeth, the mother suffering from post-partum depression.

But that ultimately does not save the movie from becoming frustratingly slow and confusing garbage.


The Desert Within
Dir: Rodrigo Pla
Mexico/ 112 min

This one completely took me by surprise. I had plans to watch some other movie. But due to the excess crowd I went to watch Rodrigo Pla’s The Desert Within. The best decision of the day I took!

The backdrop of the film is 1920s when Mexico government banned Catholicism and persecuted its followers. The film tells the story of Elias (Mario Zaragoza) and how he puts his family into trouble by trying to have his unborn child Baptized. To redeem himself and his family of his sins, Elias starts building a church. What happens to the family after the church is built forms the crux of the film.

This movie is a powerful tale about the obsessive pursuit of redemption and the toll it takes on the family. The film is divided into four chapters: Sin, Penance, Sign and Pardon. By the time the movie ends, Elias has become a tragic figure of Shakespearean proportions.

The best part of the movie is the usage of animation along with live action and how perfectly both blends. The cinematography is breathtaking. The acting is uniformly good but Mario Zaragoza takes the cake with a superb performance.

For me, The Desert Within was the best movie of the day.


Lake Tahoe
Dir: Fernando Eimbcke
Mexico/ 85 min

Fernando Eimbcke’s Lake Tahoe is a lovely, little indie about coming of age. The film tells the story of Juan (Diego Cataño), who crashed his car to a post and his (mis) adventures in trying to find a mechanic to repair his car. There is also a parallel story about dealing with the loss of his father.

Fernando Eimbcke seems to be inspired by Jim Jarmusch that is evident in the way Lake Tahoe is shot. The luminous long shots, the wide-angle cinematography and cut into segments with blackouts – all reminiscent of Jim Jarmusch’s early works. The deadpan look on Juan’s face, the lack of characters in the movie and on the streets, all add on to show the emptiness in Juan’s life following his father’s death.

The film is fairly enjoyable with dry humor throughout. The only issue with the movie is the editing pattern. The blackouts used in the movie are so long and repetitive and after a point it becomes tedious and starts affecting the charm of the movie.

Yet with all its flaws, Lake Tahoe is a rewarding, little indie that deserves a watch.

Wake Up Sid - Talking Points

This is NOT a review. These are some points which I felt are necessary to discuss.

The term ‘Coming of age’ is, quintessentially, Hindi cinema. The hero, not always necessarily a very young man, is almost always jobless and does not have much maturity in understanding his responsibilities. Yet, the heroine still falls for him. And by the time the movie ends, we get to see the transformation of this hero into a more mature, understanding-his-responsibilities who gets-the-girl man! If this is not ‘coming of age’, then what is? It’s just that our filmmakers have been more forthcoming and liberal in using the tag ‘coming of age’ in the last few years.

The basic premise of Wake Up Sid is not exactly ground-breaking. Sid, a spoilt but privileged college student, with no sense of purpose or responsibilities, wakes up to life after interacting with Aisha. The only ‘hatke’ thing here is that Aisha, the heroine, is older and supposedly more mature than him.

Right from the initial scene, when we see Sid, the film travels to known territory. Sid is least interested in his studies and thinks that life is a big party. His rich parents don’t seem to be too bothered and happily pay his credit card bills. Firstly, why is it that, urban, rich kids are always shown to be so confused with life? Also, why is it that, neither of Sid’s parents say anything to him when they are aware that he his least bit interested in his studies? Isn’t education of any importance to them? Especially so, when we hear Sid’s mother complaining that Sid was a good student in school. Yet, she chooses to be a doting mother who has nothing to say. Also why do most fathers try and bribe their kids with a Porsche (or a Mercedes or BMW) to join their business when they have just finished their degree (B.Com in the case of this movie)?

These things are highly questionable.

