tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41842191439995415912024-02-19T04:59:49.649-08:00On Cinema-- The art form I so love and learn fromcyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-84811502253620140042012-01-11T11:46:00.000-08:002012-01-11T12:08:23.126-08:00Tango lesson: Using less words, more videos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I have been wanting to write about this beautiful movie for a long time. But words have failed me. So I thought may be I could do a video review with saying as little as possible. I want you to see this movie and enjoy the visuals and the romance as much as I did.<br />
<br />
(Watch one video fully, come back to the post and so on..)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_kcN7g32urWwb3MbUyWdeH0xK2gm_bdwRlQvXoesbjml0Q1Q4_s1EyFZ8PfPsg8LLbqUd8ijiSp_QazqgU_XFvlBbfjhq8psDtu6Nhp_SrZTimG1u667cSk6Xkm-F05lC-Is53V-2iQT/s1600/2660780_9adddcff26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_kcN7g32urWwb3MbUyWdeH0xK2gm_bdwRlQvXoesbjml0Q1Q4_s1EyFZ8PfPsg8LLbqUd8ijiSp_QazqgU_XFvlBbfjhq8psDtu6Nhp_SrZTimG1u667cSk6Xkm-F05lC-Is53V-2iQT/s1600/2660780_9adddcff26.jpg" /></a></div> If you want to dance, the world is your prop. How they just dance on the road,<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HwJWagV6Go%20" target="_blank"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5HwJWagV6Go" width="420"></iframe></a><br />
<br />
In the rains,<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANY6g1qulMU" target="_blank"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ANY6g1qulMU" width="560"></iframe></a><br />
<br />
in the kitchen, on the fireplace, with chairs and walls, escalators in the airport,with everything and everywhere in the world...<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikhHbhpA8pI&NR=1&feature=endscreen" target="_blank"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ikhHbhpA8pI" width="560"></iframe></a><span id="goog_2111852677"></span><span id="goog_2111852678"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a> <br />
<br />
this trailer really captures it all. Their fights, his passion, her writer's block, their dances, and their romance.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoSfhKLgmho" target="_blank"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VoSfhKLgmho" width="420"></iframe></a><br />
<br />
Sally Potter and Pablo Veron are both superbly talented, and truly headstrong. When two equals fight, its a painful pleasure, a high and a low. You badly want them to resolve. These intimate fights of lovers revolve around one thing - When Pablo teaches Tango, Sally follows with difficulty, but she does. But when Sally wants to direct a film, Pablo doesn't want to follow. Its the man-woman fire and ice rapport that they really showcase well in this film<br />
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The colors in the film are really beautiful. The black and white with the contrasting bright colors of her imagined film that she writes the script for. <br />
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The interesting thing about this movie is that it is based on Sally Potter's real life. In such movies, one doesn't know whats real and whats fiction. Its the guessing thats fun.<br />
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My friend Samir often tells us in his <a href="http://samirbharadwaj.com/blog/ladies-vs-ricky-bahl-movie-review/" target="_blank">reviews</a>, what a movie should taste like in our mouth. This one is definitely like French chocolate. <br />
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I'll just leave you with another intense video - this one should leave you with intrigue, if you aren't already that is!<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sGTPTZY5yM&feature" target="_blank"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7sGTPTZY5yM" width="420"></iframe></a></div>cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-78247292255488509202011-08-14T09:28:00.000-07:002011-08-14T12:30:44.894-07:00Shrek – The twisted fairytale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOTDdxq6QzyZRvL80IaRz7dP6uerSHzYhwNx_6J1Rctgr77qYPYvwQJp0i7QWhUyfJGZEdzt8dJShAv-dNhVn53cPOVXMYbd5E1WWOgT9wmZmL_gG5vjzy9x93V5sv5jSIGKGkG1pizRT/s1600/shrek_family-5416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOTDdxq6QzyZRvL80IaRz7dP6uerSHzYhwNx_6J1Rctgr77qYPYvwQJp0i7QWhUyfJGZEdzt8dJShAv-dNhVn53cPOVXMYbd5E1WWOgT9wmZmL_gG5vjzy9x93V5sv5jSIGKGkG1pizRT/s320/shrek_family-5416.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>When I think of Shrek, the word I can most associate with it is ‘topsy turvy’. Think about it. ‘Prince Charming’ and ‘Fairy God Mother’ are the villains. The Kingdom of’ Far Far Away’-the utopian land of our imagination- is far from perfect. The ugly Ogre is our hero. And all the times he gets a chance to either get a beautiful wife or turn beautiful, he chooses not to. Sleeping beauty and the likes who are vulnerable and beautiful are made fun of for how unbelievably dumb they are.The tale is about accepting your ugly self. Finding true love is all about finding someone who can love you for what you really are.And yet, it is very much a fairy tale in structure and thought. An underdog’s story, of good winning over the evil, leaving you with hope that you will be accepted for who you are. Every fairy tale is supposed to represent the dreams and fantasies of a generation and Shrek does that only too well. Only the codes change. Today’s codes of aspiration are not flawless beauty, physical strength or vulnerability. Or lets say that's getting passe. Today’s codes of aspiration move towards acceptance. We don’t need Prince charming to rescue us from demons, because we are not weak or vulnerable anymore. But won’t it be a perfect if we met someone who loved us with all our ugly secrets and imperfections? Someone who could save us the trouble of having to wear the masks that don’t represent who we are anymore.</div>cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-54219483294564249012011-05-14T13:48:00.000-07:002011-06-04T10:07:25.179-07:00Dogville<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiid84BO6__bmBw1cGn4qSC5cPbHuwhdTDlmPaDHGUWsWYax45zsTPhfiS5-rF3dcKLGdIJWMj_DGNqrbQzKediUcj20B5wbBzrcWgzllmF4cVFd_wSPokQvqqouG10-xr6kPzcsEcmg5x-/s1600/dogville3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiid84BO6__bmBw1cGn4qSC5cPbHuwhdTDlmPaDHGUWsWYax45zsTPhfiS5-rF3dcKLGdIJWMj_DGNqrbQzKediUcj20B5wbBzrcWgzllmF4cVFd_wSPokQvqqouG10-xr6kPzcsEcmg5x-/s320/dogville3.