RASHOMON (1950) - JAPANESE

Greatness comes through the narrative by adding a great perspective. Proved by Kurosawa

To date, I resisted touching Kurosawa for me though, I was meek to comprehend his greatness and perhaps even understand it. After watching Rashomon, I must say I am in a "complex" of a certain dilemma acquired by watching this film. 

A simple tale can be made complex by adding different versions of narratives to the same story, they are contradictory and inconclusive, yet they add the dimension of thought-provoking and making the viewer think actually what could have happened in the story. Perhaps, nothing of what was said and maybe all too, but the most important thing it ignites a debate within a mind. Thus, there lies the success of the film and hence it derives all the attention of the viewer. This is how the film becomes great.

Even so many years later, if this film has the charm to attract and enthrall audiences. I attribute that mostly to the narration by Kurosawa above everything else. Yes, the cinematography is brilliant, the editing is precise and makes the film breezy. The production values are good considering this is made in 1950's Japan. But above all, the treatment and the screenplay take the film to greater heights.

It's the story of a woman cheating her husband and making love with another man who is a bandit. But the husband, the woman, the bandit present three versions of the story and that makes it complex. Even the witnesses give different versions of happenings and it gets intriguing further.

Nature acts as a metaphor, the overcast skies, the rains, and the sunshine at the end add another aspect to the narrative, which I got to know by the end. Thankfully, I observed it to grasp it.

I will further examine, observe, and seek learnings from Akira Kurosawa's films. For this film, a 5/5. It's a masterpiece from one of the finest directors ever.

BEING SUPERHUMAN

All my friends have a girlfriend

How does it feel to me?

Does it seem good, or is it just the end?

If you ask me this

I feel like a God who has his end
As life is just a game and plays the way you want

Come on baby, just say along

That today this is my song

Of life with love, but without a girlfriend

I know that for many, I am just human

But for the unknown yet, perhaps I am superhuman

PACK OF CARDS

Hold a pack of cards and look at the jack
He is alright, but the mighty king
Oh, he is so bright
He, who has no mustache is the king of hearts
While other kings are fine but he is a bit smart
The queen's beauty entices me into romance
Perchance she comes and perhaps, we dance
The numbers do not mean much
But to fill the pack they are a must
While the ace tops them all 
And with his trump, he stops them all

RUN FOR TRAIN

When on run, to catch a train
It doesn't matter if it's sun, cold or rain
Head down and with swift feet, I just run
For, I may miss a day or a lifetime fun
All our life we sweat and save
And end up in a shallow grave
Throwing all we got and what others gave
So, meanwhile why to miss the fun?
Thinking this, I am on the run towards the train
Though in hurry and pain
I finally caught it and that was my biggest gain
Thus, ended the feat when I found my seat
And away went all the pain
Yet, there was fun in running for the train.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Call me when sweetness has dried
From the lips that have lost the word
And from the taste buds where taste has died
While mind has lost its world
As it could not squeeze love from it's loved one
And cannot get to me, leaving those whom you loved too
In such a fix, a God comes and weaves his magic trick
Asks to lose the mind and live with heart
So be it, if others have to part
But get the love, that would make life a tale
That ends with the line "Happily Ever After" 

MITHYA (2008) - HINDI

A roller coaster fun ride film that has many good moments.

I liked it primarily for the treatment. It's a story that has some clues from yesteryear's DON but was treated completely differently and more realistically. Kudos to the director Rajat Kapoor for having the courage to put this up.

Ranvir Shorey shows many facets of his acting capabilities here. He is simply brilliant and endearing. As the film moves, his character evolves and thus it grew on me. Of others, Naseeruddin Shah was at ease with his character. Saurabh Shukla plays his role effortlessly. A host of others gather to make this film a watch just for their acting. The best part of the film is the cast in itself. The cast that has tremendous acting abilities. 

