Cast: Aparna Sen, Konkona Sen Sharma, Rajat Kapoor, Priyanshu Chatterjee
The acclaimed mother-daughter duo paint a sensitive portrayal in this 2-hr biopic. Mrinalini (Aparna Sen) a veteran Bengali actress burdened by her growing sense of neglect and loneliness, senses that life has no more purpose in store than suffering and faded youth. She undertakes to end her life of her own volition. As she sits down to write a message for those living, she reflects on her past. Her memories flash back to the days when as a bright-eyed, naive young woman (Konkana Sen Sharma), she sought to escape the confines of her life to find security and love.
That she happened to have turned out a successful actor seems a by-product to the plot and to the character's perception. She falls in love with a very married director hoping somewhere deep down to have the family she desires only to realize that years down things remain unchanged. Still she finds fulfilling love in her daughter that makes up for her disappointment otherwise in love. In a twist of fate, however, this happiness is shortlived.
In the following years, she shuns the limelight and the stage. Even as a recluse the same desires that burnished with fervor in her youth haunt her now.
Although the film is of an actress, it doesn't dwell on the peculiarities exclusive to the domain of stardom but distills the emotions and sensibilities of a woman in her journey through life. As in a novel cleverly translated to film, events unfold leaving the character's self-discovery open to the viewer's interpretation.
Aparna Sen has thrown so much heart and soul into the telling that there lingers an air of honesty with no exaggeration merely to elicit a sensation. Notably, the movie infuses the frames with the women in an array of sarees, bindis, splendid in the colorful beauty akin to the Indian skin and temperament, which in itself is a treat to savor these days.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Love and Other Drugs (2010)
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Jake Gyllenhal
Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhall) is a smooth talker whose life revolves chiefly around scoring women, and using his armor of smarts to get by. After losing his small retail job due to 'woman trouble,' he lands a gig as a pharmaceutical salesman. His job--to influence busy doctors to prescribe his company's drugs over others. His natural inclination to compete and win finds a sweet spot in this role. Faced with the rewards of more women, more money, and a sort of a jock hall of fame, Jamie clearly becomes a rising star in the field. Employing his wit and sway over the oppisite gender, his climb to the top seems unstoppable.
Then he meets Maggie Murdoch (Anne Hathaway), in an unusual encounter. As someone that suffers from early stage Parkinson's disease, Maggie is most unlike anyone he'd ever met. Her striking beauty, fiery yet vulnerable persona, and her way of getting to the core of what matters without mincing words grounds Jamie. What starts as a spark ensues into a consuming affair, where each experience a deeper intimacy than either bargained for. Can Jamie let go of his game to win fame to give what he's discovered with Maggie a shot? Sharp dialogues, shining performances from Anne and Jake keep the narrative tight throughout the two plus hours of watching. All in all, this film unabashedly lives up to its title, still, only managing to fit inside the safe love theme most chick flicks tuck under.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhall) is a smooth talker whose life revolves chiefly around scoring women, and using his armor of smarts to get by. After losing his small retail job due to 'woman trouble,' he lands a gig as a pharmaceutical salesman. His job--to influence busy doctors to prescribe his company's drugs over others. His natural inclination to compete and win finds a sweet spot in this role. Faced with the rewards of more women, more money, and a sort of a jock hall of fame, Jamie clearly becomes a rising star in the field. Employing his wit and sway over the oppisite gender, his climb to the top seems unstoppable.
Then he meets Maggie Murdoch (Anne Hathaway), in an unusual encounter. As someone that suffers from early stage Parkinson's disease, Maggie is most unlike anyone he'd ever met. Her striking beauty, fiery yet vulnerable persona, and her way of getting to the core of what matters without mincing words grounds Jamie. What starts as a spark ensues into a consuming affair, where each experience a deeper intimacy than either bargained for. Can Jamie let go of his game to win fame to give what he's discovered with Maggie a shot? Sharp dialogues, shining performances from Anne and Jake keep the narrative tight throughout the two plus hours of watching. All in all, this film unabashedly lives up to its title, still, only managing to fit inside the safe love theme most chick flicks tuck under.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Dhobi Ghat (Hindi, 2011)
Cast: Aamir Khan, Monica Dogra, Prateik Babbar, Kriti Malhotra
In her directorial effort, debutante Kiran Rao spins a touching portrait of a cross section of people in Mumbai. The plot revolves around four characters. Arun (Aamir Khan) a divorced, reclusive painter meets Shai (Monica Dogra) a single, rich, attractive NY investment banker on a sabbatical, at one of his art openings. In the morning after they've shared a romantic evening, Arun tells her off. A hurt Shai walks out. But thoughts of Arun nonetheless continue to linger on her mind. Later in a conversation with her dhobi (laundry serviceman) Zohaib aka Munna (Prateik Babbar), by chance, she discovers that Munna does Arun's laundry. Along the way she bonds in a special way with Munna while picking up a few nuggets on Arun's past including his new address. Appointing Munna as her guide, she explores the city's underbelly, in the shanties, capturing photographically the working lives of people. In the meantime, Arun has been busy building a new body of work--his inspiration are a set of videos left behind by a previous lady tenant. Night and day as he pores over them, he grows attached. As the plot unfolds, Munna develops a soft corner for Shai. But does she? Do Arun and Shai ever get back? And what becomes of Arun's mysterious tenant?