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">If you like philosophy or sociology, you can’t miss Dogville. It's similar to 1984 or Brave New world in way because it creates a mythical society to serve a purpose. It meticulously constructs how a society develops prejudice once it discovers power. Goes to question if human beings would really be civilized if they didn’t have to be. If they could get away with doing what they did, if they didn’t have to bear the punishment for being inhuman. Haven’t we heard that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely? If a whole society was entitled to power over someone who is powerless by virtue of not belonging, wouldn’t we abuse it and enjoy it? And that is exactly what prejudice is. It is a fair assumption that prejudice for strangers or outsiders arises out of fear and distrust. But Dogville forces to open your eyes to see that prejudice is an open door to experience and use power, especially with the minority. Prejudice makes you feel better about yourself, and liberates you from the real need of proving yourself. Prejudice is easy success and free identity. Grace, (played by Nicole Kidman) was a single, helpless and harmless woman in need of help. Chased by gangsters, she needs shelter and ends up in the fictional town of Dogville. Nobody in Dogville needed to fear her. They didn’t too. They begin as nice people with values who want to embrace her with a notion of altruism. Their values slowly start eroding when a collective sense of abandoning the value systems happen as they start discovering power- the power to get away with raping her, abusing her and mistreating her. </div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NY5jrDifFjulR8j5Nh3VIvJBbC7oivTS8Ar0jHrx7mRW7OFir09oRu_H-N__AYj5qNTzPv60hceRdcxp6IJhe-6la89kCnIT24pTP6BXS0Ha0i5C7jueA9tb4RlyxzWeBXmhqCQocacQ/s1600/dogville_ver3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NY5jrDifFjulR8j5Nh3VIvJBbC7oivTS8Ar0jHrx7mRW7OFir09oRu_H-N__AYj5qNTzPv60hceRdcxp6IJhe-6la89kCnIT24pTP6BXS0Ha0i5C7jueA9tb4RlyxzWeBXmhqCQocacQ/s320/dogville_ver3.jpg" width="217" /></a>The film’s subtle but intelligent tagline ‘A quiet little town not far from here’ is just the place we are in today – quiet, and with dangerous things deep within us. Dogville might be a slight exaggeration or a simplistic point prover. It reminded me of Dylan’s Not dark yet. But it’s getting there. <br />
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The film is shot like its taking place real time on stage. I think it’s a powerful method to construct a world with minimal distraction. The point to pick is a philosophical question that hounds our society now, and everything else in the film is an aid to be constructing that question.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The pace of the film is slow. But the slowness suited the film. It would be incomplete without it. Because decay in the values of a conditioned society happens only slowly.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Dogville was my second Lars Von Trier movie. The first was Dancer in the dark. Dancer in the dark was deeply disturbing because it brutally portrays a really believable tragedy that we very often want to avoid because most of us are conditioned to hope. We are splattered with inspirational stories where zeroes become heroes, right wins over evil. These actually occur with a low probability. But using Pareto’s 80:20 rule, these 20% stories receive 80% of PR. Dancer in the dark is a shocker, because very simplistically, it depicts a poor, helpless, disabled woman being easily/effortlessly taken advantage of and cheated upon by someone who was stronger, for a very simple reason – he could and he could get away with it too, and that too without much ado. It isn’t counter intuitive. It’s our conditioning that makes us feel disturbed. </div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Unlike the tragedy that Dancer in the dark is, Dogville has a filmier ending, feel good but powerful. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXlmOX_D1aQ1tN66a0NfKWhrElTT6AuOa47ntTQ5KRXkHgakyXnl2VkgOWT-x5hi4eD0sV5ZWe5FJ_r_OeudvfckRCWQsYQa3_cNX79YuwBAKH0YzPeMivKzTw_8Zw2SRCyajGTRNbuJzW/s1600/dogville.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXlmOX_D1aQ1tN66a0NfKWhrElTT6AuOa47ntTQ5KRXkHgakyXnl2VkgOWT-x5hi4eD0sV5ZWe5FJ_r_OeudvfckRCWQsYQa3_cNX79YuwBAKH0YzPeMivKzTw_8Zw2SRCyajGTRNbuJzW/s320/dogville.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And you can’t help but love Dogville for the way it questions the arrogance of ‘generosity’ in its climax. The benefit for being generous is to put yourself above the others on a pedestal, because that is what really defines generosity – doing something that most instinctively fail to. And generosity is an easier value to develop because you can control it more easily, and ironically, by going against your primal instincts, as opposed to a quality like ‘being a genius’ which if you don’t have, you don’t know what to do to attain either. So yeah, it’s a guilt free way of making yourself feel good. Grace was treated that way, because she allowed herself to be. She tried to be generous, understand them and forgive them. And all this at the cost of allowing them to become animals. Lars Von Trier asks if power’s consequences can be offset only by power.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Dogville is serious cinema.Truly, just meant to be thought provoking and nothing else. </div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div>cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-38115002392448025382011-04-14T08:37:00.000-07:002011-04-15T11:57:53.127-07:00Dhobi Ghat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSptMwr-QgP_rjUanJiBVytX7k3OfMbxNwqmsLTXVztJE6-4nF6ZOfwHkReuH777_dgGn7s5ILpvODzbL333vFpPee7Yf_grj-Lrv9Zjoh2QYmxb_rtxOEyikGeRl0hH7O54ckNY_nkHm4/s1600/Dhobi-Ghat-Wallpapers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSptMwr-QgP_rjUanJiBVytX7k3OfMbxNwqmsLTXVztJE6-4nF6ZOfwHkReuH777_dgGn7s5ILpvODzbL333vFpPee7Yf_grj-Lrv9Zjoh2QYmxb_rtxOEyikGeRl0hH7O54ckNY_nkHm4/s320/Dhobi-Ghat-Wallpapers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> When you read about it, it seems like one of those stories about many random people in the city who connect through coincidences. It is that. But it’s also different from other films in the same space like New York I love you or Firaaq or Edge of Heaven because the characters make conscious decisions about developing relationships with their random coincidences. Shay makes an effort to get to know Munna, and Arun makes a choice to get involved with Noor's life. I find beauty in these decisions because they leave you with hope, as if it’s in your hands to breathe the city, and not destiny’s’.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmVKi7yvTbeRsbwAJMDxCcY3q4ZdTw688wm4-bjHJoe97-ROavrWpG0y23RwrWW8i6-l7UIYWp7gqLJJzaZ3_b1vZcXP2H4h2-dGFyVM9XDsDvRxboo-OeUFFU6ofrVHWoQMFHxb9fdJS/s1600/Still-form-the-film.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmVKi7yvTbeRsbwAJMDxCcY3q4ZdTw688wm4-bjHJoe97-ROavrWpG0y23RwrWW8i6-l7UIYWp7gqLJJzaZ3_b1vZcXP2H4h2-dGFyVM9XDsDvRxboo-OeUFFU6ofrVHWoQMFHxb9fdJS/s320/Still-form-the-film.jpg" width="320" /></a>The characters are very well etched, their lives beautifully detailed and the camera lens non judgmental and real. Dhobi Ghat traverses the life of 4 people in the city - Artsy Arun to elite, sophisticated Shay, to lower middle class, aspiring actor Munna to naive Noor – new to the big bad city.<br />
