Wrapping it Up: June

Another month, another wrap-up post full of this month's viewings. This was the month this blog completed two full years, thanks to the support of everyone who visited this place. This was also the month that I wrote 4 reviews in; something which I had never done before. Lets have a look at what this month brought in terms of movie watching.

June

The Hours(2002): Can you think of three more versatile and talented actresses than Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore working in 2002? Given the wealth of talent involved, I should have seen this movie long before. Off course, the best part of it is seeing the three leads do their thing but to the film maker's credit, three stories in three different places in three different times was much easier to understand and follow than you'd expect. Also, they got all the setting of the respective time and place just right. My full review here.

Anatomy of a Murder(1959): Another movie I have been meaning to see for a long time. Much like majority of people, courtroom dramas excite me. Before getting into it, 160 minutes of its length was a little concern for me but once I got in, it really breezed by. That is one testament to Otto Preminger that he was doing it right. Plus great characters, intriguing script and even better acting kept me interested till the very end. Hopefully, I will have a full review up soon.

The Breakfast Club(1985): This month's Blind Spot film. Now that he has made two really good teenage movies, I can safely say that John Hughes really knew how to make them. There might be few other movies that I enjoyed more than this one but what made this one special was the character development of all the 5 people and probably even more importantly, the way these characters are still relatable, so many years after and to someone like me who has spent his school years thousands of miles away.

Boyz N the Hood(1991): I had heard quite a few good things about this movie. However even then, I was really surprised by the way this movie got to me. Even though it wasn't exactly a cultural shock, I have not seen many of those typical Black films, the kind that Spike Lee usually makes. I don't know how the rest of the crop would be but if this is any testament of the lot, I would love to check out few more like this.

Jurassic Park(1993)(Re-watch): Last film of the month and first and only re-watch of the month. Ever since they released it again in 3D earlier this year, I have been meaning to watch it again because I haven't watched it since I first saw it 18-19 years ago, whenever it was released in Indian cinemas. Well, we didn't see it in 3D but at least we caught up with it again. I didn't remember much of it but I can guarantee that it is just as awesome as it was 20 years ago. Spielberg's magic is really at full display here.

Capote(2005): I have so many conflicting thoughts about this that I am not even sure if rating it makes any sense. PSH Was truly awesome as Capote and so was Clifton Collins Jr. as Perry Smith. But I truly and utterly detested Capote as a person. If they intended it, then they succeeded in bucketfuls. He was just using everyone, everyone around him to achieve something for himself, to make himself feel gloated. I have never seen such a pathetic, self-centered person before. Even when he cries while watching them hang, his tears seemed like a crocodile's tears to me.

Upstream Colour(2013): I went into this knowing that this is going to be a huge mindfuck and without having seen Primer(2004). I still haven't seen Primer and this film was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be. So there are quite a few things in this film that I have not yet understood. I am not even sure if I will get it as and when I watch it again but still it is the best 2013 film I have seen as of yet. My full review here.

Margin Call(2011): Second film in three days which I loved despite not understanding everything that goes on in it. I agree that even though I have some idea of the situation we see in the film, lot of the technical or more accurately financial jargon about the proceedings of that one night went over my head. But it was all very intriguing, especially when it involved everyone from top to bottom on the company ladder and the way they handle it.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford(2007): I am pretty sure this mouthful of a title is the longest title I have ever seen and I had quite a curious reaction to it as well. There is nothing I did not like about it. Its rather slow and long but I didn't have any real problem with it. I liked the story and characters and most of the acting was really great. But somehow I did not really connect with any character. I didn't 'not' like it but I didn't particularly like it either.

Autumn Sonata(1978): Apart from being an only collaboration of Bergman, Ingmar with Bergman, Ingrid, it also had an added advantage of watching two great actresses together - Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann. Plus, Ingrid Bergman would be speaking in Swedish(For some reason, I was really excited for that). Film definitely did not disappoint but being a Bergman film, it will need much more ruminating over it. Considering the phenomenal job both the ladies did, I only expect it to get better as I think more about it.

Big Fish(2003): I haven't seen much of Tim Burton films. 2 of his films that I really wanted to watch were this one and Ed Wood(1994). There was lot to like about it but it still left me little bit wondering. I loved the part after Will finds out about Spectre and wanted little bit more of that part. All of his father's fantastical stories were amusing but became little bit too weird after a while. It would have been great if we'd spent more time in their realities which for me was the most touching part. 

