Parched

Bold and Beautiful. That's what came to my mind when I finished watching this movie. Based in a remote arid village of Rajasthan, this movie by Leena Yadav bares the parched souls of 4 woman whose lives are entwined with each others. 

Rani ( Tannishtha Chatterjee )  a young widow trying her best to support her teenage son and an old bedridden mother in law, Lajjo ( Radhika Apte), a young vibrant woman married to an alcoholic abusive husband who is taunted  for her inability to conceive, Bijli ( Suveen Chawla ) a dancer with a travelling entertainment company and a prostitute and Janki ( Lehar Khan) the young child bride who is married off against her wishes to Gulab, Rani's teenage son. 

Rani and Lajjo are fast friends from the same village and who look out for each other, while Bijli is an old friend of Rani ( considers her as a sister ) and is an worldly wise woman who advises Rani and Lajjo with their troubles.

The journey with these women will take you in their world of small pleasure, aspirations, hardships, helplessness etc. The movie is laden with situations of the hardship the women go through in the hardcore patriarchal society in-spite of trying to be economically independent ( these women have co-operatives to sell their embroidery work ). The episode where a young girl from the village is forced to go back to her in laws house by the parents, in-spite of her screaming  her guts out that she did not want to go since she was being raped by any and all the men of the house hold including her father in law, will make you realize how gruesome the life of women could be.

From Rani's struggle in watching her Son taking the foot steps of her late alcoholic husband to Lajjo's sleeping with a total stranger in an attempt to get pregnant, "Parched" will keep you glued to the screen wanting to see "what next".

The casting of the movie was just perfect. Each of the women portrayed their role like they were born into it. I liked the fact that it was factual about the state of affairs of women in remote parts of Rajasthan and the social message was quite subtle and not on the face. 

Verdict :- 8 out 10. Cannot be watched with Children. 

Lakshmi (2014)

 

This movie by Nagesh Kukunoor takes you along Lakshmi;s unfortunate Journey into the world of Human Trafficking and her brave fight to victory. This is a biographical movie depicting the social problem of human trafficking and child prostitution in the country. 

Lakshmi, the fresh faced, innocent looking 14 year old portrayed by Monali Thakur is the victim of human trafficking. Hailing from an rural and remote village of Andhra Pradesh in India, she is sold by her father for a mere 30000 Rupees. And none other than the local corporator facilitates the deal. 

The movie has tried to bring to the fore front, the various facets of the human trafficking nexus. To being with the owner of the brothel, Reddy keeps Lakshmi with him for a few days and he is nice to her. Just around the time that she starts to get comfortable at his house, he brutally rapes her and sent to the brothel to live along with several other girls. It's a gruesome life there and every time Lakshmi tries to escape, she is brutally beaten up.

The Madame of the brothel, Jyoti's ( shefali Chaya) behaviour is a paradox. One one end, she seems quite nonchalant and on the other end there are streaks of affection for the girls. She her has a daughter in the engineering school and is hoping to retire once the daughter is settled.

Some girls seem to accept their fate over a period of time ( like Suvarna played by Asha Saini) and this is driven by the fact that they are no longer accepted by the society or for that matter by their family who hide behind the wall of respectability.

There seems to be camaraderie among the girls and most of them look out for each other. They look for small pleasure in life and resort to alcohol and drugs to get by the ordeal of their lives.

And at the end of it, you realize that girls like Lakshmi who stand up to fight and dare to dream of freedom are far and few . Most of them just accept their fate and go back to their life in-spite to having an opportunity to break free.


Verdict :- 8 out of 10. Worth a watch but not a family movie for sure. 

My Sister's Keeper ( 2009)

This movie is based on Judi Picoult's novel, " My Sister's Keeper and revolves around the Fritzgerald Family.

Genetic sciences have improved dramatically, making the impossible into a possibility. Designer babies are a reality. This movie revolves around one such designer baby, Anna (Abigial Breslin ) who was created as a medical intervention to save her Sister Kate ( Sofia Vassilieva ).

Kate is ill with Leukemia which disrupts the Fritzgerald family which otherwise could be an advertisement for a perfect family. Mom Sara ( Cameron Diaz ) leaves her successful law practice to devote her time and total energy towards keeping Kate alive. Dad Brian ( Jason Patric ) a fire chief is fighting a constant battle in keep some semblance of normalcy in the family.

So intense is Sara's determination to keep Kate alive that she conceives and gives birth to daughter Anna whom she turns into a medical aid for Kate.

From the time she was born, Anna has donated blood, bone marrow and stem cells to her sister, Kate. Now she has been told to donate a kidney.