The cinematography was good, if not great. What was shown was adequately done. The editing was superb. Considering this as 1 hour 50 minutes film, all the unnecessary things are chopped off. No uncalled for songs and no heroic fights. It's simply put and well compiled.

The writing is terrific. With showing small cultural differences to major mindset exchanges, the film deals with many aspects without any hype and hoopla. The simplicity comes to the foray as a saving grace and it indeed is the big positive of this film.

Thanks to writers Rajat Kapoor and Saurabh Shukla for having written it so exceptionally well. Also, thanks to producers for having the courage to bring it on screen. 

If not for anything, just watch it for Ranvir Shorey. A 4.5 for this brilliant film. 

POEM OF LOVE

The dog outside my home barks
The lizard crawls swiftly on walls
There is heat in the air and no sign of rain
The clouds vanish and the sky becomes blue
When I write a song of pain

But, when I write a poem of love
The crows fly to give way to doves
The dog is merry and the lizard doesn't move
The breeze becomes cold and clouds bring rain
Oh, what nature I see, that needs just some love
So, I wrote on love to be happy
Coz, I'd be happy when others are happy

END OF STRIFE

With a messed up mind and screwed up life

I attempt to find, the thing that ends my strife

The reason, why I should live

For what and whom I must be

Why take and what to give

Why these queries come, just to me

Found me in a whirlpool

Where in every swirl, there's self-empathy

Figuring out the end of this whirlpool

None and nothing shows any sympathy

But got to know a thing again and again

That most things done in life just go vain 

And the inevitable death relieves all pain

KISS ME DEADLY (1955) - ENGLISH

I must confess that, with this film I have seen a good noir film that is well nuanced and spine chilling.

From the titles in the beginning to the final frozen frame, there is a sense of mystique that prevails. It helped me hang for the whole length of the film and I felt grateful at the end. The film poster itself has too many details that need some good time to decipher.

To begin with, it's all in the writing of the script and placing them well in screenplay. Now, this film has done that part exceptionally well. Dialogues are good and they carry a certain intrigue that made me hold back to the whole length of the film.

It has many undertones and many references too. It's disapproving of many conventional film making norms that were there in 1950's. But in the same structure, the body and the heart of the this film are radically different and we have been offered a very niche film. It's classically noir and it's classically left for viewers interpretation.

The end climax is debatable and left me with questions. That's the kind of film that I like. The good films are good, but the great ones start asking questions about why anything happened. They start a debate internally within the mind and even with others, when you discuss about the film. Thus, this definitely is a great film.

With sharp editing and superb cinematography, this film is a landmark technically in 1950's. The production design is wonderful too. All kudos to the technical team who have got the infrastructure of this film together.

The acting, the nuances of emotions are done well by all the actors. Though, Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer stole the show.

Great work by Robert Aldrich the director and great work by Criterion in giving us the film unedited, with even the alternative ending preserved. This is not a film for general viewers, it's strictly for aficionados.

A 5/5 for a definitive, science fiction, noir film. 

THE TRIAL (1962) - ENGLISH

The logic of this film is the logic of a dream.

It's surreal, complicated and does give very less breathing space to contemplate what has happened. Made by a film aficionado for film aficionados, this is a highly intellectual interpretation of what Franz Kafka wrote. There are reasons why only Orson Welles could attempt this, without any compromise. Also, only why he could understand it and interpret it the way he did. Orson Welles perhaps, has many similarities with Kafka. From being eccentric and extremely passionate about his art to having a similar surreal psyche that is left for the interpretation of the audience than being spoon-fed. 

From the cast to the settings, to the humongous number of extras used, this film has a grandeur which can also be stated as grandeur of delusions. A door opens another one and we do not know if all that was happening was real or a mere illusion. Such is the script that it never made me wake up from the times I watched it. I watched it thrice and will watch it many times more. There is so much happening and so much has been said that it took me time to even get a grasp of it. I must admit I read the book only after watching this film. 

