Cast: Linus Roache, Rahul Bose, Nandita Das, Jennifer Ehle
Set in pre-independent Kerala, Henry Moores (Linus Roache) a young British upstart keen on establishing a flourishing spice business, takes up an illicit relationship with his household help Sajani (Nandita Das), a married village girl, while his own wife and son are away in England. His handyman TK (Rahul Bose) also a local is his right-hand man for massing local labor and support. Moved by the camaraderie between them, Henry gifts an English pistol to TK. TK finds himself entrenched in two worlds, the world of his ancestral heritage and the world of opportunities and advancement brought about by the British raj. Soon Sajani's abusive husband gets wind of their relationship and Sajani faces the brutal brunt of his abuse. She turns to Henry but is turned away especially as Henry's unsuspecting wife and son are back. Sajani feeling dejected and betrayed in love, shoots herself with TK's pistol. The trail of the pistol leads the police and the village council to TK. Does TK forgo his fealty to Henry and confess the truth? Does Henry get away with abetting suicide? Directed and shot by Santosh Sivan, the movie takes you on a lush journey of Kerala's wilderness and breathtaking settings. Nandita Das and Rahul Bose perform flawlessly. There's an undercurrent to the story if one catches on. It's that being entrapped in both worlds but belonging fully to neither is a sign of times not exclusive to the British era.
Rating: Four out of 5.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Hindi Movie Review: Raavan (2010)
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Vikram, Govinda
Mani Ratnam renowned for delivering golden hits like Roja, Bombay, Nayagan has attempted to tell a modern story through the lens of India's age-old epic, Ramayana. As in the epic, the filmmaker draws parallels in this story to Beera (Abhishek) as Raavan who abducts a police officer Dev's (Aka Ram from the epic played by Vikram) strong-willed wife Ragini (Aka Sita played by Aishwarya). Though intent on killing her within 14 hours of her kidnapping, her spirited attempts to live and evade capture captivates Beera. Instead he falls in love with her. Ragini lives in captivity for a fortnight with the tribals of whom Beera is the leader. Dev, his gang of police officers along with the aid of Sanjeevani (played by Govinda akin to Hanuman in the epic) a forest guard follow in hot pursuit of Beera. We learn that Beera is not quite the villain he's expected to be and neither is Dev the righteous man Ragini thinks him to be.
Govinda provides a much needed reprieve to the otherwise grave tone of the film. Aishwarya fits her part to the tee lending equal measures of strength, vulnerability, and innocence to her character. Rahman's soundtrack with Beera, Behne De, Thok De Killi are catchy and memorable. While the pace of the movie itself is never dull, Mani fails to engage the audience with the central characters. What makes Dev so righteous, what makes Beera so fearful? Then there's Beera's love for Raagini which strikes as farcical as do the antics of his own character.
Rating: Three out of 5.
Mani Ratnam renowned for delivering golden hits like Roja, Bombay, Nayagan has attempted to tell a modern story through the lens of India's age-old epic, Ramayana. As in the epic, the filmmaker draws parallels in this story to Beera (Abhishek) as Raavan who abducts a police officer Dev's (Aka Ram from the epic played by Vikram) strong-willed wife Ragini (Aka Sita played by Aishwarya). Though intent on killing her within 14 hours of her kidnapping, her spirited attempts to live and evade capture captivates Beera. Instead he falls in love with her. Ragini lives in captivity for a fortnight with the tribals of whom Beera is the leader. Dev, his gang of police officers along with the aid of Sanjeevani (played by Govinda akin to Hanuman in the epic) a forest guard follow in hot pursuit of Beera. We learn that Beera is not quite the villain he's expected to be and neither is Dev the righteous man Ragini thinks him to be.
Govinda provides a much needed reprieve to the otherwise grave tone of the film. Aishwarya fits her part to the tee lending equal measures of strength, vulnerability, and innocence to her character. Rahman's soundtrack with Beera, Behne De, Thok De Killi are catchy and memorable. While the pace of the movie itself is never dull, Mani fails to engage the audience with the central characters. What makes Dev so righteous, what makes Beera so fearful? Then there's Beera's love for Raagini which strikes as farcical as do the antics of his own character.