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It’s hard to make a movie that has enough drama, and yet seems as real as a documentary. It means that you have to do double work to ensure that you have the best of both worlds – hold on to the power to fictionalize, but also recreate the space as its supposed to be by paying attention to every detail. I liked the way they constructed the different spaces and lives of these guys - so much detail, but nothing glares or jumps out saying - notice me, I have made the effort...Like for example, did you notice the lamp in artistic Arun's house or the statue of Buddha in Shay's, the stainless steel utensil holder – the most common kitchen ware in every lower/middle class household in mumbai that cant afford to furnish a kitchen, or the slapstick comedy that Munna is watching in his chawl with his like brother. And of course, Munna's room – walls plastered with all the pictures of Bollywood superstars….<br />
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Another charming thing in the movie are the relationships between the different characters. Of course, the one between Shay and Munna is the most obvious one. It was so easy to understand their relationship, in the sense that, its so easy to understand Munna would fall in love with her but be very inhibited..Shay is beautiful, sweet and unattainable. Munna loves her knowing she is impossible to attain, and Shay talks to him knowing that she cannot possibly love him. Class is a big thing, consciously and subconsciously. It was easy to understand why Shay liked him, but never loved him, or was never even confused about not loving him...like that was not an option. The movie managed to capture some other aspects of ‘class’ – like how Munna was expected to service the high class woman…gosh! The laziness, the fat and the arrogance of the woman!<br />
Shay's unrequited relationship with Arun was interesting too...an unrequited relationship hinges on two things...obsession and hope..but the base is fear, till a realisation dawns...its like you are running away from the realisation with it chasing you, and deep down you know its going to get you. Shay gets it all in the end I think, and then tears roll down.<br />
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The film captured everyday sentences and expressions – which open windows to understanding complex contexts - A simple innocuous statement from Noor like "He has come. We will watch TV now..He doesn't talk too much...” is about arranged marriages with no conversation.<br />
And I couldn’t help but wonder how Shay, and Noor belonging to such bipolar backgrounds did the same thing. They were both capturing the city using their own powers of expressions. <br />
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I liked the end – the climax, and then the going on of life, as though nothing much happened. Silent lonely tears and getting over the many emotions that swell up every once in a while. Life does not end, even if phases and relationships do. That’s how it is, more tragedies than comedies. And life goes on!<br />
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</div></div>cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-72299618678438093592011-03-04T23:13:00.000-08:002011-03-04T23:13:42.273-08:00Lost in translation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I think no other piece of work can really depict the idea better than this piece from Malgudi days<br />
<br />
Part 1: <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_84928409">h<span id="goog_84928405"></span><span id="goog_84928406"></span></a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDE_BWdWo68">ere</a><br />
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Part 2: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79SUefc85WQ&feature=related">here</a><br />
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</div>cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-58796534043413902652011-01-26T06:05:00.000-08:002011-04-14T08:10:04.879-07:00Fantasy and destiny<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Noticed something really interesting...every movie that quells the need for fantasy has destiny playing a huge role in it...so in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun...Madhuri even decides to marry her Jiju, but destiny brings her to her love...In Hangover, they did everything that a boy would fantasize about, but went scott free, with destiny seemingly connecting things to make it perfect...Take any other example...So its fantasy that destiny takes responsibility for things to happen...and fantasy is about escaping responsibility and action, about having a good time and not pay for it? isn't it?</div>cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-90529375766011369582010-07-31T09:47:00.000-07:002011-04-14T08:08:51.983-07:00Plot vs. Characters - Reflection of two kinds of societies?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Individualistic society's content always rely on strong characters, because characters are supposed to control and change the world, whereas collective societies always rely on intricate plots, with lesser emphasis on individualism of characters, as the fundamental belief and curiosity is about destiny, and understanding that not everything really is in an individual's control - individual is too small, and insignificant in the larger scheme of things controlled by both God and destiny. Which is why Chinese films - like the clouds, like the wind, rising the red lantern, or curse of the golden flower, have fantabulous plots and stories filled with coincidences, ripple effects, and million intricate possibilities triggered by a gargantuan system.<br />
