Amal

AMAL

I had not heard of the movie before...I was browsing through the collection of movies at my rental store when I came across this very unconventional looking movie catalog...The cast and the international screenings prompted me to pick it up...

I find Koel to be very intense actress, though I feel she is more suited for the theatre than films...She along with Rupinder Nagra and crew veteran actors like Roshan and Naseerudin do a brilliant job...I liked the editing, the screenplay and the narrative...

I felt it so much like Amu, maybe the setting in Delhi was the influence...There are subtle attempts to link the characters, which is in a way not so subtle too...I need to research a litle more about Rupinder Nagra, he seems to be an unexploited talent..

It does run into some cliche's well movie does not...

Flashbacks of a Fool

FLASHBACKS OF A FOOL

Its stands out for its clean shots; good cinematography and sound track...Daniel gives great performance, the other actors too pitch in well...The locales and the settings was very impressive...Somewhere the plot of the movie slacks to give the needed zing...Its quite poetic, hazy and dream-like; but lags the punch

Vicki Christina Barcelona

VICKI CHRISTINA BARCELONA

When you have wine, and then have some more wine, everything becomes a merry blur. Not all that we do may be rational, but there is an inherent sense of joy; an alternative reality.
There’s a feeling of warmth inside, a strong desire to express yourself freely, loss of inhibitions, everything around you appears beautiful, the people with whom you are with especially…Sometimes you miss someone very strongly, you may also get very possessive about someone/something…In between all this the time elapsed could be couple of hours to season(s) all together…When you think later on what all had happened, you relish some moments, you feel embarrassed for few, you wish to erase some moments from memory and there a lot of others you just don’t re-collect. Somewhere you feel, was it you after all?

Vicki Christina Barcelona takes you through all of this…

The Class (Entre les Murs)

The Class (Entre les Murs)

It is based on a based on a semi-autobiographical novel by François Bégaudeau, directed by Cantet. Interestingly not only is the screenplay screenplay written by François, but also he plays the lead role...

While I was picking up tickets for the movie, the person at the counter told me; 'French Movie, with subtitles'...I nodded and said I know. Strangely I noticed a man standing near the counter, watching me carefully, and he came up and asked..what is the movie about? I replied it was nominated for the Best Foreign Langauge category..he insisted, what is it about...I didn't know, I rarely read reviews before watching the movie so as to not to walk into the theater with pre-concieved notions...I decided to put it something like this to the stranger 'Its about a suburb, in France'...

The movie does justice to what it attempts to potray. Even without any personal history being disclosed about the characters, by the end of the movie, you form an opinion about all. Just like teachers who walk into a class full of new students, form opinion by the end of the term. You hardly get to see what goes on outside the class; baring some other intersting conversations and proceedings at the school. Various shots reminded me of To Sir with Love, especially when François overlooks courtyard from the window..

There are so many nuances in the langauge, so many issues which get discussed, so many impressions you can make out of the students that you cannot afford to stray away from the movie...Its obvious François is not the best teacher who can tackle all questions and all situations tactfully, but he is not conventional. The questions are tricky, the situations are difficult, and he is no hero to wade them through effortlessly. I like that part of the movie really...

I was wanting to hear from so many other students in the class, but they hardly revealed themselves...Sans music, sans glamor, "The Class' stands apart as a great movie, to be remembered for years to come. A well deserved win at the Cannes...

I saw the man at the counter inside the theater watching the movie, not sure whether my response prompted him to pick the tickets and equally unsure if he liked the movie...But then, I enjoyed every moment of it..

Frozen River

FROZEN RIVER

I had never heard of Leo or Courtney Hunt before the movie got recognition at the Academy this year...I even read that the movie was shot in 24 days!!

The movie is not so much about illegal human trafficking, as much as it is about human lives..Its difficult to get through bad times; all of us have our ways of coping with it...But such times are also tests of character and strength. The movie show cases it well..

There are some moments in the film which makes you think, I like such attempts by directors...

Rachel Getting Married

Rachel Getting Married

My friend Soumik recommended me the movie, he usually downloads the movies and we exchange stuff over every weekend. He is an internet junkie; a very simple soul and great human being. You need to know him to know him...

Anne Hathway, well I discovered her as an actress in 'Devil wears Prada'...She has matured as an actress and she steals the show in 'Rachel getting married'...The movie reminded me of 'Girl Interrupted' in more than one way. I liked the movie a lot...the whole of it happens while Rachel is getting married. No complex storyline, no suspense, no mushy romance...yet so many things happen at so many levels...Of the trivial things which I liked about the movie is how they drape the 'sari'...I like the clumsy way they drape it..

If I were to say something, I would say please avoid watching 'Margot at the wedding'; its tremendous waste of talent...That's another movie which for most part happens at a wedding, such a brilliant cast and crew, but what a waste of a movie...Would love to hear from someone who liked 'Margot at the Wedding'; would like to hear what did I miss out on...

The Visitor

The Visitor, was an unexpected but an inspiring movie I watched recently...From the roll over I knew somewhere, that I am going to like the movie a lot...The characters, the format and the narration all very amiable. I fell in love with the plot; the characaters all of them were so lovable.

My flat mate is getting married and moving out; I just hope some one like 'The Visitor' walks into my life and its no more what its like now...