Don't let the title throw you off track. It is little stupid but makes me
feel creative(for no apparent reason), So I am sticking with it. Basically,
these are mini-reviews of few films that I wanted to write about but could not
think of enough material to warrant a full post, maybe because I did not care
too much about that movie or because I am not educated or informed enough to
write about them. Not that I am doing this for the first time, I did write
similar post few months ago on Vertigo(1958), Sunset Blvd(1950), Fanny and Alexander(1982) and Almost Famous(2000)(here, if you are
interested). Come to think of it now, I think I can write a whole lot more on
any of these films(I like to think of this as the proof of I am getting better
at this, evolving and such !!). But, this time I doubt if that would be a fate
of any of the movies I will write about today. You will know why.
Grizzly Man(2005): My First
encounter with Werner Herzog in any format. I went pretty much blind into it,
just because subject looked interesting - Animal lover who devoted his life to
protect Grizzly bears who dies being eaten by one and even though I hadn't
seen anything, I had heard enough about him to warrant an interest. But, I
wasn't impressed much and it wasn't Herzog's fault at all. If at all he did
something wrong, that was making a documentary on Timothy Treadwell. Timothy
Treadwell was an animal lover, grizzly bear activist who used to go to Alaskan
jungles in the summer and stay there to observe them and study them and he recorded every single trip on camera. Something
which probably started as a hobby, went on to become an obsession over the
years. He studied them, he befriended them - or at least he thought he did, he
even named most of them and then he started to think of himself as probably a
messiah, sole hope of saving them from poachers and hunters. In one of the
incidents, we see his sole encounters with these poachers. He talks a lot about
how much he hates them because they are harming these animals and he is going
to stop this etc etc. However, when he actually encounters them, interestingly
he hides somewhere far away in the bushes, because he does not want to reveal
his identity. It becomes kinda difficult to feel for you if your money isn't where your mouth is. From the numerous stunts he pulled on camera over the course of his recordings, it's very clear that Treadwell was messed up. As one of the interviewers says that he wanted to be a bear and
you never do that, you do not invade their territory - Treadwell never realized
it and he blamed everyone else for for messing up with animals and their life when actually he was doing same thing himself.
In my opinion and it goes in hand with the same interviewer saying that he
probably harmed them more than helped. As far as Herzog is concerned, it was well
shot, well edited and even well paced documentary. Herzog was completely
impartial, he did not try and glorify him by telling only one side of the
story. He gives Treadwell credit when it is due and blames him squarely for his
mistakes and shortcomings. So, problem never was Herzog, it was Treadwell who I
thought to be impossible to have a favorable opinion of - to tell you the
truth, I pitied him. In the very beginning on documentary, one of the pilots
who went on clean-up after his death says on-camera that Treadwell got what he
deserved and at that time it seemed to be kind of an extreme opinion. But,
after watching whole film, I can't help but agree with him.
Rating(out of 5):
The Great Escape(1963): I recently
realized that for some reason, I have seen more 50's movies than 60's in 1001
movies list. For some unexplained reason, that was surprising to me as I do not
have anything against them. I always thought that I would have seen more movies
as we go up chronologically just because you have more exposure to them. But
of course, I was wrong ! So, off I go looking for more 60's stuff. It just
happened that The Great Escape has been in my queue for a long time and
for this reason at least, I got an opportunity to dig it up and watch it. To
tell you the truth, I do not have much to say about it basically for it being a
true story - the story of bunch of allied forces' POW's captured by German
forces. They are brought into a special camp built specifically for them since
this bunch has a notorious reputation of planning and attempting multiple
escapes. What we see is an elaborate account of one such attempt. It is a perfectly fine movie with good cast and good story. Albeit little longish, account of all the preparations for their escape are certainly interesting. If I have a complaint against it, I would have
liked it to be a little happier at the end but as they say all the aspects of
the escape were exactly as they happened, so we do not get a say here. Though one
thing I learned from this movie was why Steve McQueen was Steve McQueen ? It
isn't his first movie I saw, I have seen The Thomas Crown Affair(1968)
before, but he was something else here, something that will totally fit into
his ultra-cool, hip image.
Rating(out of 5):
The Trip(2011): Michael
Winterbottom is turning out to be kinda interesting sort of director. I have
heard a lot of extreme opinions, good and bad but definitely extreme, about his
films. I have seen a couple before - 9 songs(2004) which I outright
hated and A Mighty
Heart(2007) which I thought had a great potential with a fine storyline
but failed to impress me at all. And of course, he has had his fair share of
controversies with The Killer Inside Me(2010), A Mighty Heart and
such. 2 more movies he did, which I intend to see but sometimes wonder if they
are any worth are Jude(1996) and Trishna(2011) mostly because
from what I have heard about both is people either love them for being daring
and tackling things that we usually don't see or they hate them for the exact
same reason. My interest in Jude is purely based on Kate Winslet but that
part with incestuous relationship has kept me away thus far. Similarly, Trishna
has a setting(he certainly has some affiliation to India as well. Quite a few
of his movies are either shot in or based on Indian grounds) that interests me
but it is either in the lists of one of the best movies of last year or worst movie made ever.