Drunken Angel(1948): As far as I know this film marks Akira Kurosawa's first union with two of his longtime associates, Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. It wasn't very long ago that Kurosawa's image in my mind was this director who makes legendary Samurai movies. With every passing film I watch, that image fades away a little and his position as one of my favourite director cements further. By now, I am used to Japanese movies in '40s and '50s. However this was the first time ever I felt distracted by how dated it looked.

Shotgun Stories(2007): Jeff Nichols's first feature film and his 1st collaboration with Michael Shannon. I had heard many good things about it. It's another slow burn, just like Take Shelter(2011). Shannon is again really good and so is the rest of the cast though I don't know anyone. In reality, probably the story like this would end just as does in the movie but unfortunately, my only problem was it felt kind of anti-climatic for a movie. You expect a movie to pick up where this just ends.

Stranger Than Fiction(2006): I loved the idea it is based on. I think there was a lot of potential in it to be something different but they quite failed in the execution. I usually hate Will Ferrell in almost everything. For a change, he was quite good in this normal role. Even the rest of the supporting cast worked well for me but story never grabbed me as I thought it would. It kept going from one cliche to another. So though I enjoyed it, it really didn't stand out from the rest.

Sita Sings the Blues(2008): Now that I have seen it, I can totally see people crying heresy over use of Ramayan this film; especially considering the religious atmosphere in India. But at the same time I also think people who have never been exposed to Ramayan might form false opinions about it. Personally I think they got many things wrong but I could still enjoy the whole thing without bringing Religion into it. Loved Animations and Paley's quirky style. Second half was very repetitive though, there were about 4 songs with Sita crying aloud 'Why did he leave me?'

Kolya(1996): I had this movie in my queue for the longest time and I kept procrastinating it for no apparent reason. When I finally saw it, it was exactly as I expected. Maybe, a little too much as I expected. With a central character of a 5 year old kid, there was no way this would be a regrettable experience. But it followed the beaten down path to the T. The kid did a great job and so did the rest of cast. What really happened was I could see the every damn turn in the story from two miles back.

Warm Bodies(2013): I don't have many problems with this film. I was never turned off by it. For a love story, even though it didn't do anything particularly out of ordinary, it also never felt cliched. But I wasn't particularly enamored by it. Like everyone else, I was intrigued by the Zombie Love Story aspect of this film but I think it is more of a love story which just features a Zombie. I mean, I think this Zombie love story aspect doesn't go much deeper into the plot. It is rather superficial.

Shootout at Wadala(2013): When I saw Lumet's Find Me Guilty(2006) couple of years back, I quite liked it as a movie. However I was conflicted as to what exactly am I suppose to feel about Diesel's character. After all, he is a proven convict, an anti-social member of the society. Why should I be sympathetic about him? This movie had similar problem. I like many things about this movie, most of all John Abrahm's commitment to the role. But I am not sure why should I care about a gangster like Manya Surve.

Airport(1970): I actually like this movie more than the rating would imply. I like the way it keeps on building up right up to the end. I like how we are introduced to the whole bunch of characters and the way they are developed that we end up caring for them by the end. Both the lead characters are actually ditching up their respective spouses and going with someone else they love but we still like them. But for a disaster movie, I think there was very less of an actual disaster in it. I would've rated it at least half a star higher if they amped it up a notch.

Superman Returns(2006): I had not seen any of the Superman movies before. So this was kind of my trade off for not going to see Man of Steel(2013). My real problem with this movie was it just existed. It wasn't terribly bad so that I would hate it. But it wasn't much good either for me to like it. There was a potential in it to be good; some good performances, not bad story but it seemed like it never aspired to be great. It was just happy to exist, to be mediocre. Sometimes, that's even worse than being bad film.

The Adventures of Tintin(2011): I have never seen anything related to Tintin before. I haven't read the strip much either. I remember, back in 2011, it was quite a divisive movie and unfortunately I ended up on the bad side of this debate. I think for the people who thought it was a good movie, nostalgia was a big factor that worked in their favour. I had no such connection and to tell you the truth, I pretty much hated this film. The action, scenarios and even the characters, almost nothing really worked for me.

Race 2(2013)(Hindi): Officially, this is the worst rating I have given to any film on this blog. I knew perfectly well what was I walking into and I got exactly that. So it delivered to its promise there and I am still rating it so low. Only reason I am doing that is I went on the IMDb page for this film and of multiple genres listed for this movie, Comedy isn't one. WHAT? How can it not be? I mean, you can't possibly make a funnier movie than this even if you try to. Monty Pythons aren't as funny as this. Come On!!

