Stations of the Cross 2014

Stations of the Cross open with static camera, focusing a group of teenagers trying to focus on the catholic preaching of a very young priest.  It lasts almost 20 minutes. I felt impatient. I desperately wanted to end it. The preaching goes on describing the benefits of being faithful to God. It includes sacrifice and turning deaf ears to satanic music.  Priest appears to be very subtle, but his language and the way he speaks explain his impassion. The scene is executed with similarities to the famous painting of Last Supper. Camera does not focus on a single person. But towards the end of the scene; we get the idea that, our protagonist is a 14-year-old girl –Maria. In the following scenes, we almost get the idea that; she wants to be a saint. She is ready for sacrifice so that her younger brother starts speaking. We get to see her strong mother who intently appraise her upbringing in true catholic faith.

But the movie is not about Maria. It is about faith and the extremity of faith.Maria lives in the present. Her class mates are regular. But she belongs to a separate era. She does not love God. Her faith asks her to fear God and she do it with passion. She wants to follow her faith blindly. But she is also tempted and the temptation part is the third chapter where she has a very normal conversation with a boy of her age. This chapter is appropriately named as Jesus Falls for the First Time. His name is Christian. He invites her to join their Choir Practice which has a unified way of Soul and Gospel. Their conversation is so pure and pleasant that, you could read their hearts. In the next chapter, her mother goes to the extent that, such music is satanic. This scene in the car is rather long. But the camera appropriately placed in the front of the car, gives you a clear vision of whats going inside and what’s juxtaposed. I really liked the dialogues. They never fail to convey the essence of the movie. In the confession scene when the priest, visibly manipulates her innocence to sin, we only see the poor Maria. Focus is entirely on her.

Maria gradually surrenders herself to the fear of God. She is an impressionist kid. She wants her little brother to talk and she is ready to sacrifice herself for it. Her gradual descent to this extremity is too painful to watch. But the director carefully arrays devices for our meaningful journey. We are forced to hate her mother and start a rebellion against the stupid faith. We are forced to smile when her mother breaks down in the last chapter. Her speech on her daughter’s journey to the sainthood does not even convince her. It does not convince us also. Maria’s little brother starts speaking at the same moment, she dies. I am still not convinced. How can God be so cruel? First He made the child dump and then takes the life of his innocent sister. I don’t believe in that God. I don’t want to fear the God either.

Stations of the Cross does not make any statement against faith. It leaves you with questions. Camera ascents in the last chapter like God and it sees the young Christian walking to the open fields and skies.I loved the movie.Not because the movie is about faith.But particularly for the execution. The 14 chapters in the life of Maria are named after the events of crucification   of Jesus Christ. Director lets the actors to dwell in the characters and come up with moments to enhance our watching experience. It engages you.Its a movie that you cannot avoid. watch it.

                                                                  

Timbuktu 2014

IFFK 2014 opened with Dancing Arabs.I kept wondering why that movie was chosen for a prestigious opening session. It narrated and tried to convey the pain relating to the burial of Arab identity. But the movie had no resistance. The protagonist was voluntarily burying it first for love and then for a living. Nobody was forcing him and nothing in the movie gives a fair explanation. Middle East rhetoric of Arab existence is repeatedly seen and the sympathetic portrayals of Arab youth have become a cliché.

But Timbuktu offered me a better frame. Abderrahmane Sissako leads me to Timbuktu, a land that was founded in 1100 by Tuareg nomads as a seasonal trading post and camp for gold, salt, ivory, kola nuts and slaves. In the 15th and 16th centuries this land became an intellectual and spiritual capital of Islam. But in the movie,you see the land gets infected by the Jihadies and the fast transition and fall of Islam to paganism. Sissako unwinds the narrative with slow and steady pace. It becomes obvious after the 10 minutes that, his intentions are not to make a story. He unconventionally draws up attention to the strange and silly ways of newly arrived foreign Jihadies who play with latest mobiles, cameras and guns. Sissako uses a donkey in some of the scenes to manifest their foolery. But even the donkey is not enough to show the gravity of their mix-ups. They want the women to cover their hair, men to roll up their pants and ban music and football. Still we see them discussing football.