I watched it thrice till date. The first time, it shook me. Second time, it gave me some insights. Third time, I was awestruck as I got to understand a few details deeply. Perhaps, this is still not right for me to review this film coz there are many more things that I ought to know in the process of understanding this film. 

Kafka is probably one of the most complicated writers of 19th century. While other writers used lot of verbiage to elucidate the details, Kafka used less words and said so much more. The translators of Kafka's works should be hugely applauded for they would have gone through a lot of pain in getting us the right meaning and in the appropriate context. 

Getting back to the film, this has great set pieces and Orson Welles proves yet again that why is grandeur a must to show a film in a certain way. It adds intrigue, mystique and a certain sense of being there. The scene where K escapes from the the painter and the way it has been shot, is just magnificent. Welles knows how to use camera, art design, and the setup the sets with the shots in mind meticulously.

Hey, is this a movie review? I really doubt coz after reading, I felt like I reviewed Kafka and Orson Welles more than the movie "The Trial" itself. Nevertheless, I can simply say it is one of the most profound surreal films that will be ever made.

A 5/5 for one of the finest films by a master director.

WINTER WEAR

When in the winter, I wore the sweater
While it got cold and I just got it sold
Got some money to buy some rum
To make myself warm in the snow storm
But it didn't work and I had to bear,
The cold till I got another one to wear

SPOON WALK

I walked on the moon holding a spoon
So to have lunch, waiting for the noon
Hoping against the hope in innocence
That here too the sun would rise soon

WONDERFUL SMILE

Why does the sun dawn every dawn,
And moon every night, if not for you
If not for you, I wonder why was music made 
And why there is noise when you feel sad
The earth rotates and even revolves
If not for you, why would it make such a resolve
The moon shines brightly all through the night
If not for you, why stars twinkle at night
Rain pours, snow falls and sun gives heat
If not for you, why does nature do such a feat
So hard to beguile as you sit for a while
Flowers blossom and leaves sprout
All work hard, to catch a glimpse of that wonderful smile
Which comes on, only in joy and not in melancholy or doubt

DINNER WITH LOVE

Welcome to my world, my lovely Valentine
Let's have dinner with candles and wine
Let's dance as if there is no tomorrow
Lost in the beats, forget past sorrow
Let the candles smile at our funny steps
Let the wine spill as we move our hips
Stop, the order has come and is waiting
Let's make love at table dancing while dining

BEAUTY TO WITCH

Saw her on a railway platform

Making myself just a bit lost

I went up to her and said "Hello Miss"

She turned away as if she gave me a miss

Then I said "Hello Beautiful, How are you?"

She gave a look that asked, "Who are you?"

She moved away but my look was still on

And started and stared till the train came on

Her beauty faded and she seemed normal

And yet I stared just as normal

The lips lost their glow, and so did her eyes

Too manly were her broad jaws 

While too square was her thumbnail

Which she tried to hide under her stole

The train stopped and so did my staring trial

As I moved away, I heard someone say

"A beauty stared too much becomes a witch

A girl loved too much becomes a bitch"

LOVE MEADOWS

Calling into meadows of love is my wife
While the shadows are waning at dusk 
As the sun sets down, calling to have fun
Musicians unfold their guitars to start their busk
The green grass turns black at night
Moon wades to radiate its light
My love, lying in the grass
Glowing bright under the moonlight
Calls me to hold her tight
The black crows and the white doves
Flew to their nests to make private love
Now it's our time to make love

HAPPY MESS

Seventh-day in a row I am on an alcohol spree
Just drinking like hell as I am free
Messing with them who want to mess with me
Screwing them who want to screw me
Knowing that I am alone, with no friend but myself
Living as a menace to this little life
Taking peace to places out of reach
All rules are dead as I made the big breach
For the mess that made me happy, I am solely responsible
Like for all things for an eternal loner, he is only responsible