A Good Day to Die Hard(2013): I have absolutely no idea why would I even bother to see this movie. After the first one, I have never cared about any of them and I thoroughly and utterly hated the fourth one. But I did and the result was exactly as you'd imagine. Let me tell you that I am a terrible gamer. So when I play something like NFS, rather than even trying to get to the destination within the time limit, I try to cause as much destruction as possible. I am absolutely sure that is exactly the same strategy director used for this movie.

Total Count: 23. 22 First Time Watches and 1 Re-watch .

2013 YTD Count

Total Count: 133. 122 First Time Watches and 11 Re-watches.

23 movie month isn't bad at all. If you look at my average of first half of this year, it is actually just a bit over it. But to tell you the truth, if it wasn't for The Story of Film: An Odyssey(2011) and couple of seasons of Damages(2007), it might have been even more. The Story of Film actually did turn out to be quite an odyssey. Despite some of my reservations against it and Mark Harris' accent, it was really a great learning experience. Not only did I learn a lot of things about many aspects of movie-making, it also added so many titles to my already fat watchlist. As per my reservations, even though I watch a lot of movies all over the world or at least try to, I think he was a little too anti-Hollywood. Not that I am Hollywood's biggest supporter or anything; I even agree with some of the things he talks about. But despite all its fault, it is the biggest industry in the world. It hasn't reached there by doing everything wrong. Whatever may be its problems, you HAVE to give Hollywood a credit where it is due. I don't think Harris does.

So, how was your month? Did you see anything interesting? What do you think of the movies I saw? Any favorites?

Wrapping It Up: March

Another month, another wrap-up post full of this month's viewings. About 20 movies a month seems to be the pace that I have set for myself this year. It is slower than last year but right now, looking at my personal timetable, I am more than satisfied with it and thinking of keeping up with it at least for next few months. This was the month that I finally wrapped 2012 with lists like 15 Favourite movies of 2012 and Favourite Performances - Male and Female and finally made myself available for all the other movies I have been stalling for past few months. So, a bunch of classics, bunch of Foreign films as well this month. This was also the month that I went back to some of the masters of World Cinema like Bergman, Hitchcock and Kurosawa and once again, they successfully captivated me with their brilliance. Let us get to them, Shall we?

March

Bicycle Thieves(1948)(Re-watch): I think this is the only Neo-realistic movie from its period that I have seen. As much as I love this movie, it really breaks my heart by the end. Making myself watch it again for my favourites series, was a very tough decision I had to take. But the other option was Grave of the Fireflies(1988). So, I kinda had to choose the lesser of the two devils. I chose this one. You can read my post here.

Gentleman's Agreement(1947): Best part of this Best Picture winner movie on antisemitism is it covers a lot of aspects of the topic in one go and does it really well. Of all the BP winners, by now I have seen all those I had any real interest in. Most of whats remaining of the bunch either are the ones I have no idea about or have no particular interest in. If going through all them will mean coming across some more jewels like this, I think getting through with them will be much more interesting exercise, rather than something like homework. Hoping for few more surprises!

Farewell, My Concubine(1993): I had heard a lot of talk about it and was waiting to see this for some time. It took me some time to get into it, about an hour or so because of their loud acting, weird singing and some other odd the strange cultural elements which might be authentic but just stand out a little to outsiders like me. However, it had me by the end mainly due to two stunning performances by Leslie Cheung and Li Gong. I guess, I just needed a little warming up to it for it to take full effect on me.

After The Wedding(2006): This movie kept on surprising me, throughout its length. I loved that all the characters in it had so many shades. By the time you think you have formed an opinion about them, you are given another piece of information that makes you rethink your position completely. Its story and acting is so genuine that you can't help but feel for them. Sometimes, things just don't work out the way you want them to. If not for that continuously moving camera and excessive use of weird close-ups, I really wouldn't have anything bad to say about it.

Batman Begins(2005)(Re-watch): Many Thanks to Ryan McNeil @The Matinee who sent me the DVDs of Begins and The Dark Knight(2008). I put begins in because I have seen TDK too many times and to tell you the truth, as good as this first installment in Nolan's trilogy is, I loved the extras that came with the DVD way more. It has multiple clips of writers talking about how they wrote the story, Hans Zimmer talking about score, stunt coordinators talking about fights, production designer talking about sets and Batman's costume and his tumbler and so much more. I loved it!!

Marathon Man(1976): For some reason, I had it confused with Sleuth(1972) and was looking for that torture scene when I saw it last month. Off course, I didn't get it there but imagine my surprise when it popped up unexpectedly in this. I know it makes me sadistic but I was almost happy when it did, well, at least until Olivier started pulling Dustin Hoffman's teeth out. Also, another role of Roy Scheider besides Jaws(1975). I know I am not talking about the movie itself but everything has been already said. It's brilliant, off course.