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</div>cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-30979882258689723452010-07-31T09:29:00.000-07:002010-12-20T04:23:17.939-08:00Confusions of a dangerous mind: Jesse vs. Summer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Am_njbCQQOE/TFRQT7n1KBI/AAAAAAAAAK0/0c7sVjCxZPM/s1600/23847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Am_njbCQQOE/TFRQT7n1KBI/AAAAAAAAAK0/0c7sVjCxZPM/s320/23847.jpg" /></a></div>There is uncanny similarity between the two films - (500) days of summer and Vinnaithandi Varuvaya (Tamil). Both are love stories narrated from a boy's point of view. In both the films, the boys, from whose viewpoint the story is being told are entirely sure of their love for the woman. And in both the stories, since its the guy's viewpoint, the women come across as confused, and stereotypically 'hard to fathom'.Both base their stories with contemporary relationships as their landscape. Its probably a universal confusion with women, and perhaps even men...<i>'Its hard to say no to someone who loves you so much, but its harder to say yes'</i>. No wonder the women go out to explore the relationships but dont stay with the men in the end.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Am_njbCQQOE/TFRPvB3OmXI/AAAAAAAAAKs/nf9FbQzdxn8/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Am_njbCQQOE/TFRPvB3OmXI/AAAAAAAAAKs/nf9FbQzdxn8/s320/images.jpg" /></a></div>Incidentally, both the films were released almost simultaneously, and across two culturally very dissimilar parts of the world. And these very same cultural differences, bring out the differences in the way the choices were made by both the women. Summer, highly individualistic and independent, makes her choice, is sure of it and takes responsibility for it..in the end, she knows she did not love him enough to marry him. With Jesse, its more complicated, I couldn't really figure out if she decided not to marry the guy because of family, her father and for the sake of his social pressures or if she just used that as a reason, in her head and otherwise..because deep down she thought it wasnt the love worth fighting so much for? She is courageous, because she walked out of her marriage, and confronted her family, and confessed about being in love with somebody else...but also made the choice of not marrying her guy in the end, but marry someone her parents wished her to. Interesting to see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheena_Iyengar">Sheena Iyengar's</a> theory of how our choice making process depends on where we come from, come alive through these two films, which are so similar, but for where they are set, which contributes to all the differences.While an individualistic society offers more choice, and the responsibility of making the choice lies with you, a collective society poses a lot of different external variables, and there is a lot of possibilities that one can play with, consciously and sub - consciously!cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-55027053431056892572010-07-31T06:14:00.000-07:002010-08-02T07:03:47.014-07:00Udaan!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Am_njbCQQOE/TFQhOdcZNHI/AAAAAAAAAKU/LTPUClobnfU/s1600/udaan-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Am_njbCQQOE/TFQhOdcZNHI/AAAAAAAAAKU/LTPUClobnfU/s320/udaan-03.jpg" /></a></div>The movie is infused with hope in the bleakest situations, unexpected humor, a 17 year old writer, small town pace and colorful dreams. Writer - director Vikramaditya Motwane says its about teenage angst, and coming of age of a boy. About teenage boys discovering sex, porn films, alcohol and cigs, coming to terms with their relationships, finding their place in the world, making choices to follow their dreams and cribbing, frolicking with friends...<br />
But to me, in addition to all this, this film is about complex characters, parenting and a father son relationship<br />
<br />
Ronit Roy, who played the father was one of the best etched characters in Indian cinema, so far. I loved the fact that Ronit justifies his stance and we know why he has become what we see - A father whose wishes he adhered to, revered with fear, and submitted himself to...accepted his definitions of 'masculinity' and 'loser'.. <br />
They say that if you had a bad parent you didn't do anything about, you'll end up being the same monster in the future, because he dictates your world and creates 'the right definitions for you'. Ronit, a typical MCP, always weighs and assesses everybody with his set and standard definitions of masculinity...which is why he calls his boy 'a girl' and finds it funny that 'tumne sex bhi nahin kiya' (which was also his way of bonding with his son the manly way, weirdly endearing i thought) or calls his brother a loser, because he does not have kids...<br />
Never having been truly loved, resorts to life filled with self - pity - which is the most dangerously indulgent way of loving yourself. In his mind, he is the ideal father..the one who has given his savings and life for creating a bright future for his sons, except that his elder son does not want to live that future. He does all the 'done things' by a parents, like showing the son Jamshedpur, by pointing out to all the statues of famous men in that city, taking the sons for a 'picnic'...but the acts have no emotion, no life and definitely no love.Its rare that we know everything about a villain, his insecurities and his incapabilities and yet not feel like empathizing with him..<br />
<br />
I also liked Rohan - the kid who plays Ronit Roy's son...one of those strong willed heroes...self - assured, confident, silent and brave. Rohan is not someone who stomps around the world saying or thinking he is great. He is just quietly in peace with himself, who he is and discovers things about himself in his life. He isn't defined by peer pressure, but only by his dreams and conviction. His simple acts of courage, and his rebelliousness are really endearing and inspiring. <br />
<br />
There were two extremes in the film...a 17 year old with ample conviction, a boy who knows what he wants, and who he exactly wants to be...and a monstrous, strict, self - piteous father who is stifling, scary and smothers the dreams and lives of his sons...I just thought its even more complicated in real...half monstrous parents, but kids also lacking in conviction :)<br />
<br />