Brother Jesse ( Evan Ellignson) is ignored most of the times and he feel left out.

Anna engages lawyer Campbell Alexander ( Alec Baldwin ) decides to file a law suit against her parents for ' Medical Emancipation ". Sara is appalled and decides to represent herself. Father is shocked but respects Anna's view points.

Fritzgerald's are otherwise a close knit family and there is ample love between the three siblings..

Will Anna win the case ?

How long will Sara take the battle of keeping Kate Alive ?

This movie is not too much of a tear jerker and is a regular family drama.

Verdict :- 7/10. One time watch.

Phoring ( 2013)

This Bangla movie of Indranil Roy Choudhury is of children but not for children. Indranil, through the character of  "phoring" has explored the journey of the young boy from the innocence of adolescence to the complicated world of the adults.  The story is told with a lot of simplicity and is bound to bring you back a memory from your school days.

Phoring ( Akash ) is a boy of 15 who is in the early rung of adolescence who is gawky small town boy struggling with the realities of life. An physically abusive father, inability to do well in school and poverty continue to add to his miseries. But none of these is successful in deterring his highly imaginative mind from fantasizing. Phoring is like the ugly caterpillar stuck in a pupa and dying to emerge to explore the world as a beautiful butterfly. He find companionship in his best friend Lattu ( Saurav ) with whom he shares his fantasies

Life changes for Phoring with the arrival of Doel Mitra, his new history teacher. Doel, a graduate of Presidency college with modern ideas wakes up the sleepy little town. She notices the spark in Phoring and takes him under her wings. She starts to give him private tutions at her house.

Phoring basks at the attention being bestowed on him by Doel. This proximity to her stirs up confusing feeling in Phoring He starts to fantasize about her. His focus keeps getting diverted to the occasional glimpse of her bare legs and he sees red at the mere mention of her boy friend. 

But Phoring's happiness does not last too long and his world comes crashing down when Doel suddenly disappears under a cloud ambiguity. 

This movie is simple and well made and is bound to stir up some small little memories from school days covered in layers of dust.

Verdict :- 8/10. May not be suitable for children.

12 Years a Slave ( 2013 )

Originally this movie was not in my watch list but once it was in the running for an Oscar, I couldn't miss it. And I am glad that I managed to finally watch the movie.

This is not your regular family entertainer and is a very intense watch. I have read several books - both fiction and non fiction which has given me a fair idea of the pre-civil war slavery in United States. Steve McQueen has brought a near perfection portrayal of slavery with single minded determination via this movie. 

Based on the memoir written in 1853, the movie portraits the life of Solomon Northrup, a learned , intellectually endowed free man living with his family in Saratoga, New York City. As a gifted violinist, he doesn't think twice when a couple of men invite him to Washington DC for paid performance. They have a good time with him drinking and making merry and in the morning sell him to Slavery. 

Thus begins Solomon Northrup's 12 years of Slavery. He is transferred from plantation to plantation with his pleas of being a free man falling to deaf ears. 

Steve McQueen has brought to us a piece of history which brings alive the gory realities of the American Slavery. Solomon Northrup's ( beautifully portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor) 12 years of journey is tough, frustrating and violent. He not only looses his freedom but is stripped of the basic dignity that any man would want. It is unbearable to think that one human being could do this to another. The fate for the women were worse. They were brutally beaten up, mercilessly separated from their children and several were savagely raped.

In Epp's (Micheal Fassbender) cotton farm, Solomon meets Patsy ( Lupita Nyong ) who is also a Slave. She is a star performing slave who manages to  pick the 500 pounds of cotton a day. Epps is lavish with his praise for Patsy, lusts for her and repeatedly rapes her. Epps attraction for Pasty does not go unnoticed by his wife who also chooses to unleash her wrath on Patsy. 

Patsy's fate seems so much more worse than solomon's. Patsy being tied naked to a tree and whipped till her skin's is mangled is probably the most hear trenching scene of the movie. The hopelessness of the situation just leaves you with a sense of frustration.

On the whole the movie is a testament to the degradation of Sal very. Hats off to Solomon Northrup for not only surviving this worst form of human degradation but having the guts to write a Memoir and tell his story. Haven't had the time to read the book, but I sure have put it in my Bucket list.

Verdict :- 10/10. But definitely not for weak hearten. 

Philomena (2013)

For me, any movie of Judi Dench can't be bad. Apart from Judi Dench, the other attraction of the movie  was the fact that it is based on a true story and its connection to the Irish convents. The movie " Magdalene Sisters" has left me with quite an impression and I sure wanted to know more of the legacy of the Irish catholic institutions.

