Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows: Predictable, but Witty and Intelligent

Director: Guy Ritchie

Actors: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris

Rating: 4/5

Up till the 60s, wit in American and British cinema was not an exception, but a rule. Helmed by good writers who were well read and exposed to theatre, the dialogues as well as scene conceptualization were exemplary. Today, while the revolution in film cameras, techniques and editing allows one to be visually witty, when it comes to writing, the quality has gone downhill.

Sherlock Holmes 2, a film whose writing wit matches its filmmaking quirkiness, comes as a wily reminder of the times gone by.

Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) has been tracking the movements of Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) and suspects something big. Meanwhile, Dr. Watson (Jude Law) is about to get married and Holmes decides to leave him out. But when Moriarty suggests otherwise, Holmes ends up crashing into Watson’s honeymoon. But catching Moriarty would be harder than the two imagined for he is the ‘Napoleon’ of crime and matches Holmes move by move.

In terms of the original stories of Sherlock Homes by Arthur Conan Doyle, this one resembles ‘The Final Solution’ where Doyle, tired of writing the Holmes series, wanted to kill him off. The film, however takes merely its gist to create one that has less to do with the actual story and its time, than it has to ours.

Obviously, considering that Moriarty is often considered the greatest villain in literature, his plans had to be hideously sinister. Writers Michele and Kieran Mulroney manage to wriggle out of the throats of that era, a story that is believable in its setting despite its grandiose, though clichéd theme of saving the world.

What we thus have is the perfect marriage between good writing and filmmaking. A kind of film which the masters of the past, had they been exposed to modern cinematic techniques and quick editing, would have made.

The blending of history and fiction is near perfect. Moriarty’s evil plan is to plunge the world into a World War. And when Holmes prevents it, Moriarty reminds him that he has only delayed the inevitable since greedy countries of Europe are sitting at each others throat, ready to slit it.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law make the perfect deductive pair as they match wits with a master criminal. However, the major drawback of the story is in the character of Moriarty. Though his scheme is sinister enough, it has been done to death so many times in cinema, that despite its generous peppering of accurate historical details, it seems clichéd.

Secondly, pandering perhaps to popular demand, more time is spend on Holmes and Watson, than on Moriarty. His cynicism and terror, does not really translate on screen. Also the film relies on typical commercial formula of beginning it with good action, peppering enough dosage of the same throughout and ending it with a bang.

Though the action sequences are craftily done and the end where Holmes and Moriarty literally play a game of chess not on the board, but by dictating moves verbally, is masterly.

Though often, the wit of the film gets overbearing with almost every second line being a punch-line, Guy Ritchie manages an entertaining fare, a good cinematic way to end your year. Despite it being predictable for the intelligent and spectacular for the ones less so.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Masterful Spy Tale

Director: Tomas Alfredson

Actors: Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Tom Hardy

Rating: 4.5/5

A really good spy film, unlike the stupid clichés of James Bond and Mission Impossible series, is about mind games. It’s about struggling against mind-fields to discover a truth hidden in plain sight, and decoding it.

In such a really good spy film, no clue is spoon fed to the audience with tricks like slow motion, highlighted comments or scenes or by focusing on a character to either prove then guilty, or mislead viewers. A true spy film, like the profession of espionage itself, is about teasing the viewers, making them squirm in their seats with discomfort.

A really good spy film is like ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ (TTSS).

In the height of the cold-war of the 70s, there’s a rumour of a double agent in the top echelons of British Secret Service. After an agent walks right into an ambush in communist Budapest, the suspicions gather wind. A retired agent, Smiley (Gary Oldman) who has intricate knowledge of his own and other agencies, is recalled. He realizes that the clues to the mystery lies both in the present and a party a few years back, that keeps playing in his mind.

In a good ‘find the mole, plug the hole’ spy film, the needle of suspicion keeps circulating and does not spare even the investigators. ‘Trust no one, till the end’ is the motto, thus confusing, and challenging the viewer.

In a good spy film, the clues are never given en-masse. Instead they are scattered like dust specs in the air, visible only when light is shone on them. They are all over, hidden amidst many other incidents that can also equally be clues. Finding answers thus become like building a jigsaw puzzle, only in this case there are as many useless pieces that do not belong in the jigsaw, as there are those that do.

A good audience is the one, that picks the right one, is able to make the connections and find the mole before the protagonist does. And if you pay attention in the film, you will. But blink and chances are that you will miss it.

That’s because the film overlaps past and present as clues are thrown in plain sight. Yet, like time bombs they tick along in your subconscious till just at the right time they explode in your conscious mind and you realize you knew it all along. 

Having said that TTSS, with its complex plot and not so easy way of delivering clues, is a film meant only for select, intellectually vigorous viewers who miss no clue, no little suggestions, who can ‘tinker’ clues to ‘tailor’ together the most implausible meanings with a ‘soldier’s’ spirit and a ‘spy’s’ enthusiasm. You can test the limits of your ability to comprehend the most inane of clues with this film.

Giving credence to its sinister and broody mood of mistrust is an excellent cast that delivers a spectacular performance. Gary Oldman is cold, calculative just as his character requires while John Hurt, in a small but significant role is his usual, animated self.

The film has issues, like the reason given by the mole to do what s/he does. That, however, does not matter because if you got the film, you’ll rejoice and if you didn’t it will end up being one of the most harrowing films you have ever seen. John le Carré, on whose 1974 masterful spy novel the film is based, would be very proud indeed. 

This review has been written for the wire service IANS.

With Love, Delhi – Juvenilia At Its Best

Director: Nikhil Singh
Actors: Ashish Lal, Pariva Pranati, Tom Alter, Kiran Kumar
Rating: 1/5

Mithun Chakravarty’s film ‘Gunda’ is a cult classic amongst IITians because it is so full of cliches and stretches them so much, it becomes a delightful watch.

After many attempts, IITians have finally made a film that could have matched Gunda’s low standards. Sadly it is so pretentiously serious that Bollywood would be proud that they finally have an ‘English’ film made by ‘intelligent’ IITians to match their worst products.

After her father is kidnapped, Priyanka (Pariva Pranati) takes the help of her best friend Ashish Lal (Ashish Lal) to solve clues left by the kidnappers to try and save her father.

The patron saint of all IITian who aspire to venture into the arts, Chetan Bhagat, would be proud of this film. The dialogues are so bad and juvenile, that Bhagat’s book would sound like Doestovosky before it.

Yes you laugh in the film but for all the wrong reasons. Like when the hero tells his girlfriend how she could lose two pounds immediately - by dropping all her clothes because that is ‘exactly’ how much they weigh. It has to be an IIT engineer doing such ‘precision’ writing.

The film does try to mask its lack by involving some good people like Tom Alter, Kiran Kumar, Seema Biswas and editor Namrata Rao. But bad dialogues mouthed by a guy with a heavy Bihari ascent, kills everything. If the film were deliberately trying to make fun of English, it would have worked, but its seriousness prevents this little saving grace.