The film never loses its sense of humor and ingrained lightness no matter what how bleak the situation or how dark the plot - beginning with 'Kantishah ke Angoor' to 'Rathod' to 'Papa mujhe bhi hospital bejh denge' to 'Motumaster', the humor is what really brings us to tears, and builds empathy. And there is just so much hope, through and through in Rohan's character, and in the climax. Must watch for the humor, Rohan, and his Father played brilliantly by Ronit Roy, and of course, the most awesome music!cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-9757349338017555962010-05-09T06:18:00.000-07:002010-06-30T13:19:35.690-07:00Children of Heaven<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.mos.totalfilm.com/images/c/children-of-heaven-190-75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.mos.totalfilm.com/images/c/children-of-heaven-190-75.jpg" /></a></div>Majidi makes poverty an adventure, infuses simplicity into everyday life and makes it magical. Children of Heaven is a story of a brother(Ali) and sister(Zahra) trying to manage their lives with a secret to share (Ali loses Zahra's old pair of shoes,after getting them repaired,on his way from the cobblers). Ali and Zahra share the same pair of shoes, Zahra runs home all the way from school and Ali wears the pair and runs to school...<br />
This heart warming film is about Ali's guilt, generosity, understanding of responsibility and their everyday mishaps when they try to share the same pair of shoes...<br />
Typical Majidi style, with the kids as heroes leading the way to a new world by effortlessly lighting hope; An angry,helpless father burdened by responsibilities and poverty; The ambiguous and yet unambiguous, uplifting, and pointless ending - as if the point lies in the rest of the film and the end was only incidental. Such a must watch, for the innocence of kids, to rekindle optimism into the drudgery of everyday lifecyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-2210023820010260402010-05-09T05:43:00.000-07:002010-06-30T13:23:44.433-07:00The class<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogs.widescreenjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/the-class.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://blogs.widescreenjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/the-class.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>To sum up, The class, is a film on melting pot identities and nuances...its a peephole into a 8th Std class in urban France portraying diversity at its best (students from diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds belonging to different nationalities - Chinese, French, Moroccan, Slovakian, West Indies et al.)<br />
<br />
So we see, an adolescent class of rebellious and confused kids...who are all trying to come to terms with their sexuality, figure out who they want to be loyal to - France or the nation they come from - when there is a football match going on, question their teacher about why he used Bill and not Ahmed in his example "Bill is going to have a burger", who they want to be when they grow up, what they are embarrassed about (answers range from 'my ears' to 'eating with my friend's mom').. and so on...<br />
This identity confusion and conflict is brought up in a million places in the class...like when Marin (the French teacher) asked kids to write their names and pin it up on their desks, every kid does it in his own unique way...one with a flag of his nation, one with pink color and flowers et al..such a simple act infused with expression and individuality...Most of these scenes are really subtle...the director does not try to make any one point, he only realistically depicts a class<br />
Through the movie, we traverse through the confusions and opinions of these different students' with different personalities - some rebellious, some shy, some grudging, some bullies, some petite, some perpetually in their own world,some sincere..but each with his own voice and story<br />
<br />
The best part about this movie is that - visually, it shows a class through the eyes of a teacher...the camera sweeps through the class,with many students doing different things and shifts focus from one part/student to another section, all the while leaving the class to be real, alive and thriving.So even if the camera shifts focus, the class is always there,with the many students constantly doing different things <br />
<br />
The class is also about an education system with its flaws and the many teachers who breathe life into it..particularly about Marin, with his best intentions, and limitations in capabilities.<br />
Wanting the best for his students, he encourages a tough Suleyman to take up photography, tries to understand his students through their aspirations and biographies, and fights for them with the other cynical, indifferent teachers who want to 'systemize' every 'process', explaining that students are more human than to neatly fit into processes and expelling difficult students is only a temporary and unhealthy solution<br />
But Marin, not being perfect, also loses his temper,calls some of his students 'cheap' and fights with them saying 'As a teacher I am allowed to say certain things that you can't'..(This scene to me, is about the power equation that a teacher shares with the class, and a teacher has to be able to understand and handle that power...students can't be at par with you when you are teaching them. However this power needs to be earned, and well - guarded, for the punishments for mistakes of a teacher are far higher, and more morally weighty).But this true depiction of Marin is what touched my heart, because that's exactly how things are - imperfect - be it the system, students or the teachers - and acknowledging them is the first step to understanding and improvisation<br />
<br />
The class delves into so many themes related to school and the education system and Marin with his flaws, mistakes, realisations, best intentions and genuine efforts is so so relatable!cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-58200845458498035632010-04-14T04:11:00.000-07:002011-05-14T14:06:50.841-07:00LSD vs. Laalbaghcha Parel (City of Gold)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">There is only one parameter on which I am going to compare both these films. Their treatment of morality.Both question/break the conventionally set patterns of morality - Sex before marriage, extra marital affairs, violence, brutal cruelty et al. There are two themes which usually constitute scandal - Violence and 'illegal' sex. Both the films have covered these themes in abundance.<br />