Rating: Three and a half stars.
In her directorial effort, debutante Kiran Rao spins a touching portrait of a cross section of people in Mumbai. The plot revolves around four characters. Arun (Aamir Khan) a divorced, reclusive painter meets Shai (Monica Dogra) a single, rich, attractive NY investment banker on a sabbatical, at one of his art openings. In the morning after they've shared a romantic evening, Arun tells her off. A hurt Shai walks out. But thoughts of Arun nonetheless continue to linger on her mind. Later in a conversation with her dhobi (laundry serviceman) Zohaib aka Munna (Prateik Babbar), by chance, she discovers that Munna does Arun's laundry. Along the way she bonds in a special way with Munna while picking up a few nuggets on Arun's past including his new address. Appointing Munna as her guide, she explores the city's underbelly, in the shanties, capturing photographically the working lives of people. In the meantime, Arun has been busy building a new body of work--his inspiration are a set of videos left behind by a previous lady tenant. Night and day as he pores over them, he grows attached. As the plot unfolds, Munna develops a soft corner for Shai. But does she? Do Arun and Shai ever get back? And what becomes of Arun's mysterious tenant?
Rating: Three and a half stars.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Ricky (2009, French)
Cast: Alexandra Lamy, SergiLopez
Katie (Lamy) leads a perfunctory existence with her seven year old daughter in a council flat on the outskirts of Paris in an industrial town. She works as a factory worker to support them. The mother, daughter make a close pair with the daughter sometimes playing a more concerned grownup of the two.
At work, newcomer Paco (Sergi Lopez) catches a fancy to her. He soon moves in with Katie to the initial displeasure and then slow resignation of her daughter Lisa. Some months down, Katie and Paco have a baby out of wedlock. They take turns to look after the baby while the other works at the factory. One evening Katie returns home from work along with Lisa to find that the baby has red bumps on its back. Katie confronts Paco suspecting that he'd abused the baby. Paco walks out on her. At some point after, it gradually dawns on Katie and Lisa that this baby is different from others. From the red bumps on her son's back sprout feathery wings that grow to a considerable size. They find to their bewilderment that the baby can fly. Katie throws herself into a positive mould even not minding Paco gone by embracing her son as a special gift she must protect from the world and nurture. This causes Lisa to feel a bit left out.
On a christmas shopping run at the supermarket, the baby takes flight soaring over aisles, peoples' heads. Amid this bedlam the baby is captured by cell phone cameras and makes a splash on the local news and TV. People are intrigued. Reporters start to hound their flat. Paco shows up at this point. He convinces Katie that by striking a deal for money with the reporters and showing off their son in flight, they'd have more means to take care of their baby and the rest of the family.
The movie after this point sadly takes a nosedive. It's as though the director and everybody else proceeded to sleep through the rest making things really obscure. Several themes are suggestively glazed upon without heeding to any in particular pretty much leaving the audience perplexed.
What started on a promising note ended like a deflated balloon mid-air. Kudos though to Lisa the child actor. Lamy and Sergi's talents seem a bit wasted here.
Rating: Two stars.
Katie (Lamy) leads a perfunctory existence with her seven year old daughter in a council flat on the outskirts of Paris in an industrial town. She works as a factory worker to support them. The mother, daughter make a close pair with the daughter sometimes playing a more concerned grownup of the two.
At work, newcomer Paco (Sergi Lopez) catches a fancy to her. He soon moves in with Katie to the initial displeasure and then slow resignation of her daughter Lisa. Some months down, Katie and Paco have a baby out of wedlock. They take turns to look after the baby while the other works at the factory. One evening Katie returns home from work along with Lisa to find that the baby has red bumps on its back. Katie confronts Paco suspecting that he'd abused the baby. Paco walks out on her. At some point after, it gradually dawns on Katie and Lisa that this baby is different from others. From the red bumps on her son's back sprout feathery wings that grow to a considerable size. They find to their bewilderment that the baby can fly. Katie throws herself into a positive mould even not minding Paco gone by embracing her son as a special gift she must protect from the world and nurture. This causes Lisa to feel a bit left out.