That brings us to the difficulty of making a decent film, especially by IITians who are famed for their intelligence. The trick is to first take stock of what one knows and what one doesn’t, try to better the already known and learn the remaining by watching films.

Another IITian, Kenny Basumatary did just that to make ‘Local Kung Fu’ for a mere Rs. 95,000, a film that undoubtedly has the best kung fu ever shot in India (you can check its YouTube trailer). That this bunch of intelligent IITians couldn’t do it even after spending Rs. 4.25 crore, is an insult to the IIT spirit. And that is where the other problem lies.

When IANS contacted one of the producers regarding the budget, he said, “We are just normal middle-class guys.” If you know little about India, you realize that Rs. 4.25 crore is neither middle-class nor normal. And that is where the politics of its making becomes clear.

The guy who plays the lead, Ashish Lal who had the megalomania to call his character in the film Ashish Lal is the worst possible guy to essay the role. That he does so shows the brazenness of a rich, new India which does not care or respect the field they are entering, and think money can compensate for any lack.

Sadly, it does not. The film is obvious to be panned both critically and commercially. Thus everyone who has invested in it will lose faith. In the future if some really talented filmmaker were to approach them, the once-burnt-twice-shy producers will show him or her the door. In a country like India, where money for good films is hard to come by, ‘With Love, Delhi’ ends up committing a great crime against cinema.

This review was written for the wire service, IANS. 

'Mission Impossible 4' - Thrilling Action, Disappointing Cinema

Director: Brad Bird

Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton 

Rating: ** 1/2

Visually, two things that instantly transcend the immediate boundaries of a viewer's intellect to land straight inside are sex and violence. Thus brands that can no longer appeal to your intellect, or are too lazy to try, resort to either or both. That brand can either be a product or a movie star.

This is indeed a trend observed among male movie stars. Ageing stars, who no longer have the confidence of their youth, resort to movies that have an overdose of sex and violence. If you have followed Tom Cruise's selection of films lately, you would have observed an over-reliance on action at the cost of other factors. 'Mission Impossible 4' is no different.

He unabashedly stays within the confines of done-to-death cliches to give you not a film, but a roughly stitched collage of some very well done action sequences. Thus, what is sacrificed at this altar of dreary cliches are story, characterization, plot, subplots... basically everything that makes a film a fun watch.

The story of 'Ghost Protocol' is simpler than the elaborate charades you made up as kids. Smoked out of a Russian prison, Ethan Hunt and his renegade team, have to hunt down a Russian scientist with launch codes for nuclear warheads and save the world.

Along the way there are some lame dialogues, some pretences at making up subplots and a star way past his prime, trying desperately to hold on to the action genre like his character hangs to the ledge of a building.

After seeing 'Ghost Protocol' as a discerning viewer, you'll realize that Tom Cruise has lost the plot, figuratively and literally. All his recent films have been shoddy excuses in the name of cinema, but had very good action. The Church of Scientology does not seem to be helping our star. He needs to enroll himself in the church of cinema.

The action scenes do not disappoint. They are elaborately conceptualized, beautifully shot and adeptly edited to make you sit at the edge of your seat. Tom Cruise might have forgotten other things, but he hasn't forgotten the art of choosing the best action team in the industry.

The film thus ends up being a never-ending action ride from the windows of the world's tallest building, to the tunnel under the world's worst prison to the streets of Mumbai and into a parking lot apparently located in India, but which you know will not exist in the country for the next few decades.

If you want to watch the film for it being shot in India, and for Anil Kapoor, you'll be sorely disappointed. Only two minutes of actual India make it to the film. The other shots thought to be filmed in the country, have actually been shot in Indian localities of North America. Kapoor barely has a few minutes' role as a lecherous business tycoon. It's not enough either for his fans or his detractors.

The mission impossible for a star is thus actually mission simple. If you indeed choose to accept mission stardom you get to date beautiful women, hobnob with the richest men and pretend as if your existence mattered. Sadly, cinema, in such pursuit of name and fame, becomes a necessary evil to be shot, chased and exploded out of a film just like its villains.

This review was written for the news wire service, IANS.

Below is the first two paragraph of the review, that were later changed in the above review: 

Your mission not-so-impossible, as a star in any film industry, should you choose to accept it, is to make money at any cost, for yourself and those who invest in you. As long as you follow this code, you mission will always be possible, but the moment you deviate from this protocol, we will deny all knowledge of your existence and you will be on your own.

The above seem to be the pledge that actors who cross over to become stars in any global film industry seem to take like agent Ethan Hunt at the beginning of any Mission Impossible film. Sadly, though in every film of the series our renegade hero goes beyond the call of duty, the person who plays him, Tom Cruise, has no such ambition. 

Machine Gun Preacher – Guns And Prayers Blazing

Director: Marc Forster

Actors: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon

Ratings: 4 out of 5

Often we see such bad things that it shakes us strongly. But we turn our backs convincing ourselves that it is someone else’s problem. ‘Machine Gun Preacher’ is the true story of a ‘sinner’ who refused to walk away after his eyes were opened and thus changed things.

After realizing the error of his ways, drug peddler Sam Childers (Gerard Butler) turns to Jesus and sorts himself out. A few years later on a trip to Sudan he is appalled by killings that leave thousands orphaned. He tries to help. When his honest attempts are thwarted, he refuses to give up and picks up a gun.

Guns hiding behind Bibles and Korans have made the world a dangerous place. Director Marc Forster thankfully refuses to lose his way in the rhetoric of Christianity to create a compelling, believable drama whose focus is the individual and what he can do to change things. He paints the transformation of a man and provides those who want to help a template for their own transformation and for bringing change in the world.

We often encounter big problems. Sadly we get so overwhelmed by their enormity that we don’t even attempt change. After all, how much can you do? Sam Childers answers this question: do whatever little you can. But, do it.  

In a scene that can be easily missed, Sam sees a lot of kids sleeping on the ground outside and tries to take them to his room. When reminded that he can’t take all, he says he will take as many as he can. All the problems of the world can be solved if all of us could cultivate this attitude – help and do as much you can.

The larger problems of humanity can make for compelling drama. Yet, most creators of art, cinema and literature choose not to even attempt it. They run after little pointless stories with beautiful but often useless metaphors. Machine Gun Preacher, an action film in the typical Hollywood mould that also packs in a caring heart with good writing and direction, gives such films a tight slap.

Hence, besides writer Jason Keller and the director, credit also goes to people like producer Gerard Butler to have believed in a story that needed to be told and for saying it the way it is. That it is true, helps to reinforce the urgency of action.  

 The film has an even pace and builds the transformation of Sam very well. Yet, where it scores over many others in the genre, is in not ending with just this. It goes beyond and explores Sam’s character, and how he loses sight of his faith in the onslaught of uncaring souls till a second transformation finally purges him.