Kidane,a cattle farmer, his wife, Satima and his twelve year old daughter slowly acquires prominence. Earlier in the movie, his wife boldly asks the Jihadi to look away, if he does not want to see her hair. Kidane plays his guitar and their tent amidst the desert becomes a heaven under the starry sky. The innocence and the beauty of life come alive and Sissako brilliantly takes us to the conflict almost immediately. Kidane’s cow GPS stumbles in to the fishing nets of Amadou,a temperamental fisherman and the latter spears it to death Kidane’s confrontations of Amadou ends in a gunshot.We understand that, one of them is shot. But who?.  Sissako does not cut the scenes for a minute. We knew Kidane had the gun. Then the camera opens a wide screen extravaganza in the back ground of the setting sun. Kidane gets up and runs to one side of the screen while Amadou gets up and stumbles down.

Sissako seduces you with his narrative norms. He is sharp and never fails to shock you.He keeps you engaged and forces you to fall in love with his frames. Be it the execution scenes of Sharia Court or the foot ball without a foot ball,he lets the frames capture the essence and advance his intentions to further the cinematic experience. Those faces that are stoned shock you to hell.The last dialogues of Kidane moves you.Fire in Satima’s  eyes leaves you with questions.In the end, you also want to run away from this Godless world like that little girl. You run like that deer.

Timbuktu is shocking. But breathtakingly real. It leaves you with obvious questions on religion and the way it is interpreted by the donkeys.

          

                                                 

Out in The Dark (2012)

Discrimination against LGBT people is nothing new. They are discriminated and marginalized everywhere. Social acceptance is still a myth and I think gay people have realized it also. They have moved forward from social equality to social justice. They prefer to form their own community and live aloof from the mainstream. So when I read a review on the gay romance in circuit-Out in the Dark, I was expecting something similar to The  Weekend which I cherish it as a great movie. It discussed in precise terms the reality of being a gay in and out. The existential trauma of being a gay male and way forward in the brutal reality of social discrimination. To a certain extent, The Stranger by the Lake also provided me with same perspective on gay people forced to live in duality and the insecurities thereon. It also gave me an idea on psychological impacts resultant to their marginalization.

Out in the dark, opens to a really difficult terrain where nationality, sexuality and war meet and run nowhere near to solutions. Palestinian student Nimr falls in love with a Jewish lawyer Roy in a Tel Aviv gay bar. Opening scene tells us that, he crosses Ramallah boarder frequently to hang out in the gay bars of Tel Aviv. We meet his openly gay Arab friend, Mustafa also. Nimr is a psychology student in Birzeit University and hopes to obtain PhD from Princeton University US. We soon see him obtaining a temporary Visa to visit Tel Aviv for academic purpose. He meets his lover and we are given the impression that everything is fine. But when his gay Arab friend, Mustafa is forcefully repatriated to Palestine and his kinfolks murder him, we realize that the story is not easy. Especially when Nimr’s brother is involved and Nimr also witnesses the murder helplessly.

Murder is the price for Palestinian gay men. Sexuality is the first conflict. When Nimr is introduced to the parents of Roy,the next conflict emerges-Nationality. When we see the hidden arms in the basement of Nimr’s home, the next conflict comes out-war. Roy tries for the solutions, but miserably fails.  Adding to the injury, Israeli secret services dismiss the temporary Visa. They offer him Visa,if he can spy his people. Nimr’s condition further worsens when his family traces out his secret sexual life in Tel Aviv. The events that follow show the poor Palestinian boy desperately tries hard for being alive.

The movie poignantly follows their pathetic plight and the pace it takes is completely justified. Its gripping and hand held camera gives it a dramatic edge. Both the actors understand their roles. Brutal reality of a boy having broken his family honour is manifested in the desperate out cries of Nimr. He is excellent in that scene. But my only complaint is both appeared to be reluctant lovers. Out in the Dark is a thriller that is emotional, political and romantic. It’s equally strong and upholds the spirit of life and love. See it.

Philomena (2013)

When I picked up Philomena, Karter was amused. He pronounced it in the most annoying way to make fun of me. I said I liked to see Judie Dench. He peered at the cover of the DVD and started laughing. He said he was expecting a sexy lady. I asked him to enjoy the disappointment. Judy Dench has always been one of my favorite actors. I also like the way she is. She is old, but extremely beautiful with her exceptionally matured acting talent.