On a christmas shopping run at the supermarket, the baby takes flight soaring over aisles, peoples' heads. Amid this bedlam the baby is captured by cell phone cameras and makes a splash on the local news and TV. People are intrigued. Reporters start to hound their flat. Paco shows up at this point. He convinces Katie that by striking a deal for money with the reporters and showing off their son in flight, they'd have more means to take care of their baby and the rest of the family.
The movie after this point sadly takes a nosedive. It's as though the director and everybody else proceeded to sleep through the rest making things really obscure. Several themes are suggestively glazed upon without heeding to any in particular pretty much leaving the audience perplexed.
What started on a promising note ended like a deflated balloon mid-air. Kudos though to Lisa the child actor. Lamy and Sergi's talents seem a bit wasted here.
Rating: Two stars.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Band Baaja Baraat (2010, Hindi)
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma
Cast in the same mould as the so-called modern twist to the classic Bollywood love story, this plot isn't unfamiliar. In a chance meeting at a wedding he crashes, Bitoo (Ranveer Singh) a maverick college lad takes a romantic liking to Shruti (Anushka). Pragmatic Shruti though hasn't the time for love--she dreams of pursuing a career in wedding planning. Faced with the unsavory prospect of returning to his village to farm, Bitoo opts to stay on persuading Shruti to take him on as her business assistant. Soon they become partners successively scoring bigger gigs and influential customers.
Hiccups emerge along the way between the two when after a night of partying, things get intimate. While Shruti starts to fall for him, the feeling isn't mutual. Hurt, Shruti ends their business relationship. They part ways but individually their business endeavors fall flat until they realize the strength of their coming together. A simple well-executed plot, spiffy direction, and sharp dialogues make the two plus hours of watching endurable. The movie centers around the culture and local speak of suburban Delhi, which make the lead characters that much more realistic and endearing. Ranveer in his debut role strikes a confident rapport on screen and looks like a better carbon copy of Ranbir Kapoor with better histrionics. Anushka fits her role to a T, playing the sensible, spirited Shruti without fuss.
Rating: Three and a half stars.
Cast in the same mould as the so-called modern twist to the classic Bollywood love story, this plot isn't unfamiliar. In a chance meeting at a wedding he crashes, Bitoo (Ranveer Singh) a maverick college lad takes a romantic liking to Shruti (Anushka). Pragmatic Shruti though hasn't the time for love--she dreams of pursuing a career in wedding planning. Faced with the unsavory prospect of returning to his village to farm, Bitoo opts to stay on persuading Shruti to take him on as her business assistant. Soon they become partners successively scoring bigger gigs and influential customers.
Hiccups emerge along the way between the two when after a night of partying, things get intimate. While Shruti starts to fall for him, the feeling isn't mutual. Hurt, Shruti ends their business relationship. They part ways but individually their business endeavors fall flat until they realize the strength of their coming together. A simple well-executed plot, spiffy direction, and sharp dialogues make the two plus hours of watching endurable. The movie centers around the culture and local speak of suburban Delhi, which make the lead characters that much more realistic and endearing. Ranveer in his debut role strikes a confident rapport on screen and looks like a better carbon copy of Ranbir Kapoor with better histrionics. Anushka fits her role to a T, playing the sensible, spirited Shruti without fuss.
Rating: Three and a half stars.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Owl and the Sparrow (Vietnamese, 2007)
Cast: HanThi Pham, Cat Ly, The Lu Le, Trong Hai
Thuy (Han Thi Pham) is an orphan living on the outskirts of Saigon city under the care of her uncle (Trong Hai) who more than acting a guardian puts her to work in his bamboo factory. Aside from hard labor, the girl of less than 10 endures harsh treatment at the hands of a tyrant uncle. Deciding she'd had enough, Thuy runs away with very little to subsist on to Saigon city. In the city rife with other orphaned street children her own age, Thuy struggles to get by first selling postcards and then settling on selling flowers dressed in a school uniform. Barely scraping by, with no hope of going to school let alone a stable future, and sleeping on the streets at night Thuy tugs at your heart strings.