SHADOW

There is none in the world to love me
And there is none to hear me
There is none to read my writing 
There is none far or near me
Who can hold my hand and understand
That I got a heart, serene too much
There is no to sing my song
And make me just merry if not much
There is no who can make me smile
And for a while, make me forget all my qualms
But in silence too shallow
There's a painting on the wall that says
"She is the one there for everyone
She is none other than your shadow"

SENSELESS TERMS

A thief steals things to make his wife happy
A wife kills her friend, by suspicion on her husband
A student copies in the exam to get good marks
A mother lies to the child, his dead dad would be back
A just engaged man forces his fiance to sleep 
A boyfriend fools his girlfriend, convincing that she is the only one
While all of these, shall be forgiven for they have a reason
An artist who asks to see beauty in darkness
Or a lover who wants to his girl's smile at her mother's funeral
They shall never be pardoned
For they are mean as per the world
And perhaps, they would be executed
As the world terms the artist and the lover senseless

TAARE ZAMEEN PAR (2007) - HINDI

Indeed, children are stars on earth and yes, every child is special.

Aamir Khan is a good man and he proved it again by taking up this project and anchoring this till it reaches its viewers. To perceive the story of a child, make the child as a protagonist and then only appear in the second half of the film although being a mainstream commercial actor should have been very tough for Aamir Khan. But considering that he is a sensitive human and a great actor who puts the script above the actors, perhaps he put in the form it is today. 

The writer-lyricist Amole Gupte who produced a wonderful script with fine nuances of children put in there. Their emotions, their childishness, their mischief and even their stubbornness are stupendously written in this script. It is near flawless in terms of emotional quotient and makes me weep whenever I see this. Kudos to Amole Gupte for giving us a memorable film. Barring one scene where Aamir as Nikumbh (the painting teacher) preaches the parents of Ishaan (Darsheel Safary), about running for marks and forgetting the essence of childhood, the rest of the script was mellifluous.

There is a touch of melancholy in Ishaan's life but that's genuine and is not overboard. There is a joy of accomplishment at the end and makes me as viewer very happy and triumphant. I was enjoying the win of Ishaan, that's how this film moved me and it continues to do so even after 6 years of release. 

Music is a special thing for this film. From the title song to the Bheja Kum number on teachers, everything is in place. Perhaps, Bum Bum Bole, the song of Aamir Khan might have been the only hindrance, but even that has wonderful lyrics asking many questions so that's also beautiful and falls in place. My favorite though is "Mera Jahaan" where Ishaan explores the world outside and is wondered by the incidents. 

Editing is good and so is the cinematography. The camera does its job adequately by showing us the required emotions in the right way. Neither too many close ups nor too many long shots. The shots are composed well. There are a few subplots which add emotions too, they seem to be sensitive and bring some good tears. Like Nikumbh (Aamir) teaching the under privileged children and making an even for those children. 

This is definitely a feel good film, where by the end, I felt really very good and was happy enjoying the fact that a child who was having a psychic problem could overcome that by sheer hard work and by the right guidance. this is a testimony in Indian Cinema of how good a message can be told without ever being preachy. If done the right way, we can go many miles in reach and scope. This is a film that I hope every parent a child will see all over the globe and hopefully they connect with it.

A 5/5 for one my favorite films. I loved it, because I connected with it. 

THE BOOK OF LAUGHTER AND FORGETTING

AUTHOR : MILAN KUNDERA

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE : CZECH

TRANSLATOR : AARON ASHER (translated from French)

This book got me back into the habit of reading books. It is a great experience in itself.

I was a voracious reader till 2010. Thanks to my friends and other sources like internet which have made me acquaint with some great books and kept me going. They were insightful and my personality was build by them. 

This book was suggested to me by my good friend Raghuveer, who reads books more than most people I know. He just handed over it and said just read any of the pages. I read a page in the middle and was taken aback by the intrigue. Though, I took his copy, I knew my weakness was that I will not be able to complete unless I spend my hard earned money, purchasing it. So I purchased it, then began to read.