<br />
While LSD is explosive and bold, I am not sure if it was thought provoking. LSD was a statement to make. Statement made, some appreciated the statement, some didn't. Considering LSD was definitely not entertainment,it should have atleast given some food for thought, right? <br />
<a href="http://amarporikroma.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/love_sex_aur_dhokha_01_10x7_30277_420x315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://amarporikroma.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/love_sex_aur_dhokha_01_10x7_30277_420x315.jpg" width="200" /></a>We never get to know the motivations of the crimes committed, so we only see victims to whom horrible things are done by villians, which apparently is depiction of a stark reality, that we already somehow know about. Somehow, I could not empathise with the victims or villians, and if it was about LOVE, SEX, and DHOKA, I didn't really question anything about them<br />
<a href="http://www.maharashtraspider.com/attachments/Resources/2518-401-lalbaug-parel-marathi-movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.maharashtraspider.com/attachments/Resources/2518-401-lalbaug-parel-marathi-movie.jpg" width="138" /></a>And if you say, its only that LSD depicted what has never been attempted on screen before, lets give it credit for boldness, and not make it a good film!<br />
<br />
On the other hand, in Laalbagh, all the 'crimes' (I am using the word for what is conventionally taken as that)committed were by characters who we knew. We knew what they wanted, who they were, where they were coming from, their circumstances and situations...They become relatable now, and their deeds seem to be justified, and yet in your head they are not..there is conflict and there is questioning...<br />
When Kashmira Shah wants to have an extra marital affair with her neighbor, when she has a really nice husband who is impotent, whether you approve of what she does or not, you don't hate her. When kids take to shooting, and shoot left, right and center just like the kids in City of God, shooting without purpose, you're disturbed, but you make an attempt to understand their angst, confusion caused by poverty, and the bleak hopelessness that unleashes the animal in them. Such many examples. All the characters are heroes, villians and victim, grappling with a tough incomprehensible life...I realise, empathy and conflict is a deadly combination, won't leave without taking your sleep<br />
<br />
Now I know why I wasn't so excited about LSD. There was a tiny voice within that quietly kept asking 'so what', and I couldn't really shut it up!</div>cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-26061066470920117652010-04-10T11:56:00.000-07:002010-09-19T11:13:22.046-07:00Guess who's coming to dinner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Am_njbCQQOE/TJZSu2xLGMI/AAAAAAAAAM8/Cn3aqUqaY2w/s1600/comingtodinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Am_njbCQQOE/TJZSu2xLGMI/AAAAAAAAAM8/Cn3aqUqaY2w/s320/comingtodinner.jpg" /></a></div>This movie is about prejudice. Conscious, and subconscious. Set in the America of the 60's, when racism was a seething social issue, a young white woman falls in love with a black man. The twist in the story is that the girl does not come from a conventional family that supports racism or is afraid of social opinion/taboo and therefore goes along with the flow of the world.She comes from a progressive family of journalists, who are opinion/thought leaders and who are forefront in opposing racism. So,sincerely and effectively, the parents teach their daughter how not to discriminate between people on the basis of their skin color. The daughter grows without the burden of prejudice, takes their learnings to heart and falls in love with this black guy and brings him home after she decides to marry him.<br />
<br />
Technically, the parents should not have a problem, but they discover they do. Progressive thoughts, and dinner table conversations are one thing. The courage and conviction to implement thoughts into action, another. Prejudices, go deeper than you think and know. Most times, we think we can kill prejudices with thoughts, but discover that we haven't, only when the issue reaches our backyard and we are forced to face a situation and forced to take a personal stand. <br />
<br />
The rest of the movie is about how both the families resolve their differences, and come to terms with their prejudices, how they resolve the conflict between thoughts and actions, and most importantly bridge the generation gap. The movie takes us through several conversations between different members of both the families, and gives a honest and fair chance to the confusions and fears that different members face. <br />
<br />
One of the most cliche ways to resolve conflict of thought and action with respect to prejudices is to say I don't have a problem with the variable as such (race here), but I do have a problem with how the variable has affected your identity (exposure levels, upbringing, lifestyle differences, intellect, social acceptance/standing et al.)There is no opportunity to do that here in this story, because the black guy is perfect. One of the most respected doctors in the international community with Ivy league credentials, handsome and impeccably mannered. So,the only only thing that can possibly stand against him is his color. Now, really you need to, need to face your prejudice.That's another thing I love about the film, the way the parents were cornered to face the issue.<br />
<br />
The movie is really relevant even today and would continue to be so even tomorrow, as the variable of race can be replaced with caste, class, religion, or any other social discriminator.<br />
<br />
I highly recommend this movie...its funny, yet intense. Optimistic, and yet seriouscyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-13145976276910061792010-03-19T11:59:00.000-07:002010-06-19T13:01:40.112-07:00Mary & Max/Harvie Krumpet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/11/20/mary_and_max_wideweb__470x319,0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/11/20/mary_and_max_wideweb__470x319,0.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/ffxImage/urlpicture_id_1077072771965_2004/02/19/harviekrumpet,0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="http://www.smh.com.au/ffxImage/urlpicture_id_1077072771965_2004/02/19/harviekrumpet,0.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Give it to Adam Elliot to create a perfect imperfect man. Max and Harvie are not just underdogs, they are truly the guys you wouldn't like/see/accept yourself to be. With a million idiosyncracies, and other 'issues', these weird and quirky outcasts go on with their lives, with their own rules, own paradigms of relationships, and are warriors forefront fighting loneliness. Elliot really really sketches them well, details every aspect of their being, and makes sure they end up to be endearing characters.Elliot's way of making extraordinary stories out of normal characters and everyday lives is amazing.<br />
