MAMI 2015: Day 1

Here it is again! My favourite week of the year. Mumbai Film Festival time. I did not blog about the films I saw last year and I felt I was missing out on an integral aspect of watching an orgy of films in a given week of the year. The years before that, I meticulously recorded my thoughts about the films I saw and it was therapeutic. So let's give it a shot this year as well shall we?

Taxi

Two years ago at this very festival Jafar Panahi's 'Closed Curtains' impressed me immensely and introduced me to his quintessential technique of blurring the real with the fictional. Just like that movie Jafar Panahi is a character in this film as well. I can almost classify this film as "super-meta" but really it is much more than that. It's an ode to cinema and cinema lovers. One particular character steals the show when she (deliberately?) breaks the fourth wall and addresses the film goer him/herself. Yet this moment does not seem out of place but seems to effortlessly belong in the film. We're seeing events unfold from the point of view of a dashboard camera recording a day in the life of Panahi, who is play acting as a cab driver. It's also a rebellious film. On the one hand we're seeing the fabulous streets and infrastructure of Tehran while on the other hand through the conversations we learn the struggles and constraints of Irani society and especially the hassles faced by artists. Then there's that bit about Panahi's niece shooting a short film within the film. Like I said, super-meta. There's never a dull moment in Taxi. A ride well worth taking. This one exceeded my expectations.


He Named Me Malala

I went in expecting this to be your average TV documentary fare. To its credit this film is far superior than that. It is aesthetically shot with extremely well done animated sequences recounting Malala and her father's days in Swat Valley while he was establishing a school. Then there are some intimate family sequences of Malala with her brothers which serve well as comic relief and have an air of warmth and togetherness to them. Despite this a sense of repetitiveness seeps in after a while. For me the most interesting bits were the ones that told us about Malala and her father's efforts to spread awareness and education and challenging the Taliban before Malala was shot. But since all of that happened before the world's attention turned to Malala there's very limited footage of it and only a brief section of the movie deals with it. Nevertheless the true revelation of this documentary is how the filmmaker exposes Malala's father's role in her life. He truly comes across as the fearless hero responsible for the global success that Malala has turned out to be. At times there's also a self-congratulatory tone but the makers do a good job of not over doing it. It's a very well made film and I'd recommend it. Since Malala's still a teenager, if she continues on the trail of relief work and spreading education that she's on then we might see a more comprehensive documentary in say the next decade or so. 

Kothanodi

I can't give definitive thoughts about this film because I walked in 20 minutes late and left about 10 minutes before it ended. It'd be incorrect to classify this film as "horror" though. It's more in the supernatural space revolving around black magic and superstitious beliefs. The defining factor of this film according to me was the background score and sound design. It's an odd comparison given this is an Assamese film but watching these stories unfold made me feel very much like reading one of Blaft's Tamil Pulp Fiction anthologies, Despite the obnoxious premises, at no point does the film seem stupid or to be biting off more than it can chew and that is to its credit.

Aligarh

Aligarh has its moments, and a very earnest performance by Manoj Bajpai. Despite this I found it to be terribly average. It tries to be a lot of things and ends up being neither one. It takes too long to take off. Scenes between Bajpai and Rajkumar Rao have some spark but they're few and far in between. Especially the middle section dealing with court proceedings buries the story down among all that legalese. At one point it seems the film is going to be about politicization of the AU but even that idea is abandoned. Then at times the film seems to be pursuing the pathway of a procedural, but even there no clear picture comes out, The topic of the film is essential no doubt and it's a story that needs to be told but I only wish it was done with better characterization, vigour and vibrant story telling techniques.

MAMI 2013: Day 1

It's Mumbai Film Festival time again & as I did the last time I attended I intend to blog about the films I see everyday to keep a neat document of my cinematic memories. Now since I run around all day to catch screenings & come home late it doesn't leave me much time to write an in depth frame-by-frame detailed post about the films. Hence these are just my basic thoughts about what I felt about these movies.