Through the course of her flower selling and loitering about, she meets an air hostess staying in the city for the week. Lan, the pretty air hostess despite a stable career has trouble finding a loving relationship. Caught in an affair going nowhere with a married man, she feels more and more desolate and unable to disjoint herself from the muffled state of affairs. Thuy also runs into a zoo keeper Hai (The Lu Le) who incidentally happens to be single. Both Lan and the zoo keeper let Thuy into their lives. Lan offers Thuy sleeping quarters in her room at night instead of the street, and Hai feeds in her a love for animals. While Thuy dreams of bringing these two together, her uncle doggedly searches for her all around the city. Thuy's little sliver of happiness is shortlived when the state services take her away to a children's home.
Does life throw Thuy a chance at a loving home and future?
Rating: Four stars.
Thuy (Han Thi Pham) is an orphan living on the outskirts of Saigon city under the care of her uncle (Trong Hai) who more than acting a guardian puts her to work in his bamboo factory. Aside from hard labor, the girl of less than 10 endures harsh treatment at the hands of a tyrant uncle. Deciding she'd had enough, Thuy runs away with very little to subsist on to Saigon city. In the city rife with other orphaned street children her own age, Thuy struggles to get by first selling postcards and then settling on selling flowers dressed in a school uniform. Barely scraping by, with no hope of going to school let alone a stable future, and sleeping on the streets at night Thuy tugs at your heart strings.
Through the course of her flower selling and loitering about, she meets an air hostess staying in the city for the week. Lan, the pretty air hostess despite a stable career has trouble finding a loving relationship. Caught in an affair going nowhere with a married man, she feels more and more desolate and unable to disjoint herself from the muffled state of affairs. Thuy also runs into a zoo keeper Hai (The Lu Le) who incidentally happens to be single. Both Lan and the zoo keeper let Thuy into their lives. Lan offers Thuy sleeping quarters in her room at night instead of the street, and Hai feeds in her a love for animals. While Thuy dreams of bringing these two together, her uncle doggedly searches for her all around the city. Thuy's little sliver of happiness is shortlived when the state services take her away to a children's home.
Does life throw Thuy a chance at a loving home and future?
Rating: Four stars.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
An Education (2008)
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Olivia Williams, Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour, Matthew Beard
This is a story set in the 60s. One day a stranger, a man well into his thirties, driving by stops to give a ride to a schoolgirl stranded in the rain with her cello. They talk and this conversation 16-year old Jenny finds is the most exciting thing that's ever happened to her. With the permission of her parents, he takes her out to see a musical performance. Jenny loves French, can speak Latin, loves art, can talk poetry, and in short is cultured. Both him and his friend/business partner are charmed by her vivacious, giddy open nature.
Jenny does well in school, is quite bright, and her parents including a doting teacher have their expectations set on her going to Oxford for higher education. To do what, Jenny questions. It's a heady feeling for a young girl when a perfect gentleman spoils her like a princess. Graham, a boy her age from her music class who likes her, hasn't got a chance in front of this slick schmoozer. He convinces her parents to whisk her away for a weekend in Oxford where he tells her gullible parents she'll grow connections through him who went to Oxford himself. Following that trip comes another weekend in Paris for her birthday. For all his smoothness, Jenny stands firm about keeping her chastity intact. That prompts a rather serious move on his part.
Silly schoolgirls are always getting seduced by glamorous old men and Jenny though older was none the wiser. There is a nice little moral to the story that there are no shortcuts to the things you want in life.
Rating: Five stars.
This is a story set in the 60s. One day a stranger, a man well into his thirties, driving by stops to give a ride to a schoolgirl stranded in the rain with her cello. They talk and this conversation 16-year old Jenny finds is the most exciting thing that's ever happened to her. With the permission of her parents, he takes her out to see a musical performance. Jenny loves French, can speak Latin, loves art, can talk poetry, and in short is cultured. Both him and his friend/business partner are charmed by her vivacious, giddy open nature.
Jenny does well in school, is quite bright, and her parents including a doting teacher have their expectations set on her going to Oxford for higher education. To do what, Jenny questions. It's a heady feeling for a young girl when a perfect gentleman spoils her like a princess. Graham, a boy her age from her music class who likes her, hasn't got a chance in front of this slick schmoozer. He convinces her parents to whisk her away for a weekend in Oxford where he tells her gullible parents she'll grow connections through him who went to Oxford himself. Following that trip comes another weekend in Paris for her birthday. For all his smoothness, Jenny stands firm about keeping her chastity intact. That prompts a rather serious move on his part.
Silly schoolgirls are always getting seduced by glamorous old men and Jenny though older was none the wiser. There is a nice little moral to the story that there are no shortcuts to the things you want in life.
Rating: Five stars.
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