Lives of Others.
Cannot. recommend. this. movie. enough. I went into it reluctantly, expecting a droll political drama, and much to my surprise it turned out to be such a simple story at heart with far reaching reprecussions.
It poses a very basic question, and while having a warm and tender core, never compromises on the reality of the situation for the safety of a feel good moment.
The story is basically of a saga of two good men, a Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muehe) who was in charge of spying on and tracking people suspected of treason during the totalitarian period of East Germany history....and a theatre director Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), who is under suspicion.
One stark, cold man with piercing eyes, another a statuesque, handsome man, with a mixture of gentleness and masculinity. And a woman, torn by her own weaknesses. A sleazy politician who tries to use the socialistic system to forward his own slimy agenda. An ambitious political officer, with a sweetwise attitude, and no moral spine.
Though initially wary of Georg for what he percieves as his arrogance, Wiesler realises that the investigation was initiated by sleazo politician Hempf (Thomas Thieme) due to his obsession with Christa-Maria, the director's girlfriend and actress and he wants to eliminate the competition.
Wiesler’s boss, Colonel Grubitz, sees no harm in using the situation for personal professional gain.
These characters pose a very basic question: What does a truly good man do, when being good involves going directly against the ideas you believed in for so long? When doing the right thing would imply committing treason against your country? Its such an irony that the only dutiful communists in the movie are the ones trying to find a way around the system.
The movie has the pace of a thriller, the heart of a love story and the sweep of a saga. And did I mention how unexpectedly entertaining, funny and heartwarming it is!
Brilliant performances by everyone, particularly the three main characters, Mühe's stark unflinching and cold demeanour makes the systematic evolution of his character over the course of the movie so much more dramatic. .like watching a block of ice melt, you truly appreciate the depth of his performance only after you leave the movie hall. Gedeck as Christa Maria brings so much compassion to her conflicted character.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
The Namesake
So I saw it last weekend or so and and still not sure what to make of it. I think I can conclude I thought it was an extremely well directed but not well scripted movie.
It was a very conflicted movie about conflicted people. The basic premise follows Jhumpa Lahiris book about an immigrant bengali family who make the move in the 50's from Kolkatta to New York. They give birth to two children, and Ashoke decides to name his first child -his son, Gogol because of an emotional attachment to the name and author. Gogol struggles against his own identity for a long time before embarking on a slow journey towards self-discovery, which forms the premise of the film. It isnt so much a movie as a series of episodes cut-and-pasted together like stringing together disconnected memories from a photo album. While this tactic probably works well with people who revere the book, it seems disjointed to those who either havent read the book or like me werent overly attached to the book.
But what bring about those sparks of brilliance are two of India's most amazing and most undervalued actors..Irfan and Tabu. I can safely say I'm a fan of both, but this movie was entirely theirs from start to finish. Their chemistry is amazing, their scenes together are so heartwarming, and Irfan takes you through his entire journey of emotions with such ease that when tragedy strikes we feel the loss as much as his family members. There were moments of sheer brilliance and then moments when you just zone out because whats going on on screen doesnt really excite your attention. All the scenes about Gogol's love life and college life are insipid and completely lacking in depth, In fact a majority of the scenes involving Gogol not involving his family could easily have been in some cheesy tween chick flick, and didnt belong in this sensitive portrayal of the immigrant condition, of families and of dealing with loss. I could see why Mira was showing these scenes, the movie was supposed to be showing us the development and progression of Gogol's character, but it just doesnt work. As far as direction goes, I think this is Mira's finest work (though I would say Monsoon wedding is her finest film). If only she had resisted the commercial urge and gotten rid of the redundant flashbacks. I dont understand why directors feel the need to resort to such gimmicks? I mean surely mira realises her movie catered to a niche audience and not the regular pop corn crowd? sigh, anyways. I really loved the way she interplayed scenes of Boston, New York and Kolkatta and used the bridges and rivers as conencting elements so they felt like one city. I also loved the way she showed Ashima (Tabu) on her second trip back home...carefree, natural, playful...like she finally felt at home. Her direction of the India trip made me feel like I was visiting again...the fragrances were real, the people were real, it was just so authentic, it was like visiting India all over again. Oh and did I mention how gorgeous Tabu looked? woah. In those saris and giant red tikas and wavy hair...just beautiful....and Ashoke was such a lovable character....such a sensitive husband...a father trying so hard to connect with his son but not getting through.... Some of my favorite scenes: -Ashima and Ashoke's arranged marraige scenario. -Ashima at the laundromat...the spat and making up that followed. -Gogol avoiding his parents call