The atrocious practices of these missionaries of the lord is appalling. In the 1950"s the young unwed pregnant women/mothers, women that were raped...the so called " Fallen Women" were abandoned to the convents by their families. These women were subjected to back breaking chores in order for them to " cleanse their sins".

It was a gory revelation that the children born to these women were sold to affluent American Catholic couples hence separating several mothers from their children. Most of the mother's never saw their children ever again after the adoption. 

Adapted from the investigative book "The lost child of Philomena Lee" by BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith, the movie "Philomena tells the story of one such woman's search for her son who was given up for adoption by the nuns of the Magdalene convent where she was confined. 

Judi Dench and Steve Coogan in the roles of Philomena and Martin Sixsmith, with the script written by Coogan himself and directed by Stephen Frears does make the movie worth giving a chance.

Philomena" ( Judi Dench)  left to the mercy of the convent by her father when he discovered that his young unmarried daughter was with a child. The young Philomena is assigned to work in the laundry where she is made to do back breaking work with only a hour a day when she could see her son. Very soon her son is given up for adoption by nuns and she is forcibly made to sign the papers giving up her rights to her son.

Years later, though life has moved on for Philomena, she can't stop looking for her lost son. It was by chance that Martin Sixsmith walks into her life and supports her in her search for her son.

The unusual partnership between the two very different people adds to the Charm. Sixsmith is a high educated intellectual who went to Oxford and served as a foreign correspondent for BBC. To top it off, he is an atheist and a non believing catholic. Philomena, on the other hand is a devout Catholic in spite of every thing and has worked as a nurse her entire life. She is a regular woman who loves to read romantic fictions.

I loved the following dialogue between the two which aptly sums  up their personality -

Philomena Lee :- We come full circle.

Martin Sixsmith :- Yes...the end of all our exploring, will be to arrive where we started, And know the place for the first time.

Philomena Lee :- ah...that's lovely, Martin. Did you just think of that ?

Martin Sixsmith :- No. It's T.S. Eliot.

Philomena Lee :- Oh...Well...never mind. Its still very nice.

A matter of fact story telling. There is no unnecessary sentimentality or melodrama. The tear jerking moments were deep and real. Phenomenal performance by both Judi Dench and Steve Coogan. 

Verdict :- 8/10. A definite watch for the season. A beautiful moving story that is bound to leave you misty eyed.

The Good Road (2013)

The " Good Road" first caught my attention when it was pitched against "Lunch Box" as our country's submission for the best foreign film category in the academy awards. I quickly put it done in my " To watch" list and forgot about it. Recently during one of my random visits to the Music store, I chanced upon this movie. Thankfully it came with subtitles.

The "Good Road" is a Gujrati film by first time director Gyan Correa who has gathered most of his film making expertise while making commercials. But the movie surely   does not have any of the gloss that can be  associated with typical TV commercials.

The movie has three intervening story-lines which takes place in the highway 378 which runs along the Rann of Kutch.

David and Kiran (Sonali Kulkarni), a city dwelling middle class couple are on a holiday along with their son Aditya. Accidentally their son Aditya is left behind is a obscure street side dhaba while the parents continue their journey on the highway. The parents realise this miss after several kilometers and this starts a massive search.  Pappu ( Samji dhana Kesariya ), a poor truck driver is struggling to make his ends meet. He comes across a proposal to combat this. The plan is to stage his death so that he can claim the insurance money which is substantial. Poonam is a little girl on the highway trying to reach the village of her grandmother. She lands up taking shelter at a Cloths dyeing center which doubles up as a street-side brothel at night. The three stories intersect with each other at some point in the movie. Reminded me of Babel.

Aditya is found hanging around the dhaba by Pappu's boss and he forces pappu to take him along to the next diner.

Correa has experimented with several non professional actors to give an authentic feeling. Samji Kesariya who played the role of Pappu the truck driver is a truck driver in real life as well and with next to negligible exposure to the world of Cinemas. Thankfully Pappu is taciturn by nature hence his dialogues are cryptic in nature.

 The cinematography was note worthy. The beautiful arid Gujrat landscape and the rann of Kutch leaves a lasting impression.

Lunch Box was probably a better made movie, but the natural acting of some of the real life characters, Amithaba Singh's cinematography, the simple yet unique story line definitely makes the "Good Road" worth the travel.

Verdict :- 6.5 out of 10. Watch it for an unique experience.

The Song of Sparrows (2008)

 

The Song of Sparrows is a  Iranian movie directed by Majid Majidi.