Scandal(1950): When people talk about Kurosawa, I don't really think a movie like Scandal gets ever discussed. I mean, even look at me. I have seen about 12 movies he did and I still had no clue about this movie. I was under the impression that I have pretty much seen all the good or notable movies he did. But when it comes to him, it looks like higher or lower echelons seize to exist since movie like this, which should belong to the lower half in his own filmography, is still better than at least 70% of the movies I have seen. The stuff that legends are made of !!

Through a Glass Darkly(1961): First of Bergman's Faith trilogy was this month's Bling Spot entry. I had heard a lot of praise of this movie and Harriet Anderson in particular. I was glad to have seen it and found myself concurring with the assessment. It is one of Bergman's best but it is definitely the best of Harriet Anderson I have seen. You can read in detail about it here.

I Live in Fear(1955): Once again, I had not heard a word about it before but watched it just because it was available for free and subject looked interesting - an aging, industrialist Japanese man decides to move him and his family to Brazil due to the fear of nuclear war. Leave it to Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune to take it from there and I'll bet my life, if they miss a beat. It becomes even more devastating, if you consider it was made in 1955 when Japan must have still been recovering from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I am just glad I did see this.

It Happened One Night(1934): One of the tree movies winning all the top 5 Oscars. Of all the Oscar winners, '30s is the decade I have seen least movies from. 1 - Gone with the Wind(1939) and hence I have been meaning knock few titles off from that decade. It Happened One Night is probably the best known film of them. Having already seen Hindi remake, it was like re-watching it, even though I am really seeing it for the first time. But it still not only kept me interested but quite entertained me. Either they have done good job of remaking it in Hindi or it is really a good film. Take your pick.

Snatch(2001): Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels(1998) is one of my favourite comedies. Since this is Guy Ritchie's follow-up to that and because of a lot of praise I have heard for this before, I was anticipating this for quite some time. In many ways, this is very similar to Lock, Stock. Off course, the director is same, many of the actors as well. Same look and feel, even similar storyline as well. However, Snatch never looked like a duplicate. It may not be better than Lock, Stock but it had enough originality in action, in jokes, in substance that I really had a great time and many laughs.

The Lady Eve(1941): In all fairness, only think I absolutely loved about this film is Barbara Stanwyck and the confidence and charisma that oozes out of her. She really was amazing. Other than that, I seem to have problem with screwball comedies in general. They just seem utterly unrealistic and just keep on getting more and more improbable as the story goes on. But I guess that is the point of them, so I aught not to fret about them and enjoy what I can. And I have to confess, barring that, it was quite enjoyable.

The Cider House Rules(1999): I still have no idea what was the big fuss about the cider house rules? I get their meaning but why name a movie after it? If there was some big statement made there, I missed it. All the actors made this movie for me. Michael Caine and Charlize Theron were excellent in their respective roles, even Paul Rudd and Delroy Lindo did good job in their small roles but someone really needs to teach Tobey McGuire to show some emotions. Throughout the movie, he had the same expression he had in all the Superman movies on his face. Didn't anyone tell him he is doing a different movie to him?

No Regrets of our Youth(1946): Due to Kurosawa's Birthday on 23rd March, Hulu made 24 of his movies on Criterion Free for that weekend. I wanted to take full advantage of this opportunity by watching some otherwise hard-to-find movies. I haven't seen any of Kurosawa's earlier films, specifically before Rashomon(1950) or some more of his non-Samurai period films. I saw three movies over that weekend and all the three movies fit this criterion. I might be wrong but I think this is the only Kurosawa with Female Lead, at least only Kurosawa film I have seen.

The Attacks of 26/11(2013)(Hindi): RGV did quite a decent job with the material but it really could have been much much better. It only worked in patches for me. Nana Patekar did a good job in the last scene but he was weird earlier, even the manner in which he was speaking was very distracting. I also understand that RGV chose to highlight only certain events of the whole attacks but he glossed over many details of the incidents he chose and including them would have made them better. And all the sound engineers of this movie should be fired, all of them and never hired again.

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai(2011): Not to be confused with the original 1962 movie. This pretty such seems to be the remake of it but going by the ratings, old one seems to be the better of the two. I have seen many samurai epics and by now, am quite used to the cultural elements of it. So that wasn't a problem to me at all. It also wasn't a bad movie at all, very affecting, emotional and sad, just very slow and for the run-time of over two hours, the story seemed quite uneventful. If they would've limited it under 90 minutes or so, it might have worked much better.