About film at hand, I perfectly enjoyed this light-hearted, comic road movie.
Their back and forth exchanges, imitations, trying to look down to the other
kept me entertained the whole time. I am sure you can sense a but coming here.
BUT, it was enjoyable as long as you don't think about it which is like up to 5
minutes after movie ends. However, once you start, there are so many thing that
come to mind that are never answered. Most important of which is What exactly
was director trying to say or was he trying to say anything at all ? It kind of
scratches a surface of lot of questions and just leaves it there, which to tell
you the truth did not really bother me but left me unsatisfied in the end like
Steve Coogan is an actor then why was he sent on Restaurant Tour ? Also, why
did he ask Rob Brydon to come along ? I mean if I have 2 Free Passes to a
movie, I will either ask very close friend or someone who is interested in
watching that movie. Rob Brydon did not look like either of them. But hey, I
told you that none of this bothered me much while watching it and I perfectly
enjoyed it. So, if you don't think too much about it, it still is a pretty
decent film to pass some of your time when you don't have much else to do.
Rating(out of 5):
Rope(1948): One movie out of this lot, which I can say I liked wholeheartedly without any qualms. It was great from every conceivable aspect and on top of that, it was just 74 minutes - extra points for being short and concise. I will try not to ruin it for you, but excuse me if I get a little too excited. Brandon and Philip, two longtime friends, share an apartment. They plan a perfect murder based on a story one of their teachers told them once. Victim of this murder is David Kentley, their schoolfriend and they choose him because they consider him to be an inferior human being to them. They execute their plan to perfection, they have achieved their target. But, Brandon is not the one to be contend with this. He wants someone to appreciate the fact that he has just pulled a perfect murder and in this excitement he goes a little over board and plans a party in their own house, where David's body is still kept hidden in a chest and moreover guests invited are David's own Parents and his Fiancee. Rupert, their schoolteacher who told them a story of this crime is also among invitees and as one thing leads to another, Rupert starts to smell something is fishy. There are couple of things I love about Rope. First of all, it's only 74 minutes long and it uses every single second of it perfectly. Very first scene you see is Murder happening and last scene of the movie is revelation and Hitchcock masterfully keeps it entertaining and suspenseful. And it is not just suspense of murder, but their conversations are fascinating too like their theory of 'A Crime for most, privilege for some'. Rope was suppose to be an experiment Hitchcock wanted to make to shoot in such a fashion that it will feel like a single long take. Though I wasn't fooled by this, I loved the fact that whole movie takes place in one single room, without leaving it for a single second. I usually love movies that take place in single room like 12 Angry Men(1957) and this one wasn't an exception. One more thing I love about Rope is Jimmy Stewart. Peculiar thing about Jimmy Stewart is, almost every movie I have seen him in, I don't only like Jimmy Stewart playing that character but I usually end up loving his characters as well. Rope may not be recognized as much as his other masterpieces like Vertigo(1958), Rebecca(1940) and Rear Window(1950) but in my books it is no less than any of them.
Rating(out of 5):
Satyajit
Ray, probably the most well-known Indian director, won numerous awards
nationally and internationally for his work in Apu Trilogy consisting of Pather Panchali(1955), Aparajito(1956) and Apur Sansar(1959) including 3 national awards and 7 awards from Cannes, Berlin and Venice film Festivals. Based on novels by
Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, it is a milestone in Indian cinema and is
among the finest works of Parallel Cinema, Indian equivalent of Italian Neo-realism and French New Wave, it is also often considered as one of
the greatest film trilogies ever made. I always considered not having seen such an important film as an anomaly in my cinematic life and I am happy that I finally got a chance to go through them and write about them as the 50th post on this blog because, seriously it hardly gets any better than this. This will give Lord of the Rings Trilogy run for his money as my favorite trilogy and might even score over it, just because of massive nostalgia factor that stuck with me like a leech for a longest time. There is hardly any pretense in them at all, they are heart-breakingly realistic and even after 50 years, much more relevant than many films made a year ago. Let me get into into them individually.
Pather Panchali(1955): First film of
the trilogy is also a directorial debut of legendary Indian film-maker Satyajit
Ray. Just like the family in the movie, Satyajit Ray had to find his way
through heap of trouble before finally making this movie. He had to halt the
production multiple times over 5 years until finally Government of West Bengal
funded this film and everything materialized the way it should. In the first
part of trilogy, we see childhood years of the protagonist Apu in his ancestral house in small
village. His family is in very poor state, who usually struggle to make the
ends meet. Their house is in dilapidated state but they don't have any money to
mend it. What we see throughout the movie is their everyday struggle
essentially to keep it going. As it becomes difficult for Apu's father to support his family, he eventually leaves to the nearby city in hope of finding a little steadier source of income. It takes a lot more time than anyone in the family anticipated for him to earn respectable money before he can come home. Apu's family goes from bad to worse during this period as even their mother who has been the pillar of the family starts to crumble under the loneliness and helplessness in absence of their father.