Rating: Three out of 5.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Bengali Movie Review: The Japanese Wife (2010)
Cast: Rahul Bose, Chigusa Takaku, Moushmi Chatterjee, Raima Sen
Snehamoy Chatterjee a young man in a West Bengal village forges a pen friendship with a small town girl in Japan. What's common between them is how simple and unaffected they both are. She a grocery store clerk and him a school master in his little village, they're of modest means and to both English is a second language, yet, the only language they can commmunicate in. Into their third year of pen-friendship, they profess love for each other and exchange marital vows over letters. In this one-of-a-kind tale, despite them never meeting the two remain loyal to one another. Simple they may be, but in contrast to the speeding modernity in their sorrounding cities and the values such a life espouses, this pair renders their love eternal as soaring as that of romeo and juliet only minus the hyperbole of emotions or drama.
Rating: Four out of 5.
Snehamoy Chatterjee a young man in a West Bengal village forges a pen friendship with a small town girl in Japan. What's common between them is how simple and unaffected they both are. She a grocery store clerk and him a school master in his little village, they're of modest means and to both English is a second language, yet, the only language they can commmunicate in. Into their third year of pen-friendship, they profess love for each other and exchange marital vows over letters. In this one-of-a-kind tale, despite them never meeting the two remain loyal to one another. Simple they may be, but in contrast to the speeding modernity in their sorrounding cities and the values such a life espouses, this pair renders their love eternal as soaring as that of romeo and juliet only minus the hyperbole of emotions or drama.
Rating: Four out of 5.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Spanish Movie Review: El Crimen Del Padre Amaro (2002)
Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Ana Claudia Talancon, Sancho Gracia, Angelica Aragon, Luisa Huertas
Padre Amarro (Gael Garcia Bernal), arrives in a small Mexican town as a fresh-faced priest in training. Sent by the bishop of the region, from a well-meaning priest he gradually succumbs to life in the parish. At the beginning Amaro sees that padre Benito (Sancho Gracia), the head priest, though living under the facade of celibacy has a clandestine lover. He sees how drug, crime money is being poured into church projects under the justification that bad money becomes purified when used for a good cause. Slowly Amaro falls to the wayside. A young parishner, beautiful Amelia's (Ana ClaudiaTalancon) devotion to the church and her admiration for Amaro turns into a steamy love affair between them. Amaro also becomes an aide to the bishop's political maneuvers inside the church. From an observer, Amaro turns into an active participant in the milieu. What's so striking about the movie (The Crime of Padre Amaro) is how dexterously the plot unveils characters of whom it's difficult to judge or categorize as good or bad. The audience is pulled in to empathize and see through their choices subtleties and ethical dilemmas that follow those choices. Even if a celibate priest, the structure imposed by an institution does not sheild him from the travails of the human condition.
Rating: Four of 5 stars.
Padre Amarro (Gael Garcia Bernal), arrives in a small Mexican town as a fresh-faced priest in training. Sent by the bishop of the region, from a well-meaning priest he gradually succumbs to life in the parish. At the beginning Amaro sees that padre Benito (Sancho Gracia), the head priest, though living under the facade of celibacy has a clandestine lover. He sees how drug, crime money is being poured into church projects under the justification that bad money becomes purified when used for a good cause. Slowly Amaro falls to the wayside. A young parishner, beautiful Amelia's (Ana ClaudiaTalancon) devotion to the church and her admiration for Amaro turns into a steamy love affair between them. Amaro also becomes an aide to the bishop's political maneuvers inside the church. From an observer, Amaro turns into an active participant in the milieu. What's so striking about the movie (The Crime of Padre Amaro) is how dexterously the plot unveils characters of whom it's difficult to judge or categorize as good or bad. The audience is pulled in to empathize and see through their choices subtleties and ethical dilemmas that follow those choices. Even if a celibate priest, the structure imposed by an institution does not sheild him from the travails of the human condition.
Rating: Four of 5 stars.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Hindi Movie Review: Ishqiya (2010)
Cast: Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, Salman Shahid, Adil Hussein
Ishqiya (New Hindi Movie / Bollywood Film / Indian Cinema DVD)
There've been very few Hindi movies in recent times that I'd clamour to see twice. Ishqiya by Vishal Bharadwaj qualifies as such a classic. Well characterized and portrayed with strong performances, the dialogues and the soundtrack also emerge as clear winners. Composed by Vishal Bharadwaj, tracks like Ibn Batuta, Badi Dheere Jali, Dil to Bachcha Hai stand out for their lilting melodies as well as for being weaved in perfectly to match the storyline.