Philomena revolves around an old lady from the working class back ground in London. She grew up in Ireland where she became pregnant   from a young man in 1951.Her father sends her to Catholic Convent where she delivers the baby and toils seven days a week to pay the cost of her stay. Catholic convent forcefully takes her baby boy away for adoption. After 50 years, one time government spokesperson and now almost jobless, Martin Smith is asked to write about Philomena and her long lost son. Martin initially rejects the idea of human interest story. But later joins Philomena in her emotional journey to find her long lost son. They visit the convent and the nuns deny the existence of any adoption files. They say that a fire mishap destroyed all the records. But they show her the contract she signed 50 years back, restricting her rights to contact her baby boy. You understand from the way the nuns and convent is shown, that, some mystery is yet to be revealed. But the movie does not the take the road of mysteries. It rather takes an emotional path. It shows the local bar people speak about the infamous adoption deals of the convent. They mention that, children were sold to 1000 pounds and were carried to families in United States of America.

Philomena along with Martin Smith reaches America. She, like a child smiles and tries to enjoy the simple pleasures of this new land. Martin understands that the boy was adopted by Doc and Marge Hess and further search provides him the precise details of Antony who was renamed as Michael and had a high profile life as a lawyer in America. He served as a senior official in Regan and Bush administrations. But the enthusiasm ends when the last line says, he died eight years earlier. Philomena who was annoying Martin with her pleasure of extended freebies in the restaurant, comes back to the table, sees her son’s photograph and becomes elated. Then she sees the last line and innocently enquires the equally aggrieved Martin whether he is dead. She tries to cover her face with her both hands and cries like a child. I had tears too.

Martin finds the potential of his human interest book on Philomena and her long gone son, reaches a dead end. He decides to take Philomena back to England. But his boss and Philomena desire a different ending. Both want to explore the story further. Philomena wants to meet people who knew Michael. She thinks about Michael every other minute and she wants to find out whether Michael ever done it. Back in the hotel, Martin shows her a photograph of Michael, but she finds Martin in it also. Martin admits that, he really met this man. Philomena wants to know how firm his handshake was and what did he tell him. Martin visibly creates answers for her satisfaction. She looks strangely excited.  

Former colleague of Michael reveals that, Michael was gay and he died of AIDS. Philomena still asks whether he had any children. She explains the possibilities of being a bi-curious man. She is not shocked by the fact that, her son was gay. She later on explains to Martin that, she has always known it, since he was very sensitive as a child. Philomena asks if Michael ever mentioned Ireland. His friend says ‘no’. They also visit his adopted sister. Mary also says that they never had discussion on Ireland. We see an emotionally crumbling Philomena. She begins to see that, it was not her son Michael, it was somebody else. She fears that her son hated her. She desires to go back. The repeated efforts of Martin   to meet the partner of Michael also fail. More than anything, he also doubts if Michael hated his roots. But finally they meet Pete Olssen almost vehemently.

We see an excited Philomena watching the video of her son that we were shown in bits and pieces all the way from the beginning of the movie. We also see an emotional Martin, watching both the video and Philomena. Final footage shows an extremely sick Michael at the convent in Ireland along with the Nuns. Pete explains that, Michael always wondered about his mother. He visited the convent to find her, but the nuns told him that, his mother had abandoned her.  Pete says that, he was actually buried there in the convent since he had thought it to be his home. We feel happy. But we have tears.

They come back to the Convent and an angry Martin storms at the Nun. She refuses to accept the accusations and replies that, it was a penance to the carnal pleasures that, Philomena had in adolescence. Philomena chooses to forgive her. Martin couldn’t and the movie ends with Philomena asking him to publish her story.

It is not a great movie on the basis of techniques and mastery in the craft of storytelling. Philomena is plain and plaintive. The few discussions the movie presents about God, Sin and Atheism do not become predominant. In fact we forget all such matters and empathize with Philomena.   Judie Dench is amazing. But it is not a remarkable performance. But she is worth every awards and accolades she received. Nobody else can portray Philomena Lee in this gravity. It’s a good book and the movie is not far behind.

See it. 