So without further ado let us begin.

Day 1

Closed Curtain (Pardé)

Language:- Persian

Director:- Jafar Panahi & Kambuzia Partovi

What starts out as a film seemingly about a man spending time alone at his beach house with his dog for peace of mind soon turns into a film about the invasion of privacy & the travails of living under exile with the arrival of new characters. And then mid-way through the film, director Jafar Panahi enters the movie as a character. He is playing himself. From this point on the difference between what's happening in 'reality' & what's occurring in the director's mind becomes paper thin. It fondles with this interesting idea of how a creation views it's creator. Though heavy with subtext & surrealism it is handled deftly. There are long stretches of scenes that required patience to watch especially as the film incorporates no music whatsoever. By the end the film leaves the audience to unravel the sequence of events that may or may not have taken place, the good thing though is each viewer may find his/her own conclusions.  

The Immigrant

Language: English 

Director: James Gray

Confession: I chose to watch 'The Immigrant' mainly because I have a big time crush on Marion Cotillard.

But with Joaquin Phoenix in the mix & a Palme d'Or nomination at Cannes I expected a first rate feature. Well, I was wrong.

'The Immigrant' is bland & boring. Apart from the splendid art deco & costumes which recreate the 1920's there's very little to keep you hooked here. Joaquin Phoenix overacts with aplomb as the oleaginous pimp, Marion Cotillard is not bad as the conflicted central character but her 'victim-of-circumstance' act borders on monotony. The only bright spot is Jeremy Renner who shines in his performance as a sprightly magician but unfortunately does not have enough screen time. Treatment wise there is a sense of lethargy all through. A plot like this sounds Oscar bait on paper but it just doesn't convert on screen.

Watch 'The Immigrant' when it's playing on TV someday on a lazy afternoon & you have nothing better to do. Actually don't, take an afternoon nap instead.

Fandry
Language: Marathi
Director: Nagraj Manjule

Fandry is an amazing movie. You know you've seen good cinema when you've been entertained yet educated, laughed yet felt a lump in the throat, sensed devastation yet felt a sliver of hope trickling through.

Social evils are alive & thriving in our country no matter how much we try & put a blanket over them, & to a greater extent in our villages where more than 70% of our population still lives. 'Fandry' is the story of an adolescent boy called 'Jabya' belonging to a lower caste in a Maharashtrian village. A story of his lofty aspirations as well his crushing reality.

There have been numerous films about the horrors of the caste system but none quite like this one. There's never a dull moment here, Through the story of the boy we are more or less coming face to face with our hypocrisy and ignorance. This does not mean that the film is deeply depressing. The subplots about Jabya trying to woo a classmate (belonging to a higher caste) with the help of his friend & having a boyish obsession with catching a black sparrow (which is his means of fanciful escapism) provide enough occasions for hearty laughter. Really though the film addresses the core issue without being preachy & to say that that is commendable is putting it mildly.

The acting all around is top notch & a special mention to the wonderful soundtrack by Aloknanda Das Gupta. I had the privilege to hear the director speak post the screening where he said it's a personal film for him as most of the things are based from his real life experiences and it shows.

Picasso's Gang (La Banda Picasso)
Language: French
Director: Fernando Colomo

The comedy genre is seriously underrepresented in film fests in my opinion, more often they're not considered 'on par' with gritty hard hitting cinema & hence I made it a point to watch this light hearted comic caper.

It is shot excellently with a brisk & bouncy screenplay & fantastic performances by all the actors. If you're an art & literature connoisseur of the early 1900's there's even more for you to love here as you might be able to spot the references & "in" jokes better. The 'gang' here refers to a group of artists which went on to revolutionize the world with their art but before that they were but youngsters trying to make ends meet, sometimes by not very healthy means and how they get embroiled in a theft at the Louvre museum.

A heavy handed topic like early 19th century art is lovingly repainted with a comical brush and it's much fun while it lasts. Time well spent.