The plot revolves around Kalujaan (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi) small time crooks on the run from their master hooligan (Salman Shahid). On their escape route, they take shelter at another conman Vidhyadar Verma's (Adil Hussein) home in Gorakhpur. We gather his fate has met a cruel end and is survived by his widow, Krishna (Vidya Balan). A talented classical singer and a beautiful woman, Krishna's living the quiet life of a homemaker in the vestiges left behind by her late husband who's errant ways she'd tried to mend. Kalujaan soon gets taken in by Krishna's allure, her singing, her softness, and rustic elegance. Babban follows suit. Only Krishna is not who she seems. We discover Krishna through Kalujaan and Babban as the plot plows on energetically.
By far this has been my favorite film by Vishal Bharadwaj. Although Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi and all other characters have performed outstandingly, it is Vidya Balan who shines in her refined portrayal. This film's a definite must-see! Characters like Nandu, the general confusion of outlawness, scenes in the background of street dogs, an icecream cart hawker, an old lady on a charpoy, little wayside temples, roadside eateries, ubiquitous cellphones are all telling sights of today's burgeoning small city landscapes in India.
Rating: A 4.5 out of 5 stars!
Ishqiya (New Hindi Movie / Bollywood Film / Indian Cinema DVD)
There've been very few Hindi movies in recent times that I'd clamour to see twice. Ishqiya by Vishal Bharadwaj qualifies as such a classic. Well characterized and portrayed with strong performances, the dialogues and the soundtrack also emerge as clear winners. Composed by Vishal Bharadwaj, tracks like Ibn Batuta, Badi Dheere Jali, Dil to Bachcha Hai stand out for their lilting melodies as well as for being weaved in perfectly to match the storyline.
The plot revolves around Kalujaan (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi) small time crooks on the run from their master hooligan (Salman Shahid). On their escape route, they take shelter at another conman Vidhyadar Verma's (Adil Hussein) home in Gorakhpur. We gather his fate has met a cruel end and is survived by his widow, Krishna (Vidya Balan). A talented classical singer and a beautiful woman, Krishna's living the quiet life of a homemaker in the vestiges left behind by her late husband who's errant ways she'd tried to mend. Kalujaan soon gets taken in by Krishna's allure, her singing, her softness, and rustic elegance. Babban follows suit. Only Krishna is not who she seems. We discover Krishna through Kalujaan and Babban as the plot plows on energetically.
By far this has been my favorite film by Vishal Bharadwaj. Although Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi and all other characters have performed outstandingly, it is Vidya Balan who shines in her refined portrayal. This film's a definite must-see! Characters like Nandu, the general confusion of outlawness, scenes in the background of street dogs, an icecream cart hawker, an old lady on a charpoy, little wayside temples, roadside eateries, ubiquitous cellphones are all telling sights of today's burgeoning small city landscapes in India.
Rating: A 4.5 out of 5 stars!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Hindi Movie Review: Phoonk 2 (2010)
Cast: Sudeep, Amruta Khanvikhar, Ahsaas Channa, Ashwini Kalsekar, Rishabh Jain
Phoonk 2 (New Horror Hindi Film / Bollywood Movie / Indian Cinema)
Phoonk 2 the sequel takes off from where Phoonk ended. For those who watched Ram Gopal Verma's Phoonk, they'd recall how Rajiv's (Sudeep) soured relationship with his business partner Madhu (Ashwini Kalsekar) triggered dangerous consequences with Madhu performing black magic and voodoo to attempt at destroying Rajiv's family. With the aid of black magic, Rajiv averts her intentions and Madhu is killed in the ensuing faceoff.
In Phoonk 2, Madhu's ghost returns to haunt them. Rajiv, his wife Arati (Amruta Khanvilkhar), and their children (Ahsaas Channa and Rishabh Jain) move into a new bungalow with their live-in help. From the start there are signs that things are not right. The family seems to have moved into the house without ever having seen it before. Having emerged from the wake of a Phoonk, the viewers would only wonder why the family has picked on a house in a deserted area right next to a thick jungle all to scare the bejesus out of them. As the movie progresses, you see that eerie scenes apart, while it gets through to the audience that the inmates should leave the house, the family oblivious continues to inhabit and ignore the signs. All of a sudden, we learn that Arati's body has been possessed by Madhu's vengeful spirit. The spirit that until now seemed perfectly capable of doing away with two people (a hired help and Rajiv's friend) in spirit form suddenly needs to possess Arati's body to embark on a killing spree.