La Sirga ( 2013 )

La Sirga opens to a scarecrow or a corpse shaking on a stake and the expanse of endless wind and fog. Alicia, a Columbian teenager emerges from the fog of war torn uncertainty. Her village was burned down by the rebels. The perpetrators of the riots are never revealed. They are fogged too. Alicia, like a zombie walks among ghostly trees and collapses in the swamp. Mirichis rescues and delivers her to her paternal uncle Oscar, who runs a lake side inn for the tourists- La Sirga. He reluctantly takes her in. He puts her in the middle room. The word ‘Middle’ thus acquires a dramatic significance to the plot. Middle is her age. She is not a completely a woman and not completely a girl. She is in the middle of war. In the middle room, through the cracks of wooden walls, her uncle lustfully watches her undressing. She sleepwalks and buries down the burning candles in the marsh. She is haunted by the demons of war and understands deep within that, lights holds no relevance to the new age.

Along with Flora, the house keeper at La Sirga she renovates the inn from the ruins. Mirichis innocent extension of love and simple understanding of her condition advances the movie plot. We begin to see that, it is not just village of Alicia, other villages in and around the lake La Concha are being burned down. Arrival of guns in the taxi boat of Mirichis implies the impending conflict. Alicia and almost everyone in the movie live in this strange expectancy.  The only thing that swims against the wind is the water turf, an El Sorro.  I really don’t know what an El Sorro is. But we see this floating turf in the initial scenes of the movie also. Its ability to swim against the wind is explained to Alicia. We feel that, the turf that swims against the wind can actually define Alicia and her lust for life.

Errant son of her uncle, Freddy appears one day from the blue. He appreciates the efforts of Alicia. He decides to stay long. But Mirichis proximity with his cousin envies him. We soon see him, watching Alicia undressing from the cracks of the other room. Alicia turns back and sees the lustful eyes of his father in the other end. Freddy completes her miseries of being in the middle. We begin to learn soon afterwards that, effect of war in human mind offers extreme solutions. Something happens to Mirichis. Movie does not show what happened to him. But it is obvious that, something bad has happened to him and either her uncle or her cousin is involved. We see, Alicia picking up the wooden figurine of Eve made by Mirichis, lying covered in the swamp where that something happened. Desperate, but strong Alicia tries to travel against the wind is the last scene.

The Director provides a refreshing perspective on the insecurities of the period that we live in. Even with a low budget, he presents a clear view of the life in La Concha. Cinematography is excellent and in certain scenes, it deliberately tries to become predominant. The beauty of wind among the over grown grass and the inconsistent water that, Mirichis rows back. Leaking roof, leaves sparkling drops of water in the transparent container is so beautifully captured. Every other thing in the movie bears the signature of the Cinematographer.

La Sirga offers the worries of our period. Images used in the movie symbolizes the insecurities of our period. A roof that leaks and threatens to fall represents the failures of manmade solutions to the man made conflicts. A bruised knee, distant thunder and dark clouds above the lake need no explanations.

I really don’t know the political condition of Columbia. I really don’t think that, La Sirga exists only in Columbia. It exists everywhere. Alicias live in my neighborhood. I hope they all try to swim against this wind.

I loved La Sirga. My Whatsapp mate, Naveen says that, he has a terrible sickness of liking all the movies, he ends up watching. I think, I have got that sickness from him and I am loving it totally. 

Her (2013)

Theodore, the protagonist in Spike Jonze's Her says to his friend, he has always been confused and he shares hurt and confusions to the near ones. He says he likes being in marriage and that’s why he delays for signing the divorce papers. He still finds explanations to defend her arguments. Theodore, as his employer in Beautifilhandwrittenletters.com puts him is half man and half woman. But he bears a woman’s heart.

Theodore lives in future. He is lonely. In future, computers, smart phones, and other devices are voice-activated. People wear headset in one of their ears and give command to the Operating System. The OS, Theodore uses, requires him to speak simple commands such as “Read email” or “Delete,” .It helps him to find suitable partners for sex chat also. We soon realize that, Theodore is sexually starved. Then he finds out a new OS which is an artificially intelligent operating system, called OS1 and produced by a company called Element Software. The OS1 meant to learn and mature through experience, growing smarter and more sophisticated with use. “It’s not just an OS. It’s a consciousness” says  the tagline for OS1.Same consciousness emerges as Samantha, being voiced by Scarlet Johansson, from the OSI. She reads his emails, edits his work and reminds him that he has an appointment in five minutes.