While Harvie Krumpet is a short experiment with Clay animation and Krumpet's character, fairly optimistic, Mary and Max is on a much larger scale, and a lot darker. Mary and Max is about an unsual and very deep friendship between two pen pals, Mary and Max. While Max and Harvie are very similar, and sketched really well, Mary has a very standard story - drunk, self obessessed parents who are uninterested in her, a lonely childhood with no friends, an outcast in school for almost no concrete reason et al. I wish Mary was quirky too, cos that is the only thing that could have kept their friendship alive for such a long time. Otherwise, Mary was perfect to have a lot of friends and forget Max. Somehow, Mary's almost unflawed character takes away the believability of the story. But, you must watch the movie for Max. And try and catch Harvie <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouyVS6HOFeo">here</a>cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-71175543076463257372010-03-19T11:45:00.000-07:002010-06-19T13:06:34.890-07:00Spring, summer, fall, winter...spring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pandorafilm.com/produktion/movies/spring-summer-fall-winter-and-spring/spring-summer-fall-winter-and-spring_30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.pandorafilm.com/produktion/movies/spring-summer-fall-winter-and-spring/spring-summer-fall-winter-and-spring_30.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Kim Ki Duk should stick to sex and themes around it. This movie is his attempt to understand Buddhism, but I thought it was oversimplified. It takes us through a boy's journey through the different stages of his life. How he lives with his master and undergoes training with him, how he decides to runaway with a woman and enter the worldly life of Samsara, how he gets so involved in the material world, murders, and suffers and then reclaims his life back after returning to the monastery again. Havent we heard this a hundred times?<br />
Of going through a worldly life, experiencing attachment and suffering and renouncing everything to attain Nirvana. Also to note, the second lifestage when the boy explores his sexuality has to be the longest segment (Kim ki duk!). My problem with the movie was the lack of details in the most crucial stage of his life, when he starts suffering, realises and resurrects his life. Which is precisely what I loved about Samsara, or even Herman Hesse's Siddhartha...both don't refrain from barging into the explosive confusion space filled with a myriad complex questions.<br />
Overall, visually very beautiful, but lacking in substance and questions.cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-51704457242010425292010-03-19T11:37:00.000-07:002010-06-25T03:36:54.480-07:00Un BudaUn Buda is about Buddha's idea of balance. Depicted through two brothers, affected by a tragic incident of losing their parents in their childhood, who grow into two starkly opposite people. The elder one - Excessively logical and rational, never to embrace mysticism or spirituality or God, and the younger one - constantly self - depriving, ever trying to attain nirvana, by enforcing detachment, self imposing confines, too quick to sacrifice - his love, his desires, without really considering the middle path, the balanced way<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dharmaflix.com/w/images/3/33/Unbuda1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://www.dharmaflix.com/w/images/3/33/Unbuda1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This movie takes us through their heads and their arguments and logic for being the way they are and their realisations and moves towards finding balance. There is no other way out, every extreme is a wrong path.The women in the movie are brilliant, following their heart, providing for the much needed calm, perspective and balance to both the men. Un Buda is contemporary, relevant and makes the point it sets out to makecyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-30863544680826705172010-03-19T11:13:00.000-07:002010-06-19T13:13:16.395-07:00Good night and good luck<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1257/1439676884_ba9b4a970d.jpg?v=0" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1257/1439676884_ba9b4a970d.jpg?v=0" width="150" /></a></div>Its on the News media business. Its got Clooney :D. Its about responsibility of media, content vs advertising debates, politics and media nexus. et al. Its slick, well made, and has a whole lot of good actors.You can read up on all that elsewhere. For me, the interesting argument the movie raises arises out of this last dialogue in this last scene.<br />
<i><br />
"Just once in a while, let us exalt the importance of ideas and information.<br />
Let us dream to the extent of saying that on a given Sunday night.....the time normally occupied by Ed Sullivan...is given over to a clinical survey on the state of American education.<br />
And a week or two later, the time normally used by Steve Allen... is devoted to a thorough-going study of American policy in the Middle East.<br />
Would the corporate image of their respective sponsors be damaged?<br />
Would the shareholders rise up in their wrath and complain?<br />
Would anything happen...other than a few million people would have received a little illumination......on subjects that may well determine the future of this country......and therefore the future of the corporations <br />
<br />
To those who say, "People wouldn't look, they wouldn't be interested..." <br />
"...they're too complacent,indifferent and insulated"... <br />
...I can only reply: There is,in one reporter's opinion...considerable evidence against that contention. <br />
But even if they are right,what have they got to lose? <br />
Because if they are right...and this instrument is good for nothing... <br />
...but to entertain,amuse and insulate... <br />
...then the tube is flickering now... <br />
...and we will soon see<br />