The film is relevant in the Indian context as well. What’s happening in Africa is also the story of India’s tribal hinterlands where those wanting to help like a Binayak Sen and Himanshu Kumar among others, are driven away.

Those of you who have seen photos of the 644 burnt villages in Chhattisgarh will see an uncanny resemblance with similar scenes in the film. Perhaps burnt villages look the same everywhere. And so does poverty. The poor are expendable everywhere. Yet, the most relevant point is, would you shake up your rust and do even a bit of what Sam Childers continues to do?

The Rebirth of Children's Film Society, India

It was in the 20th century that Children's Film Society, India (CFSI) last released a film in the theatres. The millennium has changed, and so have the kids and the business of cinema.

CFSI, sadly, seemed to have lost touch. Some of the best children's films of the new millennium -- 'Taare Zameen Par', 'Makdee', 'Chillar Party' and 'I Am Kalam' -- first came to CFSI, but were surprisingly rejected.

CFSI is all set to break the jinx in 2011 with its film 'Gattu' garnering lavish praise, both from kids and adults, at its premiere in The Golden Elephant 17th International Children's Film Festival India (ICFFI) now on in Hyderabad. It was the opening film at the festival, and for once in a long time in CFSI's history, it was in step with the times.

"Most children's films are didactic and boring. I wanted to make a fun film where the message was not overbearing but more like a natural progression," director Rajan Khosa told IANS.

In a small town, kids and adults are equally obsessed with kite-flying. The airspace is dominated by a black kite called Kali with mysterious origins. A street kid Gattu dreams of defeating Kali but fails. He sees that the local school has a roof which will give him a vantage point.

He joins the school with this intention in mind but has to pretend to be interested in studying. The only problem -- he is illiterate.

"The general impression in the minds of people is that street kids are dumb. Actually they are far smarter than we give them credit for," says Khosa.

"We worked a lot on the script and the film is promising. Its hooting reception from kids pleasantly surprised us. We are looking to tie up with an established distributor to ensure that the film gets its fair chance," Nandita Das, chairperson CFSI, told IANS.

In a short, restored film that was shown at the opening ceremony of the festival, Jawaharlal Nehru is seen interacting with kids and telling them why children's cinema needs focus. He is seen talking about children's cinema that is good, intelligent and in step with the times. And this, he tells kids in this film shot in 1956, was the precise reason CFSI was set up.

Indeed in its heydays, the best filmmakers in the country made films for CFSI and the best actors acted in them. But over half a century into its existence, the largest children's content maker and rights holder in India (over 250 films in 15 different languages) and one of the five largest in the world, CFSI stands accused of having lost touch.

But Nandita Das does not want to talk about the past. "I am trying to put systems in place so that they go beyond the individual because the chairperson and CEO changes. There has to be systemic changes that last longer," she says.

The ICFFI this year has had its fiascoes. But no one can deny that the number, variety and scope of films with 13 theatres and 154 films from 38 countries, made this the largest children's film festival ever in the country and one of the largest in the world. And all of these have been possible because a lot of young blood has been pumped into the organization and the festival by Nandita.

But for how long will this change last? CFSI has traditionally performed as good or as best as its chairperson. The last time it did really well was during the tenure of Jaya Bachchan who brought strictness and discipline into the organisation.

In this respect, a key time for CFSI would be August 2012 -- when Nandita's tenure ends.

(This feature was written for the newswire service, IANS. )

The Help – Poignant, Gutsy, Topical and Important

Director: Tate Taylor
Actors: Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The history of the world is the history of the billions of brutalities perpetrated on millions of people. The modern home of democracy and the land of many champions of liberty, USA, is also one of the world’s most brutal, obvious from their treatment of colored people.

‘The Help’ takes on the premise of the way colored people were treated in the 60s to weave a poignant story of love, courage and justice.

A young writer (Emma Stone) in the land of racial segregation in Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1960s, secretly interviews colored women working as house maids in white people’s houses. In an extremely racist environment where it is outlawed to even talk of justice for the colored, they threaten the unquiet and unjust peace of their small town, while risking their own lives.

If you are a sensitive person, get ready to weep buckets as writer Kathryn Stockett (novel) and scriptwriter and director Tate Taylor present and peel off not the big injustices that the colored community faced, but small, insignificant humiliations they lived through daily, for centuries.

There are many films that have tackled racial injustice most notably ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ and ‘Mississippi Burning’. But most of these films have focused on physical violence that moves communities. ‘The Help’ is about the structural violence that gives one group of people the sick right to perpetually dominate another, to keep them under their boots.

In accurately projecting the structural violence that one race perpetrates on another, the film shoots itself up amidst the pantheons of world’s greatest films ever made on the subject.

It speaks out to people suffering injustice, to stand up and take their destinies in their own hands, to not accept their misfortune but to find courage to fight it. There are no preachy statements, no lecture against racism. Instead, in the true spirit of cinema it shows it and lets you, the viewer, decide for yourself.

Besides an almost perfect screenplay and direction, what gives the film its concentrated strength, is the near perfect casting. You have some Oscar worthy performances from Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Bryce Dallas Howard. While the first two tug at your heart as oppressed housemaids, it is Bryce’s portrayal of a heartless woman that gives visual representation to a racial hatred that has lasted centuries.

Melodrama is usually, and justly, criticized in cinema. But melodrama effectively played, can help a film soar beyond the obvious. The refined melodrama of ‘The Help’ becomes a lesson to filmmakers globally who desperately try to trigger the tear ducts of their viewers. Indeed, melodrama has never looked better in cinema before.

This, Kathryn Stockett’s debut novel, was rejected by 60 literary agents but after finally being published in 2009, has so far sold five million copies and has been published in 35 countries. The movie has so far raked in over $200 million. This talks oodles about the power of a good story told well and people’s sense of justice that is triggered by this beautiful story.

Today as racism raises its ugly head in different shapes and guises; the film becomes a topical and poignant statement against it.

In a scene from the film, a maid asks a young girl to always remember and repeat “You is kind, you is smart, you is important.” This indeed is the message of ‘The Help’ to everyone who is facing oppression anywhere in the world.

This review has been written for the wire service, IANS. 

IIT Dropout Makes Slick Kung Fu Film For A Mere $2,000

In dream town Mumbai, full of struggling filmmakers waiting for that one chance, Kenny stands out. Instead of waiting, he learnt and gave himself a chance making a film that is perhaps India’s best Kung Fu comedy film. What will shock you, is that he has made the film for a paltry Rs. 95,000 (USD2,000).

Meet 29 year old Delhi IIT dropout Kenny Deori Basumatary, writer of the novel ‘Chocolate Guitar Momos’ that is fast rising in the Indian bestsellers list and screenwriter, actor and director of the aptly titled  film ‘Local Kung Fu’.

Kenny is still doing the final post production of the film but he showed IANS a rough cut.