The relationship deepens gradually. But his real woman date that follows soon after devastates him emotionally. He decides to stick with his gadget almost immediately and the gadget turned woman raises to the occasion and falls in love with him right away. The first time they have sex, the screen fades to black. This is second time we see Theodore having Phone sex .In the first scene, provocative nude photographs of some pregnant celebrity, that he had seen earlier, supported him for an orgasm. But here we see darkness. Samantha has no physical form. Theodore refuses to accept any physical imaginary form of Samantha as well. He throws out Isabella with whom Samantha had an agreement for physical manifestation. We realize how genuine Theodore is. We understand how much this man feels for Samantha, when he accepts to his estranged wife that, he dates an OSI. She accuses him for not being capable for human emotions. We see that, she is not completely wrong. Theodore cannot take failures. He is confused. He confuses people around him and hurts them.

The scenes that follow, offers us an insight on the scary future in waiting. Not just Theodore, everyone in the street has OSs and they all seem to be inclined with these imaginary relationships also. Samantha confesses that, she has around 8000 men under her wings and with 641 she is in relationship. We know her reply before being uttered. We see the disappointment in the face of Theodore. But we think about Theodores at that point. Desperately lonely Theodores in the street, looking for perfection, love and companionship.   Theodors of present.  The Theodor in me.

Theodore is a professional letter writer. He writes beautiful emotional letters. But when it comes to him, he fails to express his real feelings. We see him learning this quality from Samantha who articulates her every emotion in words. The movie closes when Theodore finishes a letter to his estranged wife. He sounds clear and present. He has no escapism now. He and his lonely friend sit and watch the lonely city from the terrace is last scene.

Director leaves no empty space in the movie. Its emotional balance is perfectly intact. But I don’t think that, it’s a love story. I rather call it an exploration to a real consciousness. Samantha’s evolution and Theodore’s gradual ascent to his own realities provide a great understanding of human existence. It also teaches that, perfection is   farce. Cinematography and the tone of the movie present the future in vivid terms. Joaquin Phoenix perfects Theodore. I don’t think anybody else can bring so much wind to this solitary man.

I enjoyed it thoroughly…..

                                                                                            

JOINT SECURITY AREA (2000)

When my best friend Karter agreed to share his collection of action movies, I was expecting gun shots, graphic violence and mindless stunt sequences. It is not that, he does not enjoy good movies. But his love for action movies opens a threat to everyone close to him. He has a special interest in them. Fortunately the shared movies belonged to one country-South Korea. I have a special interest in South Korean movies. I think every Keralite holds a special place for Korean movies, especially the movies directed by Kim Ki Duc. He is a house hold name in Kerala. His movies are screened year after year in our International film festival .Last year he visited the film festival with his latest movie-Moebius. He was given a kingly welcome. (I really don’t want to talk about Moebius. I think the movie was beyond my experience and understanding.)But thanks to him, South Korean movies continue to fascinate us.

 Among the 5 movies that, I borrowed from Karter, Joint Security Area was the one I really did not want to watch. Name suggested stupid action sequences and aerial bombing scenes. I knew that, Quentin Tarantino had recommended it in 2009.Still it did not ring the bell. But then having nothing to watch, I encountered it yesterday. The movie opens with a shooting scene and the scenes that followed were ridiculously executed. English dialogues were out of place and the acting was amateurish. I thought my initial fears were right.

But then, it started to engage me. Shooting episode occurs in the heavy militarized border between North and South Korea, which leaves a North Korean soldier (Shin Ha- Kyun) dead and a South Korean soldier injured. The incident becomes a threat to the enforced truce, forcing both sides to send for a mediator to “solve” the problem. Enter Major Sophie Lang (Yeong-ae Lee), an officer in the Swiss Army, famous for their neutrality. Sophie is Korean, but she’s never been to Korea. Her investigation helps us to see that, there was an unusual bonding existed between the rival soldiers. We get to know that, it was most innocent and heartwarming. They separate politics from personal life and enter into a beautiful ambience of childlike innocence. But tension arises soon between rival forces and the South Korean friends -Soo-hyeok and Sung-shik- returns to the remote camp in DMZ to say goodbye and celebrate North Korean friend Woo-jin's birthday. But the commanding officer of the north blows their cover and they are exposed to Mexican standoff. The scenes that follow, explicitly explains the things that are under investigation. It also helps us to understand the strong bonding between the rival soldiers and the guilt of Soo-hyeok in particular. Sung-shik attempts for suicide and Soo-hyeok ends his life. 