Majid Majidi with the help of this movie takes you on a beautiful journey of life. It portrays a poor Iranian family, their love and commitment towards each other, their aspirations and hopes and their struggles with life. There is the presence of a quite dignity, traditions and warmth.

Set in rural Iran, the movie traces the life of Karim ( Reza Najie), an ostrich farmer. He lives with wife Narges ( Maryam akbari) and his 3 children (2 daughters and 1 son).  One day an ostrich escapes under his nose. Karim gives it a chase but the ostrich eludes him and this episode costs him his job.

Sometimes when things go wrong, it goes wrong all the way. Karim's daughter Haniyeh damages her hearing aid which cannot be repaired. A new one costs a lot of money which is scare with Karim.

Karim rides his motor cycle to Tehran to replace his daughter's hearing aid and get mistaken for a cabbie. He lands up giving a ride to a business man and in turn discovering a lucrative earning opportunity. Thus begins Karim's new life. He puts in a lot of enthusiasm in his work and fights against various hurdles. On the side he regularly starts picking up junk from the city and bring it home. It begins with an antennae for the television, a frame for the window and the pile keeps growing. 

Karim's son Hussein ( Hamed Agazi) is obsessed with growing fish. He and his friends clean up the community pool for the purpose. He is convinced that he can become a millionaire that way.

The city life catched up with Karim and he starts to get possessive and greedy....

This movie has a soul and an absolutely realistic performance.

* Was nominated for the Berlin International film Festival

* Iran representative for best foreign language film in the 81st academy awards.

Verdict :- 9/10. One of the best movies that I have watched in the recent times.

Memories in March ( 2010)

This is one of the few Indian Cinema's which revolves around a female protagonist. Some parts of the movie might vaguely remind you of the movie Saaransh where Anupam Kher battles with the government policies to collect the remains of his deceased son.  Director Sanjoy Nag aptly described the move as "life after life".

Aarti Mishra ( Deepti Naval) is shattered by the news of her son's sudden death in a motor accident . She rushes from Delhi to Calcutta, where her son was living and working for an advertising firm. She is received by his co-worker Sahana Choudury ( Raima Sen) and taken to the crematorium where she gets to meet Siddharth's other co-workers including Ornab Mitra, the creative director of the firm. After the cremation, Aarti is dropped of at Siddharth's apartment. She had a vivid imagination of Siddharth's life in Calcutta through the detailed letters that he used to write to her. Sahana takes care of Aarti and helps her to find her way around. Aati's perceptibility leads her to believe that Sahana was probably Siddharth's lover.

However, she soon realizes that it is not Sahana ( though she was infatuated with Siddharth ) but Ornab that was her son's lover. This throws Aarti into an emotional whirlwind. Not only does she need to come to terms with her son's death but also the stark reality of his sexual preference. What grieves her all the more is the fact that her son chose not to confide in her about such an important part of his in spite of them sharing a very close relationship.

She starts of being resentful towards Ornab. But gradually over shared memories and common grief Aarti comes to term with the detritus left behind by her son's death and fosters a special bond with his lover.

The subject of alternate sexuality which is still a taboo in the Indian society was handled with at most sensitivity unlike several other Indian movies where it is generally used as slapstick comedy or treated with an essence of shock/awe.

Rituparno, who is open about his alternate sexuality in real life portrayed the role of Ornab to near perfection. Deepti Naval, the outstanding actress that she is,was a pleasure to watch in the role of Aarti Mishra. She beautifully expressed the emotions of being distressed over her sons demise and gradually coming to terms with his homosexuality. Her changing relationship with Ornab from indifference to dislike following by mutual respect was appealingly characterized. Raima Sen carried off her role quite extraneously as well. Every scene of the movie gradually unfolds and brings with it a fresh essence of the myriad emotions, the spoken and the unspoken both making very profound statements. Brilliant work by debutant Sanjoy Nag.

Good music by Debojyoti Mishra. I particularly liked the song Sakhi Hum .

 The movie is made mostly in English with smattering of Bengali and Hindi.  It was awarded the "Best English feature film" in the 58th National Film awards.

Verdict :- 8 out of 10. Definite watch but not for the masses.

Kai Po Che ( 2013)

"Kai Po Che" is a Gujarati phrase which mean "I have cut the kite". This movie is adapted from Chetan Bhagat's novel " 3 Mistakes of my life' which I couldn't motivate myself to read ( you guessed it...I am not a Bhagat fan). I began watching this movie with some skepticism but it turned out to be quite likable.