The martial arts in this shoe-string budget film is surprisingly and unbelievably good. It literally has the looks of a film usually 100 times the budget (check out trailer below to believe it for yourself). 

Two men stare menacingly at each other before rushing in, flying through the air and landing each other a kick that throws them scrambling on the ground. Such well executed fight scenes are part of any average Chinese Kung-fu film, or high budget Hollywood flicks. But think of India, and you’ll draw a blank.

“India does not really have real martial arts films, we only have stunt films. There’s a difference. A true martial arts film will look and feel real, like those of Jackie Chan,” says Kenny before adding, “And what this needs is not necessarily big budgets, but good martial artists.”

Martial art films are the hardest to shoot. A 90 minute film ideally requires 15-20 minutes of action. To decently shoot a minute of action takes over a day. To make an hour and a half long action film for 95,000, thus seems impossible.

Kenny tells of his journey. “After a successful but abandoned screen writing apprentice program sponsored by a Mumbai corporate, I decided not to wait any longer for someone else to give me my lucky break. Since I had shot videos previously, I started toying with the idea of a low budget film,” Kenny, who will next be seen acting in Dibakar Banerjee’s ‘Shanghai’ says.  

He heard about the Canon 550D still camera, which was like, he says, “the younger brother of Canon 7D on which Anurag Kashyap was shooting a feature film. I already had locally available talent – my uncle’s Kung Fu students.”

Kenny’s maternal uncle, back in his home state of Assam, is a Kung Fu instructor. For ‘Local Kung Fu’ he used the students from his school who were also his friends since they had learned martial arts together.

Everyone you see in the film, even the deadly looking martial arts fighter seemingly straight out of a Jackie Chan film, were friends and family. “I worked everything out to the last detail on paper and night after night we’d choreograph and practice our action scenes,” Kenny says. It took him over 100 shooting days to make the film. Of the 95,000 budget, Rs. 60,000 went on the camera and lens while the rest went for travel, food and a token payments for the actors.

There have been other super low budget Indian films like the psychological thriller “The Untitled Kartik Krishnan Project” made for Rs. 40,000. Yet, an action film requires time, effort, coordination and bigger budget. Hence to see such a good martial arts film that is also funny and made on a shoe-string budget by a debutante seems like an impossible miracle. A look at the trailer available on YouTube will give you a glimpse of how well this impossibility has become real.

Just like his modest film, Kenny is a modest man. “I did what I set out to achieve. I try not to have high hopes, but the very positive reactions of the few people who have seen ‘Local Kung Fu’ has been encouraging,” he says. He hopes to show the film to production houses and see whether a deal can be worked out. If not, he says he’ll put the films for free viewing on YouTube, on Torrents for free download etc. “It didn’t cost me much money, but I don’t underestimate its long-term value either,” he says.

Super low budget but good films like ‘Local Kung Fu’, begs to ask the question: is another cinematic revolution in the making in India, of low budget but well made films where talented people won’t have to wait for that one elusive Bollywood chance? Or is Kenny’s film a rare exception. We’ll know in due course of time.

Dolphin Tale – A Fun, Family Entertainer

Director: Charles Martin Smith

Actors: Nathan Gamble, Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr.

Rating: 4 out of 5

On land it’s the dog and over water it’s dolphin that is a man’s best friend. Grateful humans have cinematically paid tributes to both. Though there are less films about dolphins, those that do exist have been beautiful tributes to an enduring friendship. Joining this elite list is ‘Dolphin Tale’, a rare family film that is both enjoyable for everyone as it is intelligent and metaphoric.

Sawyer, a reserved kid rescues a dolphin and slowly opens up in her presence. The dolphin, named Winters, loses her tail-fin. Sawyer and a doctor desperately try to find her a prosthetic fin even as Sawyer’s inspiration, his cousin, returns from war a depressed and withdrawn paraplegic.

‘Dolphin Tale’ is in the true tradition of a family entertainer. It is predictable but filled with good natured and politically correct yet laugh-along humour, some subtle jibes at the brutality of man, and a heart that beats for love, humanity, inclusion of the disabled and against war. It’s a rare instance of a film which a five year old will enjoy as much as a 50 year old.

All the actors in the film do a commendable job in maintaining the seriousness and fun of a simple story. Yet, it is the non-verbal creatures that become its true star. The actually paraplegic dolphin Winter, on whose real life story the film is based, is obviously the star. But her sidekick, a psychotic pelican provides oodles of laughter and almost steals the thunder from under Winter’s fin.

‘Dolphin Tale’ is also in the best tradition of films about animals where the animal becomes a metaphor for something else. Remember ‘Chillar Party’ where a street dog becomes an emblem for every disenfranchised being in the world. Here, Winter becomes both a victim of human’s intended and unintended violence on nature, while her missing fin becomes a metaphor for our missing humanity. If we can do this to our dear friend, the dolphins, what hope does anything else in nature have?

In thus trying to help her out, humans, even if for a few moments, rescue themselves from their own brutality.

The film also makes subtle statements against our prejudice of those not like us. No one wants a handicapped dolphin. Though it is not said, but it is the same feeling that depresses a young man who has been crippled by war. Just like the dolphin it was not his fault that his self-righteous country sent him to fight a war he did not start or want. But it is indeed the nation’s and humanity’s fault if he were not to be included back.

Sadly, if you look around, especially in India, we don’t have an inclusive society. And those that are disabled by some accident at birth or after it, are unwelcome. Just like Winters and like in the film ‘300’, this cruel society would rather remove the disabled from their dream of a perfect society, than include them even when the Einstein of our generation, Dr. Stephen Hawkins, is a ‘disabled’ man who can’t even talk on his own.

In Winter, the film thus asks the question, who is actually disabled, those physically and mentally disabled or the rest of us who can’t look past this to truly consider their ability, just like Winter’s. The answer isn’t easy. Thankfully, ‘Dolphin Tale, that underplays its melodramatic elements, is. 

This review has been written for the news-wire service IANS.

The Rum Diary – Resistance Is The Message

Director: Bruce Robinson

Actors: Johnny Depp, Giovanni Ribisi, Amber Heard, Aaron Eckhart

Rating: 4 out of 5

In one of the pithiest scenes of ‘Rum Diary’ a lobster tells our protagonist, “humans are the only specie on the planet who claim a god, but act as if they don’t have one.”  This comment summarizes the film and humanity that has turned the world into a ‘land of multiple outrage’.

An out of work American journalist Paul (Johnny Depp) goes to Puerto Rico only to find that country an island of greed where a few Americans do their best to stanch-and-grab its resources while poverty and injustice infest the island.

Rum Diary is a quirky and witty film, filled with crazy characters with insane idiosyncrasies. But beyond the external veneer of humour and wit, lies a commentary about a world gone horribly wrong and each of our places in it.

