Directed by: Aamir Khan
Starring: Darsheel Safary, Aamir Khan
Ishaan Awasthi keeps getting into trouble all the time; with teachers, with neighbours, with parents… Little do they know that Ishaan is suffering from dyslexia. He is sent to a boarding school as a punishment. But there, he meets Ram, his drawing teacher, who recognizes his problem and helps him overcome it.
Words cannot do justice to the beauty of this film. It’s the directorial debut of Aamir Khan and he has proved himself to be a master story-teller. It is so touching and so real that it made me cry several times. Darshan Safary, who plays Ishaan, is superb. He plays his role with a lot of maturity, never acting precocious like most kids in Hindi film do. The fact that Aamir has let him carry the first half completely on his shoulders is proof enough of his talent.
Taare Zameen Par is a film that needs to be watched not only because it is a story very well told but also for the message that it gives out (without being preachy, condescending or too verbose): Every child is special.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Le Péril Jeune (Good old daze)
Directed by : Cédric Klapisch
Starring : Romain Duris, Vincent Elbaz, etc.
This film was actually made for a TV channel called Arte by the youth-oriented films specialist Cedric Klapisch. This is also the debut film of Romain Duris, one of the top actors of French cinema today.
The film begins with four old friends sitting in a hospital lobby waiting for the birth of their friend Tomasi’s child. Tomasi is dead from a drug overdose. The friends reminisce about the good old days at ‘lycée’ (the French equivalent of high school I guess) – the girls, the secret crushes, professors and finally, drugs.
Duris, who plays Tomasi, in his very first role, reveals himself to be a natural. In fact, the whole film is so realistic that it brings back the bittersweet memories of our school days.
The film is funny and poignant at the same time. The language, which is predominantly colloquial, was a little difficult to understand. But all in all, a very enjoyable film.
Starring : Romain Duris, Vincent Elbaz, etc.
This film was actually made for a TV channel called Arte by the youth-oriented films specialist Cedric Klapisch. This is also the debut film of Romain Duris, one of the top actors of French cinema today.
The film begins with four old friends sitting in a hospital lobby waiting for the birth of their friend Tomasi’s child. Tomasi is dead from a drug overdose. The friends reminisce about the good old days at ‘lycée’ (the French equivalent of high school I guess) – the girls, the secret crushes, professors and finally, drugs.
Duris, who plays Tomasi, in his very first role, reveals himself to be a natural. In fact, the whole film is so realistic that it brings back the bittersweet memories of our school days.
The film is funny and poignant at the same time. The language, which is predominantly colloquial, was a little difficult to understand. But all in all, a very enjoyable film.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Director: Alain Resnais
Starring: Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada
A beautiful black and white film considered to be in the league of Citizen Kane. It is a love story set against the backdrop of the Hiroshima atomic bomb blasts.
“Hiroshima Mon Amour” is the story of an actress who comes to Hiroshima to shoot a film about peace. There she spends the night with a Japanese man and begins to fall for him. Since both of them are married and live on different continents their love story is destined to fail. It reminds her of her tragic and devastating affair with a German soldier during the occupation of France.
Marguerite Duras, who has written the script, skilfully links the story of the actress with that of Hiroshima. The heroine haunted by her tragic past shall learn to let go of it in the city which was burned to ashes but still moved on.
This film is considered to be one of the first modern films. As one might guess, it is not easy to follow. The documentary that is given as a bonus on the DVD is of great help in understanding the undercurrents of the film and analysing it.
A thought-provoking film, serious but worth watching.
Starring: Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada
A beautiful black and white film considered to be in the league of Citizen Kane. It is a love story set against the backdrop of the Hiroshima atomic bomb blasts.
“Hiroshima Mon Amour” is the story of an actress who comes to Hiroshima to shoot a film about peace. There she spends the night with a Japanese man and begins to fall for him. Since both of them are married and live on different continents their love story is destined to fail. It reminds her of her tragic and devastating affair with a German soldier during the occupation of France.
Marguerite Duras, who has written the script, skilfully links the story of the actress with that of Hiroshima. The heroine haunted by her tragic past shall learn to let go of it in the city which was burned to ashes but still moved on.
This film is considered to be one of the first modern films. As one might guess, it is not easy to follow. The documentary that is given as a bonus on the DVD is of great help in understanding the undercurrents of the film and analysing it.
A thought-provoking film, serious but worth watching.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Les Enfants du Paradis (French)
Director : Marcel Carné
Written by : Jacques Prévert
Starring : Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur, Pierre Renoir
I came across this film, considered to be the best French films ever made, in the Alliance Française library. Often, I cannot appreciate black and white films due to the theatrical acting prevalent in those days. But since this film is presented as a play (it is shown in two acts/parts and the curtain rises and falls at the beginning and the end), I quite enjoyed it this time. My only disappointment was the actress who played the central character: she looked a little too old for her role, was too passive throughout and did not look as beautiful and enchanting as she ought to have.