Now let’s focus on Aisha. She has come to Mumbai all the way from Kolkata to start her life. She says, she has no friends, or family here. Yet, and just after a couple of days in Mumbai, she manages to get an apartment of her own. The transformation of that apartment into a designer suite is hard to take seriously. We see Aisha along with Sid and his friends painting the apartment on their own because Aisha cannot afford much money. Yet, the drapes used in the apartment are of designer quality. She uses a Mac but cannot afford a washing machine. Details, anyone? These things just don’t fit in. I wonder if everyone has to look his or her best and stay in the best possible places no matter what their backgrounds are just because it is a Karan Johar movie!!

After Sid moves out of the house and stays with Aisha, not even once do we get to see a scene where his parents call him up and persuade him to come back home. Is that normal? Much later, we do see his mother coming to the apartment, and offering Aisha money instead of actually staying back till Sid comes and persuading him to return back to their house. Nor do we see a single scene where Sid’s parents are concerned about Sid abandoning them and the house. Aren’t they bothered at all?

One might say that some things are obvious and if explained, will be akin to spoon-feeding. I agree, too. But if that is the case, then why write a screenplay with a clichéd story. Isn’t a dad’s trying to bribe his son with a car clichéd? Isn’t showing a doting mother saying nothing to her spoilt son clichéd?

So far my article might seem to be a rant. Yes, it is. It is a sin to have such an ordinary first half that is so full of clichés for a movie whose second half is just brilliant! The treatment of the second half where we see two parallel coming-of-age stories is just exceptional. That completely elevates this movie and makes the movie a decent enough watch.

The movie benefits immensely from the technical department. The cinematography by Anil Mehta makes Bombay look beautiful. The background score elevates the movie. Amit Trivedi rocks with 'Iktara'.

But what makes the movie are the performances. Ranbir Kapoor just nails it. He IS Sid. It is tough to share screen space with the most talented actress of our times - Konkona Sen Sharma. But Ranbir actually does exceptionally well. Konkona is always good. She can never be even average. But the surprise package of the movie is Shikha Talsania who plays Sid's friend Laxmi. She is just so natural.

Anupam Kher and Supriya Pathak are wasted as their role is far too cliched. But what is Rahul 'the stud who never gets the girl' Khanna doing here? It is the same role he did in Love Aaj Kal.

The direction of Ayan Mukherji is so assured. It is a pity that his script doesn’t quite compliment his directorial skills. Had he worked on the script a bit more, we could have had one of the best “coming of age” movies of our times.

I guess he needs to ‘wake up’ now! Or is it Karan Johan who needs to wake up?

Corporate Burnout

There is a scene in ‘Requiem for a Dream’ where director Darren Aronofsky uses a montage where multiple things are happening concurrently with different characters in the movie. The way that montage has been edited gives us a feeling of a machine working.

After having worked as a Database Administrator for two years, I often find myself identifying to that scene. My education and work happened in a very similar way depicted in that montage. I finished my Bachelor of Engineering, worked for a year, followed that with pursuing a Masters in Engineering and worked again for another year. Although it was solely my decision to study Engineering and work, and while I did fairly well in both, there was a sense of frustration building up in me all along. There came in a point when work just did not seem creative or interesting enough!

I have been fascinated about cinema since my childhood. As I grew up, I also started understanding and appreciating the different technical aspects of it rather than the mere gloss and glory. Editing to me is the most creative technical aspect of film-making. Depending on how you edit a film, the entire perception towards it can change.

When I was working in Bangalore and every time I went home, I used to assist a family friend who is a documentary film-maker. I tried to learn about shot selection, camera angles, what to use as a subject, how to edit and the like. I however learnt much more while having discussions with him about the movie. When I said this camera angle suits better, he would defend himself and that two-way dialogue used to be fascinating. His explanation about why he wanted to compose a particular shot as per his vision and not mine, educated me a lot more than just handling the camera would have perhaps.

Later when I was working in Dallas, I joined an independent film club where they would watch Indie films every weekend and discuss them. Hearing so many points of view of various people from different walks of life, all gathered together just for their love of cinema, triggered my longing to learn editing even further.