For the reasons I am not entirely sure myself,
this movie brought me on the verge of tears multiple times, maybe because even
though I grew up in a city, I could easily relate to the every single character
as if I know them personally. Even minor character like vendor of sweets brings
back the memories of an Ice cream vendor who used to sit around the corner of
my house. He used to sell it from a tin cylinder on tree leaves but I am yet to
taste such sweetness from any Ben and Jerry's I have had over the years.
Satyajit Ray makes his characters painfully real, I could easily see my own
grandmother in old aunty Indir leaving in their house, I could see my brother
and me fighting over who is getting the dinner table ready when Apu and Durga
fight over the silver paper. Not only his characters but their interactions
with each other and also the whole environment is created to perfection. Apu
and Durga share an ideal relation two siblings can have where they care deeply
for each other but just at the same time fight over trivial matters like any other kids of their age. Pather Panchali
easily brings you to tears with harsh realities of life but it also portrays
simple joys of life triumphantly like viewing pictures from bio-scope and
playing outside in the rain(when I was little, it was almost a ritual to go out
and play in the very first rain of the year). It should not come as any surprise that it won 'Most Human Document Award' in 1956 Cannes Film Festival.
Rating(out of 5):
Aparajito(1956): Second part of Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy, Aparajito picks
up the story where Pather Panchali, first part of the trilogy left and
tells us the story of years of Apu's education. Even after being the middle segment of the trilogy, Aparajito stands firmly as a movie on its own. Having watched Pather Panchali before definitely helps you in getting a better feel of it but Aparajito
does not rely on first installment - couple of references to
Nischindipur, village where Apu was born is all it takes from it. Apu
and his parents have moved to
Varanasi in hopes of better livelihood. Varanasi being one of the most
important holy
cities of India and Apu's father being Priest as family occupation, he
hopes to earn a decent livelihood. However, even though they have left their village,
hardships
in life haven't left their side just yet. (SPOILER)After passing of their
father, they again move to a small village in West Bengal(SPOILER End) where he
starts going back to school and turns out to be very bright student. He even
gets a scholarship to continue his schooling in Kolkata but for his mother this
unfortunately results to loneliness and deterioration of her health. We follow
ups and downs in his life, see him move from Varanasi to small village in West
Bengal and then to Kolkata.
Aparajito among many others, received Golden Lion for Best Film as well as Critics award in 1957 Venice Film Festival. Even though personally I prefer Pather Panchali over Aparajito, a lot of critics consider this as an improvement over the first installment. In my case, I think Pather Panchali scores a tad more for sheer nostalgic value even though it isn't like Aparajito doesn't have its moments.
Rating(out of 5):
Apur Sansar(1959): In the last installment of Apu's trilogy, Apu is just out of college not because he is done but because he cannot afford it anymore. He is dreaming of becoming a writer one day. But for now, what he needs is a job to make the two ends meet for as he continues to dream of his life as a writer, he doesn't even have enough money to pay his meager rent. However, good jobs are hard to come by and what he can get are too low-profile in his own opinion for an intellect like himself. One fine day, when one of his college friends invites him to a country wedding of his cousin Aparna that might help him inspire something to write, he finds himself getting married to the bride as original bridegroom turns out to be a mental patient. Once bride and groom overcome the initial awkwardness, they share a beautiful relationship as husband and wife as Apu becomes a little more realistic with new responsibility of a family and Aparna, even though coming from a well-off family, adjusts perfectly in his impoverished life. (SPOILER) However, with her death is childbirth, heartbroken Apu almost gives up everything, so much that he does not even see the face of his child and takes up a vagabond lifestyle.(SPOILER End) It takes him a long time and a guilt trip to come back to normalcy.
I am wondering if there is something special about Bengali Heroes and their response to the broken heart as Apu like another legendary Bengali hero Devdas takes an easy way out. It was also nice to finally see a familiar face in Sharmila Tagore, who later had quite a successful career in Hindi Film Industry as well. Just like Aparajito, one thing I appreciated the most about Apur Sansar is it stands firmly by itself as a movie. There is almost nothing you will not understand if you haven't seen the first two installments. Being a part of a trilogy, you can probably call it a drawback but as long as there is a definite link between all the movies I think it is fine and there is a definite link in all the above movies - Apu. Considering the fact that Satyajit Ray did not plan on making three films - According to IMDb, Ray did not plan to make third movie until Aparajito won big in Venice Film Festival - continuity in his film is even more remarkable. After 3 films and 30 something years in the life of our protagonist, I think it is a great compliment if you still want more by the end.
Rating(out of 5):