The film is about Garance, a small-time actress and a courtesan, and the four men who fall in love with her – Lacenaire, a criminal, Baptiste, a mime-artist, Edouard de Montray, an aristocrat and Frédéric Lemaitre, an actor. Each of them loves Garance in their own way and this forms the crux of the film. Baptiste’s love for Garance is pure and sublime, but he expects a similar affection from her. Frédéric is a Casanova. But his love for Garance (which seems frivolous in the first part) leads him to experience ‘jealousy’, an emotion he had never known before. Lacenaire prides himself on his cold heartedness, but his love for Garance makes him commit a grave crime. De Montray tries to buy Garance’s love with expensive gifts. She does become his mistress but never reciprocates his love. Garance on the other hand runs away from each of these men when she finds her freedom encroached upon. At the end however, she finds her true love but circumstances force her to run away from him again.
The beauty of the film lies in its well-defined characters and the light that it throws upon human nature. As for its name “Les enfants du paradis” can be translated as “The children of the Gods”. The Gods refers to the gallery where the working-class people sat in a theatre. They were the ones who freely appreciated the actors’ performances. It should be noted that all the characters in the film belong to the working class (except, of course De Montray).
The film was made during the German occupation of France. The lead actress Arletty had an affair with a German soldier at the time and was thus banned from acting in films later. An interesting view is that Garance represents the France under Vichy (occupied France). Lacenaire, the anti-hero/hero, represents those French who joined the Resistance movement and wanted to free France at all cost (Hence the murder at the end). Baptiste represents the French who loved their nation but could not, or did not strive to free her (hence his inability to express his love for her).
Personally, I quite enjoyed the film. For those who love classics, here is one which is hailed as the French ‘Gone with the wind’!
Written by : Jacques Prévert
Starring : Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur, Pierre Renoir
I came across this film, considered to be the best French films ever made, in the Alliance Française library. Often, I cannot appreciate black and white films due to the theatrical acting prevalent in those days. But since this film is presented as a play (it is shown in two acts/parts and the curtain rises and falls at the beginning and the end), I quite enjoyed it this time. My only disappointment was the actress who played the central character: she looked a little too old for her role, was too passive throughout and did not look as beautiful and enchanting as she ought to have.
The film is about Garance, a small-time actress and a courtesan, and the four men who fall in love with her – Lacenaire, a criminal, Baptiste, a mime-artist, Edouard de Montray, an aristocrat and Frédéric Lemaitre, an actor. Each of them loves Garance in their own way and this forms the crux of the film. Baptiste’s love for Garance is pure and sublime, but he expects a similar affection from her. Frédéric is a Casanova. But his love for Garance (which seems frivolous in the first part) leads him to experience ‘jealousy’, an emotion he had never known before. Lacenaire prides himself on his cold heartedness, but his love for Garance makes him commit a grave crime. De Montray tries to buy Garance’s love with expensive gifts. She does become his mistress but never reciprocates his love. Garance on the other hand runs away from each of these men when she finds her freedom encroached upon. At the end however, she finds her true love but circumstances force her to run away from him again.
The beauty of the film lies in its well-defined characters and the light that it throws upon human nature. As for its name “Les enfants du paradis” can be translated as “The children of the Gods”. The Gods refers to the gallery where the working-class people sat in a theatre. They were the ones who freely appreciated the actors’ performances. It should be noted that all the characters in the film belong to the working class (except, of course De Montray).
The film was made during the German occupation of France. The lead actress Arletty had an affair with a German soldier at the time and was thus banned from acting in films later. An interesting view is that Garance represents the France under Vichy (occupied France). Lacenaire, the anti-hero/hero, represents those French who joined the Resistance movement and wanted to free France at all cost (Hence the murder at the end). Baptiste represents the French who loved their nation but could not, or did not strive to free her (hence his inability to express his love for her).
Personally, I quite enjoyed the film. For those who love classics, here is one which is hailed as the French ‘Gone with the wind’!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Aja Nach Le
Starring: Madhuri Dixit, Kunal Kapoor, Konkona Sen, etc. etc.
The film is really not as bad as the reviews said. It's about a dancer (Madhuri Dixit) who returns after several years to her vilage to save the dance school from being mowed down. Madhuri is good as usual. Konkona Sen and Kunal Kapoor:) are loveable. The songs should have been better since this is almost a musical. I liked the choreography too, even though it was trashed in the reviews.
Overall, a good timepass film.
The film is really not as bad as the reviews said. It's about a dancer (Madhuri Dixit) who returns after several years to her vilage to save the dance school from being mowed down. Madhuri is good as usual. Konkona Sen and Kunal Kapoor:) are loveable. The songs should have been better since this is almost a musical. I liked the choreography too, even though it was trashed in the reviews.
Overall, a good timepass film.
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