The author was knew and so was the backdrop of the book. The book is a 1970's novel. It has a political backdrop and has some historical aspects involved too. Now, this is a Czech novel and I as an Indian would be least familiar with those happenings, but it's not the politics or history that made a connect with me. What I like most was that, the theme, the undercurrent of each narrative was love making. This is universal, these are essentially love stories which have lot many details embedded. These are surely above history and politics and are about the basic human needs and emotions. 

Love making is presented in the most humorous as well intriguing way. From fornication to foreplay it makes us visualise all the physicality in a rib tickling manner rather than emotional one. Yet, this is not a comedy either, and that's the speciality. With subtle differences it makes a compelling concoction of love, emotion, drama and comedy. Indeed, the undertone is philosophy and there are wonderful insights of philosophy too

The style I felt was Kafkaic (referring Franz Kafka). Perhaps, I may be wrong but the Kafka readers shall understand what I mean here. It's random. erratic and yet there are threads that seem to have been knitted well to make a good fabric.

From learning the word "Litost" to knowing the Renaissance poets like "Petrarch", "Goethe" and a few more, this is a book that if well explored, gives immense satisfaction of knowing new things. I loved it all the way through

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and I must say, I would getting back to this more often, you can pick up any page to start with and go on, the fun is enormous in this.

2 of my favourite quotes from this book before I close.

"The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting"

"Joking is a barrier between man and the world. Joking is the enemy of love and poetry." 

Rating is a mere formality to this masterpiece. From me, it gets a 5/5.

RIO 2 (2014) - ENGLISH

A good animation is made weak by cliched writing.

Lot of work and thought and detailing goes into an animated film. But if the writing is weak it cannot be pulled off easily. RIO 2 precisely suffers from that. The scenes are too cliched for my comfort and the plot is very age-old. The bird formations, their beautiful feats have been all been seen in RIO and there is nothing new to offer on that front too in RIO 2. I felt like the basic format of the earlier film RIO was taken and just few modifications were done in writing. So it has that been there, seen that feel that does not add up any value.

The voice over is good and it seems like Jesse Eisenberg did make effort to feel like the bird Blu. Although the chemistry between the two birds, Blu and Jewel does not show up adequately, individually voice over of each was good. It's Anne Hathway for the female protagonist, Jewel.

The other aspects were fine, considering this is a commercial animated film. A word about music, which was good in RIO, comes weak and though are many songs, not even one was memorable, as I left the theater. So the music did not make any impression either. 

If people like average stuff or have not seen RIO, perhaps will like it as they may find some new things here. For me, I did not like it and felt like a big bore. An average rating of 2/5 for this. It's not bad, it's purely mediocre.

COUNTENANCE

Silence mulls in the mind

Reminiscing memories of us

Those were one of a kind

And were special thus

For long now, I have kept away

Avoiding your countenance

The visage I loved to behold

That was filled with nonchalance

Beauty was a lesser term to describe

But in words, I tried to ascribe

Your countenance looked without any care

From then on, rending was too subtle to bear

Now, I do not want to sit and pray

So towards you, I began to walk

To be there or walk away

Is your choice, I hope though that you do talk

RACE GURRAM (2014) - TELUGU

I do not understand few things in films and this film had many of my misunderstandings.

Why an irrelevant song comes in between two songs? Why there will be comedy track in climax? Why the sub plots take precedence over main plot? Why a female lead is confined just to songs or has little space in the film? There are so many questions that will be in my mind and most times the answer is simple "It's a Telugu Commercial Film". So we have to expect the unexpected, logic has very little or rather no space. The script is written only for the hero and comedy is forcibly inserted. The audience goes to the movies for entertainment and if they are given some time pass by comedy or songs, they are more than happy. 