All of us have either directly faced injustice or are aware of it omnipresence. While most of us close our eyes to this reality, some fight it. But it is a resistance that is seemingly futile since the enemy is extremely powerful and seemingly indestructible. And like Paul we realize that we cannot often win even when we try. If we know we’ll lose, why fight?

The answer is that in a world of mass cruelty and violence like ours, resistance in itself is the victory we seek. In not catering to popular American fetish of celebrating victory and happy endings, the film does a great service. Because in reality, you don’t always win. You cannot. You lose. And that is the message – even if you lose, you have to resist.

Like the films of Costa Gavres, its message is ‘resistance’. One must fight even in the face of tremendous adversity when losing is imminent. That it is enough to simply discover a ‘voice made of ink and rage’ like Paul does.

For the average viewer not concerned with metaphors, the latent wit and humour will give them a satisfactory watch, though the seemingly ‘pale’ ending is bound to put many off. However, the delectable acting of the ensemble cast headed by Johnny Depp will give them enough to bide their time.

For the more discerning viewer, this is a film made in heaven with a jazzy and witty exterior that manages to possess a soul. It manages to make a telling statement on society. The guts of the director to unflinchingly drops names like ‘Union Carbide’ (that caused the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984) is laudatory. Sometimes the truth is better than political correctness.

The film is extremely allegorical. Paul tries to affect change as a journalist but fails, only to find his voice as a writer. This seems to suggest that journalism has failed to be the watch dog of our society and that it is now up to literature to take up that mantle to fight injustice.

In another moment in the film, the writer says that there is no American Dream and that it is merely a “piss puddle of greed spreading throughout the world.” If you consider that in their 235 years of independence, America has been involved wars with some country or another for over 200 years, you realize what that statement, and the film, means. 

This review has been written for the news-wire service IANS. 

In Time – A Topical, Timely Thriller

Director: Andrew Niccol

Actors: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy

Rating: 4 out of 5

In a Hollywood that is famous for buying out talent, Andrew Niccol is among a few surviving auteurs. His films delve into the themes of justice, personal choice over spoon-fed reality and of genetic and technological interference in human life. With ‘In Time’ he adds a very timely, topical thriller, albeit one that does not end as good as it builds up.

In the near future, humans have been genetically modified so that they stop ageing at the age of 25. After 25, an internal clock starts in them and time becomes the only currency. A person could practically live forever if he someone earns time. Or so the society is made to believe till Will Sallas (Justin Timberlake), a blue collared worker from the ghetto, who is accused of stealing a century from another man, discovers a bigger conspiracy.

Andrew Niccol has always made films on the obsessions of humanity. In ‘The Truman Show’ that he wrote, he tackles reality TV. ‘Lord of War’ is about the human fetish for war while his science fiction masterpiece ‘Gattaca’ is about genetic predetermination and the resulting prejudice.

'Live Forever Or Die Trying', the tagline of the film, in our world translates to 'Get Rich Or Die Trying'

‘In Time’ is inspired by ‘Gattaca’. Like in Gattaca, humanity has been genetically modified resulting in the creation of the most perfectly tradable commodity – time and thus our very own life. In the film, he breaks the last known cliché that rooted for equality; that no matter how rich or poor one was, everyone was equal in one respect – we all eventually die. He asks the question, what if someday we figure out how not to die? What would humans do? Would it lead to equality, or merely replace one unequal social structure with another?

Yet, though set in a dystopian futuristic ghetto, this is a story of our times. Time becomes a metaphor for the unequal distribution of wealth in our own present. ‘For a few to be immortal, many must die’, a line from the film, can be replaced with: for a few to be insanely rich, many must be made poor. When we look around, that is exactly the state of our world today that is governed by a ‘Darwinian Capitalism’ as Niccol points out.

There is a structure, a system that has been built that causes great inequity and misery in the world for most while a few flourish. The rich do their best to preserve this system, since they depend on it. The poor, have no option, but to occasional rise in revolt, like the French and Russian revolutions of the past and ‘Arab Spring’ and ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movements now.

The film thus builds a wonderful parable for our insanely unjust world. And a good writer that Niccol is, the film is peppered with witty and incisive writing.

However, unlike his other tighter films, there is an element of inconsistency and lengthiness about this film. It builds up extremely well but misses out on a more forceful ending that his other films manage. Though it could have been a much darker satire of our times, much like the novel 1984, Niccol also seems to have tempered down the tone. Perhaps Hollywood does that to the best autuers.

Yet, this won’t bother audiences much, as he builds a compelling tale which is very real, despite its science fiction elements. ‘In Time’ is a very timely and very welcome film from this master


This review has been written for the news-wire service IANS. 

Of Dead Seas And Indian Indie Films

“Whether we see our wives or not, we see a dead body everyday,” complains a policeman inspecting the body of a fisherman who has been shot at sea by the Sri Lankan Navy. That one line in Leena Manimekalai film ‘Sengadal’ or ‘The Dead Sea’ - the only Indian film in International Competition in the ongoing Mumbai Film Festival, seems to sum up not just this movie, but Indian films in general.

Whether you see good cinema in India or not you invariably get to see tactless blockbusters every Friday, could be a common complain of any cinema fan in India.

The Dead Sea is metaphorical and allegorical. 

And nowhere is this metaphoric example more evident than in Leena’s film, which from many perspectives, like technical aspects and even scripting may not be one that is up there, but there is no denying that this is an important film that needed to be made.

“60% of the film was illegally shot. We had to resort to guerilla style of filmmaking to finish it,” Leena told IANS.

‘The Dead Sea’ is a tale of oppression of a people. First of all the Sri Lankan Tamils, to avoid rape, hunger and death from the Sri Lankan authorities, smuggle themselves towards the Indian side, only to face persecution here.

Secondly the fishermen community of Rameshwaram who venture out to see are blatantly shot, beaten and in a few cases have even been sodomised by the Sri Lankan Navy for no apparent reason. They also do not get much support from the apathetic Indian authorities. With over 600 dead or missing fishermen, it is an extreme example of living in the fringes. When you consider that this happens in the ‘world’s largest democracy’, you realize justice and freedom need not be synonymous to democracy.

Leena wanted to show an honest story. Hence you have real people almost playing themselves and their lives to the ‘T’. The result is a film that may be far from cinematic accomplishment, but the one accusation that cannot be levied on it is of being dishonest. If you were to see footages of film stars, you’d obviously want them in HD. Yet on the same TV, you don’t mind the grainy images of a terrible atrocity that makes breaking news. In that light ‘The Dead Sea’, that gives voice to the most marginalized of the marginalized lot, becomes an extremely important film.

In an ideal world, Leena's film would have enjoyed better resources. But neither has the film been made in an ideal world, nor is Indian cinema in a ideal state of existence with most film made and released with only commercial intentions in mind.

