Review Contest

The story of Bande A Part could belong to any other film, but the way Godard has used the Dolores Hitchen crime novel and adapted the structure by forming a tapestry of Godardian magic that translates the film into a poetic aphorism, and gives the movie a breath of life. While it's the trajectory of such moments being patched together, that allows the character, the surrounding and the atmosphere to sublime and become one, meaning, not seeming discreet and at the same time being attuned to life.

Bimal Roy distributed the film abroad in the name "Calcutta - The Cruel City". Indeed, the shattering image of Shambhu overtaking a horse cart as his customer offers more money for going faster shows how humans and beasts are considered no different in the cities. The film carries a recurring contrast between the warmth of bucolic life and the sheer frigidity of urban living throughout. Shambhu is consistently snubbed and ridiculed when he asks for a job in the city whereas he was offered a Hookah in the village without even asking.

In the history of cinema, Lawrence of Arabia is a landmark film by director David lean. This film popularized the story of T.E Lawrence who in the First World War led the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire (turkey) for the liberation of Arabia. Since the story is based on historic fact, what makes this film great is that it combines great acting by its cast along with stunning direction by Lean and cinematography by Freddie Young. This movie which has stood the test of time since its release in 1962 is a must watch and was made to be seen on the big screen.

Aranyer Din Ratri, (Days and Nights in the Forest), the 1969 masterpiece by Satyajit Ray, looks at the vagaries and vicissitudes of the "new generation" then, in a way, perhaps no other film of its time could. Forty years down, it seems to reflect the complexities of the 21st century generation, in an astonishing close-up.

The story unfolds around a group of four friends, quite unlike each other and yet bonded together deeply. They set out for the tribal Palamau, in Bihar, to tear themselves away from their regulated city life.

For years together, certain plot elements have been regular fodder for Bollywood. These elements have spawned countless spoofs are probably the reason why Bollywood is the subject of ridicule at coffee machine conversations. Take for instance the case of the heroine whose father is killed by the villain when she was a very young girl. She plots her elaborate revenge for a very long time (when a simple gunshot would do the trick). Towards the end she turns avenging angel and the movie ends with her (finally) giving the villain his come-uppance. Often, the father's ashes are kept in limbo for all these years and they meet with the holy water of the Ganges only after justice is served.

How many films does one get to see where the female protagonist questions the correctness of her own actions? Or, how many films give precedence to individual predilection, rather than pigeonholing female actors in rigid roles? If the film Indira is all about this, does it portray the so-called educated, emancipated woman?

Yes and no. Among the usual rigmarole of films showing inter-caste conflicts, Indira stands out not for its delectable sceneries and locations; not also for its unfussy sequence of scenes.

One Missed Call is a bit of a mix of The Ring and Final Destination with a 'missed call' thrown in. No wonder the tag line says-What will it sound like when you die ?, for in this tale when you are about to die you receive a missed voice call and you get to hear yourself dieing along with the date and time ! And then from the victim's phone, a missed call goes out to the next victim ! Wow ! that's quite some story huh ?

In my opinion Jana Aranya represents a certain high-water mark of Ray’s film making craft. Made with clinical precision, the film flows well-oiled in every department. The script is lean and sharp and the whole film has a self-effacing feel minus even a hint of any kind of indulgence. Take Somnath the protagonist of the film and compare him with the complicated Dhritiman of ‘˜Pratidwandi’: none of that in-your-face intensity, instead a most refreshing debut by Pradip Mukherjee who has to be one of the most likeable characters ever in a Ray film.

It was inevitable, the refrigerator will always remind me of the terrors of drug abuse but then I am not complaining. Narcotics remain one of the most abusive scare that is galling human society today and it was an honorable effort from Aronofsky, with the Russian name and the Brooklyn background, to portray the desperation and simple ambitions gone wrong of the characters first created by the incomparable Herbert Selby of the 'Last exit to Brooklyn' fame.

That Tim Burton would make a grotesque movie was expected, going by his penchant for nightmares and horrors. But here he has created a gripping adaptation of the 1979 Broadway hit, and made a full-blown musical at the same time. It works. And I cannot think of any other actor who could have played the character as superbly as Johnny Depp.