I am an absolute misfit to rate commercial telugu movies because for me they are absolutely non-sensical and for the common telugu audience they are more than movies, they debate, talk over, use the same jokes and dialogues in real life and even follow the heroes. 

So, I would rather refrain from reviewing this. I can simply say, I got laughter only in last 20 minutes when Brahmanandam came as Kill Bill Pandey and rest of the film was forgettable for me. 

Without wasting any further words, I am going with 1/5 (purely personal rating) and that 1 is for Kill Bill Pandey.

रहेंगे महफूज़ खयालों में तेरी

खफा हो आप या नाराज़ हो, इस ज़ुल्म से मेरी 

ज़ुल्म भी प्यारी लगती है चाह में तेरी 

मरेंगे हम ज़रूर आज नहीं तो कल

जब तक जियेंगे, रहेंगे महफूज़ खयालों में तेरी 

इन्साफ करना

गुस्ताखी इस दिल कि माफ़ करना 
दाग है कुछ मेरी, तो साफ़ करना 
खारिज  करने से पेहले गुज़ारिश है 
मेरी मोहब्बत का ज़रा इन्साफ करना 

DELICATESSEN (1991) - FRENCH

Weirdly delicious film, I cannot define this in a better way. 

Filled with idiosyncratic characters and eccentric scenes, this film is all about these characters above all else. 

In a building where a butcher heads a group of people and invites tenants on his terms and conditions, he acts with a weird sense. The building is dilapidated, the time frame is not mentioned and is left for ambiguity, the actions of characters are mostly out of place and hard to find reason. Yet, all of this makes an interesting a fun film. 

The fun is derived by the color toning of the film which is partially sepia. Also, the fun lies in the camera work by Darius Khondji. The whole setup and production design is done peculiarly to make us curious. From the first frame, of the film I was kept curious till the end as to what is happening on screen and where will it lead. For sure, the screenplay is gripping and it proves that however a story may be but if told interestingly, it can be great fun to watch.

The editing is another department where the film knocks out a punch. It is meticulous and all the way meant to be interesting I believe that in a film if there is never a dull moment then the credit should go to the editing, and rightly so I do for this film. 

The actors are not known to me considering that this is french film. Yet, all of them are superb in their roles. From a tenant, to the head the looks they give, the expressions they showcase,. the tone of voice they speak in, are all instigating curiosity on the lines of fun and humor.  

Jean Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro  have given us a treat of black comedy and sarcasm embedded with fun and frolic of unpredictable characters. These directors have to be commended for this work which is indeed one of the fine cult movies of 1990's. 

French Cinema in itself is years ahead of contemporary cinema in other parts of world and this film just proves that. A 4/5 for a delicious film.

हम दिखाएँगे

डरते हो आप हमसे, मिलने या बातें करने दिल खोने के वास्ते 
एक बार तो दिल से जान लो हमें, हम दिखाएँगे आपको सही रास्ते 

इतनी सी ज़िक्र

फ़िक्र नहीं मुझे अपनी मौत का, बस तुम्हारी ज़िन्दगी का फ़िक्र है 
रहे या न रहे साथ हम, खुशियाँ रहे तुम्हारे साथ बस इतनी सी ज़िक्र है

यु होता तो कैसा होता

सोचो अगर यु होता तो कैसा होता 

तारों पे अपना घर होता 

चाँद अपना छत, अम्बर पे नगर होता 

बादलों का ताज और तितलियों का राज होता 

कल कुछ भी नहीं सब कुछ आज होता 

बच्चों के खयालों से बना जहाँ  होता 

उनके सरगम से सजा हर साज़ होता 

मोतियों से बना जहाज़ होता 

किताब पन्नों से नहीं, हीरों से बुना होता 

झील पे नाव कि जगह, जुगनुओं का मकान होता 

रंगीन नज़ारों से ज़िन्दगी जमा होता 

सोचो अगर यु होता तो कैसा होता