Yet, this years Mumbai Film Festival provides an interesting contrast and an example of where Indian cinema is headed. 15% films in the festival are Indian. They have been put in three sections: ‘Indian Frame’, ‘New Faces In Indian Cinema’ and ‘Film India Worldwide’. The range of films in these sections reflects the variety of films and creative that are making films in the country which sadly, like the fishermen in the film, lie on the fringes of Bollywood.

Despite receiving rave reviews from festival viewers, the fate of most of these films, are doubtful, just like the fishermen in ‘The Dead Sea’. “The fishermen of this community on which this film is based, is facing extinction,” says Leena. Hope the same is not the fate of Indian independent films and filmmakers. 

This feature has been written for the wire service, IANS (Indo-Asian News Service). 

Last Night – Poignant Tale of Temptation

Director: Massy Tadjedin

Actors: Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes, Keira Knightley, Guillaume Canet

Rating: 4 out of 5

One of the most complex monsters to handle in the world, is a man-woman relationship. That complexity is further intensified in our world today where communication has become easy, and old world morality and ideas of fidelity have no place in it.

‘Last Night’ is a film perfectly situated in our modern world. It is a deceptively and disarmingly simple story peppered with everyday incidents, many of which would have happened in many urban men and women’s lives.

On the same night that Micheal (Sam Worthington) is trying hard to beat temptation of a colleague, his wife (Keira Knightley) encounters an ex-lover and is faced with a similar dilemma. As the night progresses, desires ripen and the four people are forced to look deep into their lives, their relationships and the meaning they attach to it, and fidelity.

Make no mistakes, ‘Last Night’ is totally an urban movie. Though set in New York, it is a story that is playing along everyday in the thousands of cities of the world, with of course results similar, or different than this.

What, however, really works for the film is its simplicity. It could have lost its way in a lot of twists and turns and mood swings and the gimmickry that can go with intelligent writers handling the story. The film steers clear of these land mines and plot traps quite convincingly, giving you a tale that may seemingly not have too much new to offer, but would leave you thinking about many things.

Writer director (debutante) Massy Tadjedin handles the uneasy tension, the quiet blushes and the obvious discomfort of people handling the fireball of temptation stuck somewhere between their hearts, heads and groins with grace and poignancy. It is this minimalism that is the greatest quality of the film.

In a world of temptation where hoardings and ads everywhere thrust sex and promiscuity right into our faces, the film raises some interesting questions. Should sexual fidelity even be the basis of relationships anymore? Can we be truly faithful when we are bound to be attracted to many people in our lives? If yes, for how long? How long can one hold on? Is it even wrong if two committed people don’t do so?

In its well crafted back stories and gentle pace, the films packs in well-intentioned, urban people confronted with temptation. The lack of any melodrama or any unnecessary tension or scenes between the lovers, make it poignant.

Clint Mansell’s gentle score lingers in the background like an unrequited desire. All the four actors hold their parts and the blushes, desires and discomfort that go with it, fairly well.

One of the main reasons to not like the film would be that you would identify with a few or many of these fleeting moments and temptations depicted in the film. Contrarily, that would also be the reason many would like it. The director could have forced the choice, but she leaves it up to you to make up your mind. 

The Whistleblower – Poignant, Gutsy, Topical

Director: Larysa Kondracki

Actors: Rachel Weisz, Monica Bellucci, Vanessa Redgrave

Rating: 4 out of 5

It’s an old cliché which states that the world is what it is not because of bad men, but because of good men who watch and do nothing. We all have a strong sense of personal justice. But ask yourself, if you saw something so wrong with others that it churns your guts, would you poke your nose into it.

Even if you did, how far would you go? Far enough to risk your life and limb?

Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz) a US police officer in Bosnia on a UN peacekeeping mission discovers that her own colleagues are involved in a sex and trafficking racket of young women. She interferes, not realizing it to be an international conspiracy. She soon finds herself to be a lone fighter against a system that involves the military, MNCs and governments.

The history of the world is usually about emperors and dictators. But a footnote of history is dominated by misfits who refuse to be mute spectators. They are first coaxed, bribed and then beaten and often killed by the system they threaten.

But make no mistakes, it is these who stands up and blow the whistle, are the ones who count in the end. For they break through impregnable walls, bruised and battered in battle they still carry on and though their head may be cut it remains unbowed to the injustice around. Whatever good exists in the world, it is thanks to a large part due to these maverick whistleblowers who defy even their own puny statures to try the impossible.

This film does both, pays homage to their indomitable courage, and recount their impossible travails.

The film might seem like a distant story of a distant land. But it is as true for India, as it is for Bosnia. Like the UN peacekeepers have diplomatic immunity, the soldiers in places like Kashmir, the North East and Chhatisgarh in India, have laws like AFSPA that indemnify them against any wrong doings on their part.

The result is the Shopian rape and murder case of Kashmir, the Manorama rape and murder case of Manipur and the hundreds of tribal women whose rape by the military in far flung places like Chhattisgarh never makes it to the press.

‘The Whistleblower’ works because it plays like a thriller. It does an extremely good job in building up dramatic tension, even though few creative liberties taken from the real story may sometimes feel improbable.

Rachel Weisz’s right mix of innocent vulnerability and inner strength carries the film forward and gives out the message that justice often needs to be an inside job.

The good thing about American whistle blower films is that a viewer knows beforehand that the protagonist will win in the end. Americans, after all, are known to celebrate success. Reality, however, is slightly different. In the real world, the people in the true story on which the film is based, roam free.

Thankfully this little injustice will not deter those who seek justice for others. For whistleblowers in truth are the vigilante superheroes of the real world. And their superpowers include an indomitable will, a passion for justice and a belief that what they do matters. To these men and women, we truly owe the world. 

Paranormal Activity 3 – Manages To Scare Yet Again

Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman

Actors: Christopher Nicholas Smith, Katie Featherston, Chloe Csengery, Jessica Tyler Brown 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Paranormal Activity 3 is a surprising film. Yes, horror films are expected to shock. Yet the beauty of this film lies in it managing to give you the creeps even after you have seen the first two you realize that there isn’t much new added to this one. That it does so without being cheeky or over the top is its greatest strength.

After hearing strange sounds in his new house a wedding videographer in 1988, decides to fit the house with cameras to record these paranormal activities. His younger step-daughter however seems to have befriended the paranormal entity even as the incredulous wife, despite proof, refuses to believe, that is until something scares her out of her skin.

There's an unwelcomed guest in the house

You have seen the first two and you know how the story progresses and what happens. You are supposedly immune to the chills and fears since you know how and where it comes from. What will surprise you hence, is how this film, despite your self-assurances, manages to sneak up on you and terrorize you.

Just like the first two, this one does not aspire to explain anything to the audience. Neither does it try bigger sound or visual tricks. Instead, it relies on the proven formula and tricks of the first two films, and manages to scare you in the same surreal fashion.

Charlie Chaplin is undoubtedly the greatest filmmaker ever and will perhaps remain so till the death of cinema. The reason for this is that his films understand the importance of the purity of cinema to squeeze emotion out of its audience. What Chaplin did with the comedy genre, the Paranormal Activity series does with horror.