Murder!(1930): Oldest Hitchcock I have seen. I had trouble getting into the film in first half an hour or so but mainly it was due to the technical aspects and being a 1930 film, I am ready to overlook them. I also had problem with its dubbing but even then can be my copy as well. To its credit, in his trademark style, Hitchcock made it interesting once it focused on Murder mystery part. My only real problem with this is, I am not sure the note Sir John gets in the end is enough to acquit Diana. Wasn't that the whole point of it?

Cul-de-sac(1966): On the merit of being a Polanski film, I went into this without knowing much about it. I will say that I actually liked the story and appreciate what he was planning to do with it. But I think it failed in the execution a bit. Most of the characters felt a little too weird for no apparent reasons and especially their acting was very off putting, in-your-face kind. I understand that he wanted most of the characters to be purposefully crazy but it was very ungraceful. BTW did you know the lead actress of this movie is Catherine Denevue's sister? The moment I saw her, I had a feeling I had seen her somewhere.

Chariots of Fire(1981): With this out of the way, I can set the bar for the earliest Best Picture winner I haven't seen all the way back to 1968. And that is about the most interesting thing I can say about this movie. For some reason, both the main characters completely failed to keep me interested. Their triumphs didn't exhilarate me, their failures didn't sadden me, their competition didn't excite me either. Watching this movie was like doing some chore you do because you have to, not because you want to.

Alien 3(1992): Last of David Fincher. I mean, I know it is his first feature film but I have seen all the others he has done. So now, I have seen all the movies he did. To tell you the truth, like a lot of people seem to, I did not hate this movie. I could easily get through it but that's about the best thing I can say about it. It was very predictable and it felt like there were a lot of wasted opportunities, too many avenues where he could have used them more effectively but he touches them only gingerly and doesn't really go anywhere. At least, I have seen all his movies.
 

The Fall(2006): I loved the visual imagery of this film. It looked absolutly fantastic and that girl playing Alexandria did a good job but beyond that I don't have anything nice to say. I hated the story, most of the characters were too loud and almost whole part of their story, really got under my skin. After a while, due to lack of any real interest in story or characters, even those visuals started seeming meaningless. To me, it was a clear case of 'style over substance' which, to tell you the truth, it had none. Sorry Tarsem Singh. In my books, you've failed this test.

Total Count: 21. 19 First Time Watches and 2 Re-watch .

2013 YTD Count

Total Count: 64. 60 First Time Watches and 4 Re-watches.

I started off this month with reading Sidney Lumet's brilliant book 'Making Movies', my first book about movies. Lumet being one of my favourite directors, I was excited to read what he has to say about making some of my favourite movies and he talks about many of them at length from all possible angels, giving each aspect of movie-making a chapter. His writing is poignant and very honest. At one point he admits to one of his own films being a failure and on top of that says that he knew it from the day he started working on it while at another point, he calls Cannes Film Festival 'nothing but, glorious Sales convention'. I followed that with George R.R. Martin's third book in A Song of Fire and Ice series, A Storm of Swords. Earlier, I was thinking off waiting to read this till the season 3 of Game of Thrones is over, since I read the second book before watching the series and didn't care much for the second season because of all the changes made to the story. But Lady Sati and others got me too excited for the book and I gave in. I am more than (3/4)th into the book and a lot has happened, a LOT. So much that now I feel like Martin is trying to stuff too much in too little time. I do think he should have given us, the readers, a little more breathing room to digest and some of these events would have had much more effect. I still have couple of hundred more pages to go. Let us see if that will still be my last impression and despite all that, I am still excited for the season premier today.

Last month, in this post, I said that I want to concentrate more on '1001 Movies' list this year and this month, I broke that promise. I hardly saw anything from the list this month. So to make-up, I am thinking of making April a '1001 Movie Month'. All the movies I shall watch in April shall belong to the list. I have good 600+ movie to choose from. So that shouldn't be big problem. Probably the only thing that will make we stir away from the list will be movies from my Netflix queue expiring. Otherwise, I hope to keep my promise. Let us see how that goes.

So, how was your month? Did you see anything interesting? What do you think of the movies I saw? Any favorites?

March Blind Spot: Through a Glass Darkly(1961)

I am kind of obsessive compulsive about making lists. Not that I make lists about everything but when I do, I have to make them in a certain way. Off course, that habit seeps into my movie watching as well. Even in a simple case like Wrapping up post that I do at the end of month comprising of that month's watching, I try to keep my movie watching as dispersed as possible. If you have noticed it, it wasn't a coincidence. I make sure it happens. Almost every month, you will find that batch to be a fair mixture of Classics and contemporaries, English and Foreign movies. I have purposely tried to break that pattern, just to see if I can and have returned to it every single time. When I made this list of 12 movies last December, off course, I made sure that I am including movies from every decade and give good weightage to foreign and classic films. Now when it comes to watching them, I have seen a classic and I have seen an English movie before. So its time for a Foreign movie - I am slave to my habit, I am telling you and when it comes to foreign movies, there is hardly a better choice than Bergman. 