Compared to the well-made Phoonk, the sequel suffers plot amnesia. Without any preface as to why or how, Arati is found to be possessed and on a rampage to finish all in her path. It almost looks like the editing room broke loose and plugged scenes out of sequence. At any rate, the makers have ensured the ending leaves room for a Phoonk 3.
Rating: A 2 out of 5.
Phoonk 2 (New Horror Hindi Film / Bollywood Movie / Indian Cinema)
Phoonk 2 the sequel takes off from where Phoonk ended. For those who watched Ram Gopal Verma's Phoonk, they'd recall how Rajiv's (Sudeep) soured relationship with his business partner Madhu (Ashwini Kalsekar) triggered dangerous consequences with Madhu performing black magic and voodoo to attempt at destroying Rajiv's family. With the aid of black magic, Rajiv averts her intentions and Madhu is killed in the ensuing faceoff.
In Phoonk 2, Madhu's ghost returns to haunt them. Rajiv, his wife Arati (Amruta Khanvilkhar), and their children (Ahsaas Channa and Rishabh Jain) move into a new bungalow with their live-in help. From the start there are signs that things are not right. The family seems to have moved into the house without ever having seen it before. Having emerged from the wake of a Phoonk, the viewers would only wonder why the family has picked on a house in a deserted area right next to a thick jungle all to scare the bejesus out of them. As the movie progresses, you see that eerie scenes apart, while it gets through to the audience that the inmates should leave the house, the family oblivious continues to inhabit and ignore the signs. All of a sudden, we learn that Arati's body has been possessed by Madhu's vengeful spirit. The spirit that until now seemed perfectly capable of doing away with two people (a hired help and Rajiv's friend) in spirit form suddenly needs to possess Arati's body to embark on a killing spree.
Compared to the well-made Phoonk, the sequel suffers plot amnesia. Without any preface as to why or how, Arati is found to be possessed and on a rampage to finish all in her path. It almost looks like the editing room broke loose and plugged scenes out of sequence. At any rate, the makers have ensured the ending leaves room for a Phoonk 3.
Rating: A 2 out of 5.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Lila Says (2005): French Movie Review
Cast: Vahina Giocante, Mohamed Khouas
This coming-of-age love story explores the emotions of a young muslim man living near the city of Paris. Growing up in a poor ghetto all his life with his single mother having never travelled anywhere else, Chimo has no hope for a better life. Days roll by as he observes and writes of the depraved existence about him. He reckons he can't do much better than his friends. His friends who slouch around making a scrap living with shifty dealings tell him no better. That is until Lila, a beautiful blonde girl arrives in their neighborhood. Provocatively dressed, Lila markedly ignores his friends but takes a liking to Chimo. She befriends him, sharing salacious stories, suggestive thoughts, and generally riling him up till he frets with not knowing how to be around her or what to say to her. Avoid her though, he can't. The closer they get, the more titillating she is leaving him but absorbed. Seeing her preference for him, his friends rankle wih rage. What lies behind Lila's provoking character or what his enraged, rejected friends get up to? The movie takes you on a vivid emotional journey through a teenager's eventful summer.
Rating: A 4 out of 5 stars.
This coming-of-age love story explores the emotions of a young muslim man living near the city of Paris. Growing up in a poor ghetto all his life with his single mother having never travelled anywhere else, Chimo has no hope for a better life. Days roll by as he observes and writes of the depraved existence about him. He reckons he can't do much better than his friends. His friends who slouch around making a scrap living with shifty dealings tell him no better. That is until Lila, a beautiful blonde girl arrives in their neighborhood. Provocatively dressed, Lila markedly ignores his friends but takes a liking to Chimo. She befriends him, sharing salacious stories, suggestive thoughts, and generally riling him up till he frets with not knowing how to be around her or what to say to her. Avoid her though, he can't. The closer they get, the more titillating she is leaving him but absorbed. Seeing her preference for him, his friends rankle wih rage. What lies behind Lila's provoking character or what his enraged, rejected friends get up to? The movie takes you on a vivid emotional journey through a teenager's eventful summer.
Rating: A 4 out of 5 stars.
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