that the whole struggle is lost. <br />
<br />
This instrument can teach.It can illuminate and it can even inspire.<br />
But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it...towards those ends <br />
<br />
Otherwise,it is merely wiresand lights...in a box. <br />
<br />
Good night, and good luck." <br />
</i><br />
Being in the media industry, just as I hear the words,'clinical survey on American education' and "American policy in the middle east"<br />
My instant reaction is "Who is going to watch this stuff???"<br />
The movie and most debates are about Media taking advantage, <br />
Media having to be responsible, <br />
Media taking initiative to educate audiences<br />
<br />
But Why does noone talk about evolution of audiences?<br />
If the audiences really want to know the truth, they will ask for it<br />
Do they ever appreciate honest and bland news? <br />
Doesnt any onus lie on them? <br />
Why do we always let the audience go scott free? <br />
Why dont we give their intelligence some credit?<br />
May be they know what they want and are getting it??? <br />
Which is not perhaps true stories and genuine in depth knowledge of issuescyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-90941869438265504082010-03-19T10:55:00.000-07:002010-03-19T10:56:47.933-07:00Isle of flowersIsle of flowers is a 10 minute short film. To me, its all about communication that can make a bloody good impact. About how to build a case.How to be funny, build curiousity, connect seemingly disconnected facts and pieces of information and then slash everything with a sword of a message. So if you have 10 minutes to spare, do watch this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpKWK2dxgb4">here</a>cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-59704987448300658472010-03-19T10:51:00.000-07:002010-09-18T10:23:44.465-07:00Samsara (2001)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Am_njbCQQOE/TJT1j5cYSlI/AAAAAAAAAM0/ArpQhH6nz2Q/s1600/samsara14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Am_njbCQQOE/TJT1j5cYSlI/AAAAAAAAAM0/ArpQhH6nz2Q/s320/samsara14.jpg" /></a></div>Samsara is a Ladaki film shot in the mountains of Tibet by an Indian director named Nalin Pan (You must read his biography sometime <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0659023/bio">here)</a>. Its a powerful, thought provoking and visually beautiful film questioning the spirtual value of 'detachment'.<br />
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The movie begins with a band of Buddhist monks going to the caves to rescue and revive Tashi - who has been meditating for 3 years continuously, cut away from the world, in a state of trance. Tashi is really weak when the other monks find him, but has mastered equanimity, and has transcended notions of physical pain. They take Tashi to their monastery. Here comes the interesting part, I really loved the way of life portrayed in the monastery...slow, simple, calm...but full of life...I have never seen monks shown laughing and having fun;their loud, childlike laughter is heart warming; their everyday practise of compassion shown is refreshing and genuine. Tashi while convalescing realises, that he has sexual needs,and therefore manifests and meets the beautiful Pema. Tashi argues with his master in monastery that he hasn't experienced life in its entirety.<br />
<i>"Even the Buddha left everything only after experiencing its worldly offers, then why should we renounce everything just since we are kids"</i><br />
And leaves the monastery to live a worldly life..the rest of the story is about how he falls in love, builds a family, does business, development of attachment towards everything worldly and his journey thereon...<br />
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A very interesting thing to notice in this world is how grey different characters are portrayed. Its as if they belong to a different plane of evolution, A plane above the rest, that is.Not flawless, but more capable of understanding non - violence and the concept of 'letting go' than most collectives. Pema's jealous lover gives her up on his own when he realises that she does not love him, but Tashi instead. Pema knowingly lets her husband make love to another woman understanding his desires, again without much ado; The landlord has much to lose, hates Tashi, but does not attack the angry Tashi back and says<i> </i><br />
<i>"You think I burnt your field? No one does such a thing here.Grow up!"</i><br />
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At a time of his lowest phase, Tashi wants to renounce everything and leaves his wife and son in the middle of the night...Pema questions if he is trying to escape or if he has really conquered his desires?? The movie makes you think about detachment,and if it can really be enforced? By trying to escape from our daily duties, lives and mundaneness, do we delude ourselves into believing that we attain detachment? And ultimately<br />
What is more important? Satisfying a thousand desires or conquering just one?<br />
<br />
This is one of the movies that has given me so much to think about, provided relatable characters with depth & flaws and very intelligently questions and counter questions assumptions we make about spirituality through Tashi's journey.Very rare, in books or in movies do we find human characters like us detailed, searching for things that we all search for with the same intensity, confusion and angst. Without any miracles that rescue or teachers who appear to show the way, just leaving the two protagonists by themselves to find answerscyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4184219143999541591.post-13910174780189110992010-03-19T09:09:00.000-07:002010-06-19T13:08:02.558-07:00Beginnings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.poepsel.com/Home/Zen_files/pebbles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="http://www.poepsel.com/Home/Zen_files/pebbles.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I love watching movies, and love reading. They entertain me, teach me, show me a new world...Usually, the magic of story and characters does it for me...<br />
This is a attempt to put down all my thoughts about them.So that I can share, and you can too.A platform for discussions, conversations, and learning<br />
Mostly, will write about unusual films and books. Every body has already said everything I have wanted to say about the popular ones,and in a much better fashion.cyndujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14090543585721014625noreply@blogger.com0