-Asima reacting to news of her father's death, and Ashoke's handling of the situation -Ashima's break down after the phone call and her speech at the end 
Favorite dialogues: -I dont want to go back...I dont want to meet them in mourning...I dont want to raise my son in this lonely country. -Our whole family was born out of Gogols overcoat...some day you will understand. So yea, I'm not sure how I'd rate it as a film just yet. But one thing is for sure, it had a pretty big impact on me, and made me appreciate my mom and dad and everything they've been through...and clearly I wasnt the only one because every single one of the group I went with came out of the theatre and called their parents 
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Khosla ka Ghosla
Khosla Ka Ghosla
This year Indian Cinema lost one of the most significant filmmakers it has ever produced, Hrishikesh Mukherjee. One of the few people to have successfully managed to walk the middle path between "commercial" and "art/offbeat/etc", his films resonated with the Indian audience, because they were connected to the middle class and yet managed to make their seemingly mundane world seem entertaining and even noble.
But he is gone and yet here forever, because he has clearly managed to influence a good deal of the new wave of directors, Rajkumar Hirani, Chandan Arora and now Dibakar Banerjee
KKG is a simple story about a family with typical family dynamics and the life crisis they go through. Anupam Kher plays the typical aging patriarch, who invests his entire life savings into a plot of land, and he sees his life crumble around him when a crooked builder encroaches on their plot. He's obviously extremely emotionally invested in his younger son and has generation gap issues with him. Afore mentioned son (Parveen) is a grave individual, attempting to be detached from the chaos of both his house and country, and hoping to escape to NY for a job offer he's recieved. Symbolically, in a crunch, he cuts out his own picture from a family picture for a visa application. His theatre-actress bindaas new age friend/girlfriend (Tara) acts as his voice of conscience.
From the beginning the film is set up perfectly, we immediately see Khosla's little world through his own eyes, in the form of his hilarious nightmare, and clearly see Khosla believes his family to be completely apathetic towards him. In the following scene we immediately see the flip side of coin. The film progresses at a fairly regular pace, and we understand all the dynamics of the family before the crisis strikes. The build-up to Khurana (Boman's crotch scratching slimy builder) is really well done. Gradually we are taken to a roller-coaster second half and a pat-dry finish.
There is a lot lacking in terms of transitions of scenes, Khosla's continued opposition gets annoying, and Bapu (Navin Nischol)'s stammering in the second half makes proceedings much less plausible. But the inherent simplicity and characterisation more then makes up for any shortcomings.All the performances were excellent. Boman Irani is as expected fabulous, fitting into his sleazy role with a panache that almost makes his lewd character endearing. Anupam Kher lends an innocence and annoyingness to his character that gives you such a sense of deja-vu while watching, havent I met this person before? isn't this the uncleji next door? Tara Sharma is shockingly cute and natural, but her hysterical cackling should have been left out. Parveen is just first-rate, and holy crap is he hot. The biggest surprise for me was Ranvir Shorey as the good-for-nothing elder son Bunty, he got the body language and mannerisms just bang on. In fact this film just screamed delhi in so many ways, in the people. attitudes, slang, etc without showing a single monument or landmark from the city.
Memorable scenes:-The nightmare/funeral scene-
The pehelwaans and their mentor's portfolio photo album
-Khosla's discussions with Saini, practical and realistic "Jawaan bete sab compromise karo to fir budhape ka insurance mil jaata hai"
-Khosla's first site visit...
Khosla ka Ghosla on the outset has a lot of similarities with Munnabhai series, both see the corruption and daily hassles involved with being in the Indian middle class through comedy-tinted glasses, both are feelgood without being saccharine sweet.