First and foremost, what makes this a Blind Spot movie? In other words, why is this film essential?
I have already told you - Two Words, One Name, Ingmar Bergman. I have seen quite a few of so-called 'Essential' films from his armada. What still remains to be an unventured territory for me in his filmography is his Faith trilogy and his TV Mini-Series Scenes From a Marriage(1973). The reason I wanted to include a Bergman film in the Blind Spot line-up was to force myself get back to his remaining films and I could not think of another movie than first film of his trilogy. 

So, what is the story about?
Through a Glass Darkly(1961) chronicles 24 hours in the life of one Family of 4 people. Our main focus is on the sole woman in the group - Karin. Karin has a problem; she is schizophrenic and has been recently released from an institution. This seems to be their first gathering after she got out. Other three men in the group are her Brother Minus, who seems to have some some problems of his own, Her Husband Martin who has been told by Karin's therapist that there is a very good possibility that she may never recover from her disease completely and hence is always protective, sometimes maybe over-protective of her. However Her father, David, who has just returned from his trip to Switzerland, is the most interesting character of these men or the most intricate. As the movie progresses, we become privy to the various parts of their personalities where they keep their deepest secrets that they have never shared with anyone. Karin understands that her condition is complicated and serious. She also understands that this has made Martin overprotective and her father seems often not to be there. So she confides in her brother who, to her, is a stronger person since he can take any news and right away doesn't think there is something wrong about her. Minus himself seems to go through patches of anger and depression which he has kept secret from his father as well. 

Of all the relations in this movie, Karin and Minus have the most interesting interactions, probably because they both are the birds of similar feather and hence prefer to sail together. It makes their interaction much more direct, frank and honest. Karin and Martin are kind to each other and try to be as good as possible. But their relationship as Husband-Wife is almost non-existent. Karin has lost her desire due to her treatment and Martin's over-protectiveness seems to repel her further. Her father, again good and kind man but Martin hates the fact that David always seems to have some selfish, hidden agenda and Karin and especially Minus think of him as emotionally unavailable. He almost seems surprised when David listens to him in the end but David is the character that reveals himself the most in these twenty hours, for better or for the worse.

What did I think of it? What did I like the most about it and what didn't I like?
It's dark, it's melancholic and it's depressing but it's an Ingmar Bergman film. You don't exactly sign up for them expecting a comedy(You didn't, right?). Existential angst with a bit of religious back current that we see here is Ingmar Bergman at his best. I am not sure if I will call it Bergman's The Best, that might still be one of his 1957 double punch - Wild Strawberries or The Seventh Seal, but it sure is one of the best I have seen and I have to say Harriet Anderson and her Karin is probably the biggest reason. Even though she was my favourite part of Smiles of Summer Night(1955), probably Bergman's only lighter film, I think this is the best role I have seen her in. Yup, even better than Cries and Whisper(1972) though these two roles are a little similar. Anderson handles all the ups and downs of Karin really well and as you can expect, this is hell of a bumpy ride. Of the other three, another Bergman regular, Gunnar Bjornstrand was the one I liked the most. His David is a regular guy on the surface but is much complicated beneath. Bjornstrand brings all the complexities of David to surface with such honesty that you can't help getting hooked. Lars Passgard also did a good job in Minus' role but Max von Sydow was little annoying, especially in comparison to such fine performances otherwise.

I have no idea if the two films really have something more fundamental in common but from the very first minute, I was thinking about Sidney Lumet's Long Day's Journey into Night(1962). Similarities in the two movies are uncanny - both came at around the same time, both revolve around only 4 characters of one family with a woman at center, both chronicle single day in their life, take place at a single location and bring a lot of skeletons out of the closet. Both are dialogue heavy, character driven movies that boast some amazing performances with leading ladies heading from the front. Long Day's Journey into Night is much more explosive though whereas Through a Glass Darkly leaves lot of things unsaid and being a Bergman film has some religious undertones that Long Day's Journey lacks. 