Yet, it was by no means the first to do so. How can anyone forget the game changer – Blair Witch Project. Yet, the difference between the two films of this series, and the three of Paranormal is that while the former tried to do something different in its sequel, the latter absolutely refuses to do so. In playing the same tricks it played in the first, and explaining as little, or even less, it teaches one of the greatest lessons of filmmaking – that simplicity and minimalism backing a good plot can often do more than expensive visual effects and a complex plot line.

Usually, a sequel tries to outdo its original. Surprisingly, Paranormal seem to have no such aspirations with all three films relying on the same bag of tricks. That it continues to feel so fresh, is indeed the scariest paranormal activity in the series. 

This review was written for the news wire service, IANS (Indo-Asian News Service). 

Have Indian Film Festivals Come Of Age?

On the eve of the Mumbai Film Festival, filmmaker Shyam Benegal had confidently said this is the best festival India has seen so far. As the festival came to a close amid the hits and the misses, the crowds cheering and hooting, his hyperbole became a fact.

Benegal, chairman of MAMI that organises the event, had reasoned that a festival is as big as its films. Showcasing the winners of the best festivals in the world, including Cannes, Berlin and Venice, if you couldn't go there, you could catch it here. And that was fair for Bolly-town. After all the biggest film-producing nation deserves one of the biggest festivals.

Yet, much to the delight of viewers, and often frustrations - after all, too many good films make you miss a few must-watch ones - the festival scored due to many other reasons as well.

The strongest were some stunning films in its International Competition section that carries a Rs.1 crore prize money, one of the biggest in the world. The mastery and control of the cinematic medium shown by these first timers challenges the dominance of masters. A few of them are bound to leave their stamp on world cinema in the next couple of decades. When they do, Mumbai viewers would proudly say they saw their films, and them, at MAMI.

Then there was the film mart, which is slowly becoming a very important event in the commercial cinematic calendar of the festival. There were people from non-traditional global markets, including Germany, South Korea, Japan and Latin America, scouting for the next Indian film to take back home.

'Rendezvous With French Cinema', a separate annual event for Mumbai, got clubbed to the festival, giving audiences not just a chance to see these films but also to interact with some French directors and actors who came to the country.

Having 20 percent films in the festival from India (besides the retrospectives), with none of them from the commercial filmmaking centres of India, the festival truly showed the storytelling prowess churning in this nation, which often does not get its due recognition.

The Open Forums every afternoon saw some cliché and a lot of fireworks. Veterans and newcomers to the mainstream commercial film industry debated the various aspects related to cinema. Is the art of Indian screenwriting dying, is there homophobia in Indian cinema, is taxation killing films? etc. Though a consensus could not be reached, laying down of the problems hopefully proved cathartic.

Not everything in the festival was rosy. The films that were expected to be popular often ended up being too popular to handle. People stood hours outside the halls for films like "Pina", "The Artist", "The Turin Horse", "Melancholia" and others. Taking a cue from previous editions, organisers held special screening for the leftover crowd every day at 10 o'clock. For a few films, even this wasn't enough.

Cinemax proved inefficient hosts for the prestigious festival as goof-ups in projections marred the the entire festival causing much screaming, heartburn and anger. Sadly, instead of Cinemax, it was often the festival organisers that received flak for the same.

Yet after everything was said and done, after the films were seen and many forgotten, what would perhaps be remembered is exactly what Benegal said. Film Festivals in India might just have come of age.

Scorsese Docu On Harrison Pays Tribute To His Indian Connection

He was one of the most important musicians of our times. Not just because George Harrison belonged to The Beatles but also because he was the first musician of global repute to try a fusion of different musical styles, especially Indian.

Director Martin Scorsese’s documentary on Harrison, ‘Living In A Material World’, that played to packed houses in the Mumbai Film Festival pays homage to this spirit of this man.

Fans of The Beatles are treated to some rare insights, trivia and anecdotes from the Band’s existence and archival footages from their tours and from Harrison’s home life. Others, however might not find the film too appealing.

Of course, there are many flaws that can be easily pointed out, including its over three hour length. And though it does talk a bit about Harrison’s formative years, a little more depth into the Beatle’s early life where they often used to perform 8 hours a day, seven days a week at bars in Hamburg, Germany, could have provided greater depth. After all this became their hallowed ground to practice and perfect their music.

“Martin (Scorsese) was not interested in the obvious. He wanted to go deeper. How did George live a meaningful life despite being one of the most famous people on the planet? How do you live such a public life and survive. Interestingly that was also what George was interested in,” says Olivia Harrison, wife of George Harrison and also the producer of the film.  

Yet, in focusing only on his fame, and how Harrison dealt with it, the film might actually be doing disservice to the very thing it is trying to comment against, materialism in this world. However, where it scores an ace, is in its Indian element.

Some maestros of Indian music like Ravi Shankar, Bismillah Khan, Allahrakha Khan, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt among others make an appearance from footage of the 70s. Watching them you realize that one of the greatest contributions of George Harrison was in being the first famous musician to try out a musical tradition totally diverse to his own, thus paving the way for a true musical fusion to happen later.

Olivia agrees. “I think he was very instrumental in influencing western music with Indian classical music. He loved it. He found a very gentle and way of influencing western music. Though, he always called Ravi Shankar the father of world music, he did find subliminal ways of introducing Indian music to the west,” she says.

She smiles reminiscing about the times when in their home the masters of Indian music would be chatting and jamming together. “George often used to call this fusion, confusion,” Olivia says, trying to contain her laughter. 

George’s love of India and its music and musicians, is no secret. Yet, seeing is believing. Watching some masters of world music jam together in this film and the film’s contextualization of the same, might indeed become its greatest contribution to the world. 

This feature was written for the news wire service, IANS (Indo-Asian News Service)

Indian Screenwriting In a Miserable State: Abbas Tyrewala

Screenwriting all over is considered to be the backbone of a film. It is also believed that it is an art form that is in decline in India. Or is it? An open forum held at the ongoing Mumbai Film Festival to discuss the same, saw some interesting fireworks.

“Sorry, but I am not optimistic at all. I think we are f*****. There’s no dearth of writers in India, but there’s a great lack of writing that has the life and smell of this nation,” said celebrated screenwriter Abbas Tyrewala.

He dug into the root of this decline. “Before the 60s, we were telling stories. Major stars worked with the films instead of merely acting in it. Problem started during the Bachchan era. Amitabh Bachchan’s persona started towering everything. Suddenly it was okay to not have a story as long as you had him since people were in awe of him. If you just got his dates, you could make a film and recover money,” Abbas said.

Did our obsession with this man single-handely 'f*****' the art of Indian screenwriting? 