This movie is about three friends,Ishaan (Sushant Singh Rajput), Omi (Amit Sadh) and Govind (Raj Kumar Yadav) who are typical today's Indian youth and live in Ahmadabad. The three of them are as different as chalk and cheese - Govind is serious and cautious, Omi does not have a mind of his own and is easily influenced and Ishaan, is an idealist and passionate about cricket. In spite of the difference they are well bonded and together they manage to start a sports academy with Govind taking charge of running the business, Omi supporting with the capital investment (courtesy his politician uncle) and Ishaan managing the coaching center. Ishaan finds a star cricketer in a emaciated muslim boy called Ali. Omi joins his uncle in politics and Govind falls in love with Vidya( Amrita Puri), Ishaan's sister. Every thing is going well with the boys when all hell breaks loose in the form of the devastating earthquake ( Bhuj earthquake of 2001) followed by the communal riots ( Godhra Roits ). The boys friendships is tested and life changes for all of them. 

The movie has it all...the playfulness of the youth, bond of friendship, politics, communal rivalry, regret, love, good music ( loved the song "Manja" by Amit trivedi) and above all forgiveness. But the movie is quite superficial and skims through most of the issues/emotions. Quite fast faced which goes in its favor.

Verdict :- 7 out of 10. Abhishek Kapoor has done a decent job of this movie and you are unlikely to be bored.

What Maisie Knew ( 2012)

“What Maisie knew” is the modernised version of Henry James’s novel by the same name which was written in the year 1897.

Dysfunctional families can be really traumatic for the children. Time and again we encounter examples where the parents are so involved with juggling their various commitments and idiosyncrasy’s that they take their children for granted without heeding to their emotional needs.

This movie is all about Maisie !!! beautifully portrayed by Onata Aprile. Maisie is a little girl who is caught in the cross fire of her parents perennial battles. Her mother Susannah (Julianne Moore) is a fading rock star who loves Maisie but is totally caught up in her chaotic world to find time for her. Her Father Beale ( Steve Coogan), an art dealer is quite self obsessed to really care for Maisie. Very soon Maisie becomes yet another item in their battle with both of them fighting for her custody. They even go to the extent of marrying inapt partners to get an edge over each other in the custody battle. What follows is Maisie being unceremoniously shuttled between the set of parents/step parents.

Through all these turmoil in her life, Maisie keeps her dignity and realizes that she needs to make some decisions of her own to find happiness in this world.

Onata was brilliant and a pleasure to watch. On the whole I enjoyed this movie directed by David Siegel and Scot McGehee.

Verdict :- 7 out of 10. Worth the watch.

Le Fate Ignoranti ( His Secret Life ) – 2001

A beautiful Italian movie written and directed by Ferzan Ozpetek, the Turkish screenwriter and movie director. “What you see is not how it is”!!! This movie explores the complexities of human relationships and how unconventional family units can also happily survive with love and devotion for each other. Life is also about accepting the realities and moving on. Antonia ( Margherita Buy) is a doctor specializing in treating patients with Aids. She happily married to Massimo(Andrea Renzi) and they are very much in love. On a fateful day, Massimo is killed in a motor accident and Antonia is grief-stricken. As she goes about sorting her late husband belonging she chances upon a painting which leads her to believe that Massimo was leading a duel life and he had a long-standing extra marital relationship. Antonia is shocked and devastated. However, she gets a grip of herself and embarks on a journey to discover Massimo’s other life which leads her to interesting experiences.

This movie is simple and powerful without any unnecessary melodrama. Loved Steffno Accorsi in the role of Michele and I thought the ending very good.

Verdict:- 7.5 out of 10 and a definite watch.

The Japanese Wife ( 2010)

This movie is based on a short story written by Kunal Basu and made into a movie by the famous Bengali Actress / Director Aparna Sen. “Japanese Wife” is a touching love story, almost surreal in its innocence and depicts the immeasurable strength of love. This is the story of Snehamoy Chatterjee ( Rahul Bose) and Miyagi ( Chigusa Takaku). Shehamoy lives with his Aunt in a remote village of Sunderban in West Bengal. He finds a pen friend in Miyagi who lives in Japan. There remote relationship soon transforms into love for each other and they have a virtual marraige with a promise to meet each other soon. Their mutual love and respect for each other grows over time even though they have never met.Its amazing to see how their relationship thrives in spite of Snehamoy being ridiculed by village community and various other constraints they face.Temptation to succumb for Snehamoy comes in the form of Sandhya ( Raima Sen) the young widow who comes to live with them along with her little boy.

This is a slow movie with each and every emotion prodigiously depicted. The simplicity of the movie and yet the profound statement it makes, takes ones breath away.

Verdict :- 9 out of 10 and a must watch if you like unconventional movies.