After having seen it, do I agree with its 'essential' status? and why? 
Ingmar Bergman has been immensely influential; over the years he has become one of the directors that has inspired generations of directors that followed him. To be consideredas one of the best in his oeuvre itself is a huge compliment. Add to the fact that Bergman's Faith trilogy, or Silence Trilogy as some might want to call it, is often considered as one of the Best trilogies in world cinema. I have never been able to answer 'Which is your favourite trilogy' question because there are far too many options to choose from but if the other two are as good as this, I can see myself agreeing to it being one of the best. Apart from that, it is one of the two films that won him back-to-back Foreign Film Oscars, if that means anything to you. I do believe that for those who are even remotely interested in the works of Ingmar Bergman or want to get into it, this is one of the films that you do not want to miss.

Does it open few new doors for me? Does this inspire to watch any other movies?
The driving force behind getting Through a Glass Darkly onto Blind Spot line-up was to get back on Bergman bandwagon. By now, I have seen about 10 movies he directed. I am hoping this would be the push I need to get some of those remaining essentials, including the next two installments of Faith Trilogy Winter Light(1962) and The Silence(1963) along with others such as only Bergman and Bergman collaboration Autumn Sonata(1978) and The Virgin Springs(1956), off my list that I have always meant to but for some reason or the other, never got to. I would also like to check some of his work before 1957, the year he made two legendary films.

20 Favourite 'New To Me' films of 2012

2012 was the best year as far as blogging is concerned for me. Well, the fact that this was the ONLY full year of blogging I have had thus far made it very easy. But, Still it was pretty incredible year. First full year of blogging, documenting and cataloging the movies I have seen throughout the year and my brief thoughts on them and off course, other bloggers that have already done similar lists made me want to do this list. So, this is the list of 20 movies that I liked the most out of 305 movies that I saw in the calender year of 2012 for the first time. In all likelihood, as and when I update my Top 100, most of them will make it into that list, if they already aren't. Most interesting part of making this list was sifting through all the movies I have seen and realizing that it has been less than a year since I have seen, City Lights(1931) or The Game(1997). For a strange reason, I feel like I have loved these movies for a long, long time. And yes, I have left all the 2012 releases out of the list since at some point of time, most likely mid-February, I will eventually do the list of my favourite 2012 movies. So, they will have there time in limelight. It's time for some older movies to shine. Lets get to it then.

Honourable Mentions: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof(1958), The Lost Weekend(1945), Away From Her(2006), All About Eve(1950), Cache(2006), Brokeback Mountain(2004).

20. Black Narcissus(1947): After watching The Red Shoes(1948) last year, which really impressed me and introduced me to the duo of Powell and Pressburger, Black Narcissus took it a step further. I am arguably a little partial towards it because of the Indian settings and using them well but then I look at that last scene and it feels like it deserves it. It really does.

 

19. Paths of Glory(1957): Let me start with the usual. Not a big Kubrick Fan but that's what makes Paths of Glory special that despite not belonging to the Kubrick camp, I loved it. It is Kubrick at its usual acerbic best. He still uses the platform to criticize but it is little restrained and is for the right cause which makes it exploratory and not exploitative. 

18. The Birds(1963): I live less than 100 miles from Bodega Bay and the fact that this happens on that location made me scare for my life. Not Really, just joking but this is true that I was more scared while watching this movie than most of the so called scary/horror movies I have seen. Over the time, this has even made into my favourite Hitchcock's as well.

17. Life of Brian(1979): After being long overdue, I finally caught up with Monty Pythons last year. This year, I caught up with Life of Brian. It sure still is one of the funniest movies of all time but I have been amazed by its power to infuse a discussion and to prove my point I will point you to the only thing that is even better than this film is this interview.

 

16. The Discreet Charm of Bourgeoisie(1972): Bunuel's movies are a challenge. However the fact that this is not the only Bunuel in the list should certify to the fact that I like this challenge. Walking into this movie, almost without knowing anything about it makes it an even bigger challenge and I think I almost gave it up but I realized what's happening at the last image. It all suddenly made a lot more sense then. I have rarely had such 180 turns based on 1 still.

15. A Separation(2011): Last year at around this time everyone was getting excited about this movie. As usual, I arrived little late but this movie hit me equally hard, just like everyone else. I flat out deny to draw any conclusions from this about Iranian policies but what I really do admire is earnestness and honesty of the script and in the performances. It is also really hard to believe that there is absolutely no sappy melodrama in it.

14. The General(1926): I can say that one of the highlights of my self movie education this year will be my introduction to Buster Keaton. What I appreciate the most about this movie is that it is not just a collection of some gags but there is a real story to it. I still belong to the Camp Chaplin but if Buster Keaton can make anything as funny and fluent as The General, the other side has got a damn strong case too.