So here I am a corporate burnout, currently without a job, waiting to join a film institute to learn editing, not sure what the future holds, with nothing but pride and satisfaction that atleast I am going to do what I always wanted.

Wanted | The Return of Machismo

When we search the word ‘Hero’ in the dictionary, it says ‘a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities’. After watching Wanted one gets the same feeling. Wanted is all about Hero-ism. It brings back the days when Hindi cinema was about macho-ism. Where the hero would be so larger than life that nothing will happen to him and he will get away with everything he wants to do. When Hindi cinema is going through a change, the change being more real life stories attempted and more so called ‘multiplex movies’ are being made, it feels nice to see a true unpretentious film about being larger than life.

Salman plays Radhe, a hitman who works for anyone who quotes the highest. Then there are a few ‘Bhais’ who are trying to rule over Mumbai. Among the ‘Bhais’, the main competition is among Golden gang headed by Gani Bhai (Prakash Raj) and Data Pawle gang. Obviously there is a corrupt cop, Inspector Talpade (played by Mahesh Manjrekar) and an honest Police Commissioner, Ashraf Khan (Govind Namdeo). How can I forget the seedhi-saadhi girl (Ayesha Takia Azmi)? Well Salman works for Golden gang and starts cleaning the members of the other gangs. Meanwhile Govind Namdeo promises to have a clean Mumbai and Mahesh Manjrekar’s lustful eyes fall on Ayesha Takia. Ayesha however seems to have fallen in love with Salman even after watching him on a killing spree. If only more girls were there like her! Anyway, there is not much novelty in the storyline and the movie doesn’t claim that.

But the film is fairly entertaining. The entire movie revolves around Salman. It is about the aura of macho-ism he creates. After a long time he delivers. This movie does not require him to display his histrionics. It needs him to create an environment where everything is larger than life. Thanks to the editing and the action set pieces, he manages that. When Salman takes on more than 10 people alone, one doesn’t laugh but feels confident that this guy can beat the crap out of those 10 people. This dynamism succeeds in making the film entertaining.

Ayesha Takia Azmi however disappoints big time. Her character is just not believable. I mean it is just un-fathomable that an educated, urban girl will like a person like Salman even after watching him on rampage. Her scenes with Salman just doesn’t work. The scenes inside the lift and on the railway station are so badly written that one cringes. One person who really entertains with his performance is Prakash Raj. His character is very over the top. There was every chance to make a caricature of out it. To his credit he balances the comic element and the negativity pretty well. Mahesh Manjrekar, Govind Namdeo, Vinod Khanna and Inder Kumar are all decent in their roles.

The film however suffers from a pathetic comedy track. It is crude which probably goes well with the story and treatment. What does not work is the fact that most of the comic scenes are just not funny and seems completely out of context.

The music also is of mixed variety. ‘Jalwa’ is the only song that is good. The rest of the songs are bad and also the placement is very poor. They are just not needed. It would have helped the film immensely had a couple of songs been edited out.

Technically however the movie pretty good. Cinematography by Nirav Shah and S Sriram is good. The background score by Salim-Suleiman although a tad loud fits well with the movie. The two technical aspects which however completely elevate the movie are editing and action. The editing, especially during the action sequences is really good. The action set pieces created by Vijayan Master are simply phenomenal. We are used to stylized action for a long time now. This is just raw violence and it looks spectacular on screen. One also needs to applaud Salman for executing them with gusto. The climax action sequence (although copied from the French movie Banlieue 13) is just outstanding.

Prabhu Deva should be given credit for utilizing Salman Khan properly. However he should have edited the comic track and a couple of songs from the movie which would have made the film crisper and better.

At a time when we are appreciating dumb, mindless, popcorn flicks like Transformers 2 and G.I.Joe, we probably should give Wanted a fair try. It is unpretentious fun at its best. Is it a great film? No. Is it an entertaining film? Yes. If you want to watch a time-pass, entertaining film, Wanted is just for you. If you want a movie where you need your gray matter to work, sit at home and enjoy something else. Why bother going to the theater and whine later.