Abbas believes that even when Amitabh took a sabbatical from films, producers devised new tricks of having multi-star films to compensate for the same. “In the 90s, the three Khans emerged. However, someone suddenly discovered the NRI market. Again, shooting in foreign locations became more important. A film could recover its entire money with just its music, satellite rights and overseas market. Where was the need for a story and thus a good writer?” he rued.

While Abbas’ interpretation of Indian cinema’s history drew large cheers from the assembled audiences, his other panel members were more optimistic. Dev Benegal said, “I am positive because change is happening in Indian literature. New voices are emerging. And though most indie films are bad copies of European cinema, ultimately we will find our own cinematic voices.”

Writer and actor Saurabh Shukla said the only solution to the problem was to create cutting-edge writing. “Instead of constantly feeling that you are beaten, just go home and write. Better yourself,” he said.

Veteran writer Vinay Shukla who is part of a venture to find and train new scriptwriters, said, “I have read some of these new Indian screenwriters. They inspire me. There are new, authentic voices who talk about their own place and people. But they have no way to go. No stars would work on a script that does not have them playing larger than life roles.”

Despite playing the role of a doomsday prophet, Abbas Tyerewala was sympathetic to the producer community. “It is easy for writers to make scapegoats out of producers. In reality producers have a lot of guts. They risk everything. They keep playing and gambling with their lives.” Candid and frank he elicited a lot of response when he said, “Perhaps it is the biggest lie that audiences are smarter. The truth is that maybe they have become stupider. And maybe they are getting what they want and deserve.”

Despite the witty attempts of moderator Atul Tiwari who tried diverting the discussion to a solution, there was no hopeful solution in sight. Yet putting the problems at one platform might just end up proving cathartic to Indian scriptwriting and hopefully it will emerge stronger and better. 

This was written for the news-wire service IANS (Indo-Asian News Service). 

The Un-French-Like Frenchman

Actor, writer and director Martin Provost, whose film ‘The Long Falling’ is playing under ‘Rendezvous with French Cinema’ at Mumbai Film Festival is not your typical Frenchman. His heart beats for things ‘un-french-like’. First of all in a very uncharacteristic move, he denounced his fame as a theatre and film actor and plunged into direction.

“When I was young I wrote for theatre. Then acting happened but inside I knew I wanted to make movies and I was unhappy as an actor. One day, I decided acting wasn’t my way and from that day I began to write a lot.

“After one novel was published, I was on my way. Then I made my first short film and then another and then feature films. When I tell you this, it seems easy but believe me it was not,” Martin quips.

Secondly if there is one constant in his films, it has been women. But unlike the French fascination for beautiful women and skin-shows, he is interested in unconventional but strong women with a mind of their own. Invariably, these women are older.

“My mother was extremely talented but she couldn’t express herself since she belonged to an era in France where girls had to get married and that was the end of their expression. So I have taken it upon myself to do what she couldn’t. Being her son, I have inherited the frustration of her generation,” he says.

In famous French actress Yolande Moreau, he seems to have found his ‘mother-figure’.

In his sleeper-hit, multiple César Award winning film ‘Séraphine’ an accomplished painter chooses the anonymous life of a housemaid. In ‘The Long Falling’ an oppressed woman finally kills her husbands and goes on the run. Both of these characters have been played with aplomb by Yolande Moreau.

Ask him if in Yolande he sees the image of his mother and he says candidly, “There is something there. She belongs to the same region in the North of France as me, and she lives barely an hour from me. My mother and she are not exactly alike, but there is definitely something there.”

Thirdly, this Frenchmen despises the craving for intellect and fame. “Séraphine was unknown when I discovered her and that is the point. I wouldn’t have made a film on someone famous. I wanted to show that a woman had done her artistic creation without being known. And that was enough,” Even his next film Violette is about an important but little known French female writer.  

“One of the most difficult things in the world is to not expect any kind of recognition and quietly go on doing your thing. It is this detachment that I was seeking to capture. Today, Frenchmen want their fame and fortune by any means,” Martin rues.

“I try to make simple films without trying to be unnecessarily intellectual. France today is suffering from too much intellectualism. These days they think if they are intelligent, they are superior to others. That is a big mistake.”

In mind, matter and his creations, Martin Provost defies French conventions. There is a sage like quality about him. In a world where materialism has become one and all, his is the kind of creation that will perhaps provide Europe with an antidote for afflictions they do not yet realize, especially fame an intellectualism.

This story was written for the news wire service IANS (Indo-Asian News Service).

A Masterful Fable Of Memory And Time

Debutant director Julia Marat in one of the most nostalgic and yet riveting Latin-American debuts ever, tells the fable of a place which time has forgotten. The dozen villagers in ‘Stories That Only Exist When Remembered’ go about their daily routine with a clockwork precision that is both a reverence to their past as it is a wait for their inevitable future.

Time, however, cannot forever neglect its dominion, no matter how remote. And so it happens that time does come visiting the village in the form of a young female photographer who neither understands the place or its people, yet is curious enough to want to know.

“If I was old, I wouldn’t do this film. It will be clichéd then. I did this because for me today this is different and unique,” director Juila Murat told IANS about her film. “As a young person I need speed and the latent energy of a place like Rio or even Mumbai,” she candidly admits.

Hence, her debut feature with its masterful command, not mere control of time and space, stuns you. With touches of eternity, this is indeed a sculpture, a portrait of time.

Julia paints a mythical landscape of a place where a few old people live, neither too nostalgic of the past nor needing any hope. They may seem in a sort of limbo but perhaps these handful old, forgotten villagers and their village, are the only ones who truly live. For isn’t living, about the present moment rather than the burdens of their past or anxiety of the future?

With unsentimental and poetic touches she paints life as it should be, unhurried, relaxed and sentient. Considering that in our structurally violent world today, this is extremely rare, ‘Stories…’ thus becomes a rare fable.

For some the film might be slow. But for those with a fertile imagination it has speed all about it. Every single wrinkle on the faces of the characters, ever single crack on the wall, ever little rust on the iron in the village, tells a million tales of times gone by, stories and histories of its people, both dead and alive and of the village. You have to be sensitive to hear these stories.

Unlike other filmmakers with a rich antecedent, Julia’s candour stands out. She admits the role of her filmmaker mother in shaping her cinematically. “How many 12 year olds watch indie films with a gusto. I did,” she says reminiscing the time watching the best of the films from her country and the world. Her cinematic mastery also comes from assisting her mother Lucia Murat in almost every cinematic department: scriptwriting, direction, camera, editing etc.

Yet, while Lucia’s films are political in nature, steaming from her experience as a journalist and activist against the dictatorship in Brazil between 1968-79 when she was arrested and tortured in prison, Julia’s films are about life.

It is perhaps the poetry of life, that Julia, born the year that dictatorship ended in Brazil, is carrying on her mother’s legacy and represents life just as her mother represented political strife around. With her debut feature, Julia Murat become a voice to watch out for.

This feature has been written for the new wire service, IANS (Indo-Asian News Service).