Most interestingly, both have a very layered style of film-making. While many desi films typically can be sectioned off into "comedy-slapstick" portions that typically occur before "serious-drama" portions, here the light moments overlap the serious ones and occur when you least expect them, quite like life itself.
Is KKG a landmark film? No, but its a definite step in the right direction. Its easy to laugh at things that are outrageous and hence ludicrous, which is why slapstick works so well. To make someone laugh at their own life is much more tricky, and thats precisely what this film seamlessly achieves.
This year Indian Cinema lost one of the most significant filmmakers it has ever produced, Hrishikesh Mukherjee. One of the few people to have successfully managed to walk the middle path between "commercial" and "art/offbeat/etc", his films resonated with the Indian audience, because they were connected to the middle class and yet managed to make their seemingly mundane world seem entertaining and even noble.
But he is gone and yet here forever, because he has clearly managed to influence a good deal of the new wave of directors, Rajkumar Hirani, Chandan Arora and now Dibakar Banerjee
KKG is a simple story about a family with typical family dynamics and the life crisis they go through. Anupam Kher plays the typical aging patriarch, who invests his entire life savings into a plot of land, and he sees his life crumble around him when a crooked builder encroaches on their plot. He's obviously extremely emotionally invested in his younger son and has generation gap issues with him. Afore mentioned son (Parveen) is a grave individual, attempting to be detached from the chaos of both his house and country, and hoping to escape to NY for a job offer he's recieved. Symbolically, in a crunch, he cuts out his own picture from a family picture for a visa application. His theatre-actress bindaas new age friend/girlfriend (Tara) acts as his voice of conscience.
From the beginning the film is set up perfectly, we immediately see Khosla's little world through his own eyes, in the form of his hilarious nightmare, and clearly see Khosla believes his family to be completely apathetic towards him. In the following scene we immediately see the flip side of coin. The film progresses at a fairly regular pace, and we understand all the dynamics of the family before the crisis strikes. The build-up to Khurana (Boman's crotch scratching slimy builder) is really well done. Gradually we are taken to a roller-coaster second half and a pat-dry finish.
There is a lot lacking in terms of transitions of scenes, Khosla's continued opposition gets annoying, and Bapu (Navin Nischol)'s stammering in the second half makes proceedings much less plausible. But the inherent simplicity and characterisation more then makes up for any shortcomings.All the performances were excellent. Boman Irani is as expected fabulous, fitting into his sleazy role with a panache that almost makes his lewd character endearing. Anupam Kher lends an innocence and annoyingness to his character that gives you such a sense of deja-vu while watching, havent I met this person before? isn't this the uncleji next door? Tara Sharma is shockingly cute and natural, but her hysterical cackling should have been left out. Parveen is just first-rate, and holy crap is he hot. The biggest surprise for me was Ranvir Shorey as the good-for-nothing elder son Bunty, he got the body language and mannerisms just bang on. In fact this film just screamed delhi in so many ways, in the people. attitudes, slang, etc without showing a single monument or landmark from the city.
Memorable scenes:-The nightmare/funeral scene-
The pehelwaans and their mentor's portfolio photo album
-Khosla's discussions with Saini, practical and realistic "Jawaan bete sab compromise karo to fir budhape ka insurance mil jaata hai"
-Khosla's first site visit...
Khosla ka Ghosla on the outset has a lot of similarities with Munnabhai series, both see the corruption and daily hassles involved with being in the Indian middle class through comedy-tinted glasses, both are feelgood without being saccharine sweet.
Most interestingly, both have a very layered style of film-making. While many desi films typically can be sectioned off into "comedy-slapstick" portions that typically occur before "serious-drama" portions, here the light moments overlap the serious ones and occur when you least expect them, quite like life itself.
Is KKG a landmark film? No, but its a definite step in the right direction. Its easy to laugh at things that are outrageous and hence ludicrous, which is why slapstick works so well. To make someone laugh at their own life is much more tricky, and thats precisely what this film seamlessly achieves.
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