13. The Double Life of Veronique(1991): After his Three Colours Trilogy last year, this was the next logical step for Kieslowski for me and personally, this was even better than anything in the trilogy. Even in the trilogy, Red was my favourite and there is one big reason for that - Irene Jacob. There is something in her face or the way Kieslowski presents her that keeps me fixated on her, almost hypnotized.

12. Viridiana(1961): As I said, there are more than one Bunuel on the list. Cynicism of this movie astounds me. There really isn't much worse that you can do to defame any regime. Spanish authorities promptly banned this movie right after they saw the final cut. I wouldn't have been surprised if they tried to kill it completely and we never would have known that such a film once existed. But it takes real courage to make such movie and do it so well.

11. Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf(1966): In the past year, quite a few of my fellow bloggers turned in their lists of various favourite performance. Truth be told, I won't be able to do such a list. I only know that my favourite male performance is Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will be Blood(2007) and its female counterpart would be Elizabeth Taylor in this movie. I swear to god that I never imagined in my wildest dream that anything like this was ever possible.

10. The Game(1997): It feels a little weird that it has been less than a year since I saw The Game for the first time. It feels like it has been quite a while because it is the movie that made me fall in love with the city of San Francisco. Off course, it does have a great concept executed exquisitely which keeps your adrenaline pumping and which doesn't fail you in the end, once the secret is revealed. 

9. Shame(2011): Just like A Separation(2011), Shame never made into my Top 10 in 2011 just because I wasn't able to catch up with it anywhere close to the end of last year. I got to it almost 6 months into 2012 but once again, just like A Separation, realized that it indeed is that damn good. Carrey Mulligan and Michael Fassbender's performances, only topped by very harsh and honest representation of an addiction.

8. Judgement at Nuremberg(1961): It was more than two years ago that I heard such movie existed. I spent almost one year trying to find a copy of this movie until I finally found it by complete off chance. I spent some more time before watching it even after owning a copy of it but when I did watch, I understood why people recommend it so highly. Since the day I have seen it, I haven't been able to shake off Burt Lancaster's monologue in the court.

7. Metropolis(1927): Thanks to Netflix, I saw the most complete version of it and I am thankful I did because I had no idea about the existence of multiple versions when I saw it. I am sure that many agree with me when I say that what amazes me the most about it is the vision of this movie. In my opinion, making this movie in 1927 was an exceptional feat. However, making it in such a way that it remains relevant even after so many years is nothing short of miracle.

6. Boogie Nights(1997): I had heard a lot of good things bout this movie and I found most of them to be true when I actually checked it out. It has the amazing opening tracking shot that introduces almost the whole cast in a single shot, it also has one of the most incredible ensemble cast assembled where every one delivers. However, what I find interesting about it is these are great actors playing bad actors on screen and doing a great job at that.  

5. Pather Panchali(1955): Satyajit Ray is probably the most well-known Indian director in the world and his Apu Trilogy is his most well-known work. I was really glad when I got a chance to watch them this year because of a friend. Like lot of others, I really think this is one of the Best Trilogies in the history of cinema but out of the three, Pather Panchali made a greater impression on me because of the way it celebrates the small joys of life. It made me nostalgic.

4. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans(1927): If it wasn't for that ending, I would have killed everybody related to that movie. It should be a crime that they get us to care so much for the characters in such a little time and then send us home as a blabbering mess that I would have been, if not for that ending. But they did the right thing and so I am doing it too by including it in this list. Seriously, one of the most iconic silent movies.

3. Dr. Strangelove(1964): Did I say that I am traditionally not a Kubrick fan? And then sound like a hypocrite putting two movies on this list? Well, that's an occupational hazard I guess. But this was the perfect place, perfect scenario for all the criticism, cynicism that Kubrick's movies are full of; up to the brim. There are very few films that take a dead serious issue, turn it into a broad comedy and do in successfully. It also has one of the most iconic dialogues ever.

2. The Seventh Seal(1957): 1957 was an amazing year. There are so many movies made around the world in that year which are still considered as some of the best works of art. However, even if we only look at Ingmar Bergman, he made The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries. Two of my favourites and I love that they are really deep but at the same time so accessible. For a movie that is primarily about death, I was surprised by how much of hope there is in it

            

1. City Lights(1931): I have been watching Chaplin since I was kid. That's why I was really surprised when I realized that it has been less than a year since I saw City Lights. It seems like I have known him much longer. His Tramp has an uncanny ability of making you laugh so hard that it would make your stomach hurt but then do something so innocent, so pure, so beautiful that a single drop of tear would drop out of your eyes and you wouldn't even know it. Watch the last scene of this movie if you need any proof.