The movie specifically takes us to the human emotions under the war torn borders and it also gives us an insight on how humanity survives beyond borders. The scene in the mine field where Soo-hyeok is struck to mine and Oh and Private Jeong Woo-jin (North Korean Soldiers) decide to disarm the mine and save him from death is extremely real and beautiful.   

But the movie has a big flaw which becomes obvious with the characterization of Major Sophie Lang. She appears to be confused and her character lacks credibility. Whenever she appears on screen, you tend to believe that, the movie is artificial. We desperately hope that, she disappears and the soldiers appear. Those guys who played soldiers did a wonderful job.  No wonder Lee  Byung-Hun became famous for his histrionic skills worldwide.  Sound design of the movie is remarkable and so is the cinematography. 

I had seen Old Boy of Park Chan-Wook. It was a treat. Now having watched   his Joint Security Area and heavily impressed with his body of work, I have decided to watch all his works.

Thanks Karter.

Enemy (2013)

Yesterday I started to watch Enemy, a movie loosely adopted from the José Saramago novel - O Homem Duplicado, or “The Duplicated Man.”.Despite of some strong recommendations from my friends, I found the first 30 minutes of the movie, extremely unbearable. Thought the movie was wayward and it failed to capture the essence of the Novel. But having finished watching it today, I think, I loved the movie. It opens with the epigraph “Chaos is order yet un deciphered,”.I don’t think any other epigraph can precisely describe the real meaning of this movie.

 As in the Novel, protagonist Adam Bell (Jake Gyllenhaal), a depressed history professor and we soon find him stalking his double- Anthony St. Claire, an actor of no substance. Their interactions and their common pursuit to understand their condition devours our concentration and attune ourselves to the common pattern of a thriller and we expect a climax and an ending where every tangled bows are neatly framed, apposite for a better perspective. But the ending offers nothing similar to it. You get to know that, Enemy is not a melancholy thriller like Prisoners, movie from the same Director. You rewind the whole movie from the very beginning. You even start reading the epigraph again and understand that,the movie is meant to reverberate you. It has multiple level of understanding and each and every thing in the movie is meant to serve that purpose.

The movie opens in a dark corridor and a door to the sex show is opened with a key. Men in suits and identical in expression watch a nude woman perform orgasm on stage. Another one brings a spider and it’s crushed brutally. You meet Adam Bell and we see him teaching the ways of totalitarian governments and their tricks to misguide the people. We hear the same voice over even when he makes love with his girl friend in an inadequately furnished apartment. Adam watches a local film ‘Where there is will, there is a way ‘ DVD late one night with minimal interest. But later in a dream, he remembers that, his double was in the movie. He rewinds and convinces himself and then starts his pursuit to track the other man.

You understand from his visions that he is totally disconnected and disoriented in many ways. You also understand that whatever we see on screen has different dimensions. Repeated focusing on web like wires intertwining the city presents the    gravity of totalitarianism .It also manifests Adams fear of it. Antony Claire is also like Adam. His wife is pregnant and she presents herself as the human form of totalitarianism. She controls him. She checks everything about him. She has woven a web around him and we get to know that, nothing about him escapes her.

Gradually it becomes clear that, she is the central character of the movie. We also understand that, both Adam and Antony Claire are different adaptation of same person in separate times. Adam re-visits the failed actor in him after six months. He re-visits the same locations, people, circumstances, failures and finally realizes that, the same totalitarian spider has completely invaded him.

Director Denis Villeneuve uses a different narrative which is remarkable. Enemy also showcases the talent of Gyllenhaal.He breathes life to Adam and Antony and he never fails to understand their singularity. Helen (Sarah Gadon), Anthony’s wife did a wonderful job. She excels in the last scene. She convinces us that, she likes this history professor version of the same man who is gentle and faithful. She has completely arrived and the key to sex show becomes totally useless to the man, irrespective of his names..