The Prestidigitator

You’ll be damned to pining through the windowpanes,
You know you’d trade your life for any ordinary Joe’s,
Well do it now or grow old.
Your nightmares only need a year or two to unfold.

                                   -Australia, The Shins

www.imdb.com/title/tt0399146

This is the kind of cinema that needs to be made and seen more often; the kind that ellicits thought and emotion and incites debate.

A History of Violence is an intense and thought provoking study on the nature of violence. Tom Stall, the protagonist is thrown into a situation that forces him to unleash a side that he’d been trying to conceal even from his family. As he becomes a glorified hero by the community of his small town, he slowly becomes less repulsed by violence thereby shocking his wife and children. Soon, his otherwise apathetic and passive son resorts to violence at school.

The film is open ended and leaves a lot of questions unanswered but that is exactly what makes it such an incredible film. At the end of it, one is forced to question one’s own stance on violence, morality and redemption.

David Cronenberg’s most accessible work, at least for me.

9/10

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473488/ 

Based on the memoirs of Dito Mondiel and directed by himself, this is a powerful tale of redemption. Set in the mid 1980s, the film explores the lives of various inner city youths in Astoria, NY.

Robert Downey Jr plays the adult Dito who writes a book about his childhood but cannot still seem to forgive his father. He decides to go back home when his father is seriously ill and reminisces about his troubled youth. The film then cuts to 1985 when he and his friends smoked lots of weed, got into fist fights and tried to find love that was elusive.

The film employs the use of a shaky cam which brings in a grittiness to the proceedings and the cast shine in this marvellous ensemble piece. Channing Tatum as Antonio is perhaps the best as a confident and troubled young man addicted to chaos.

I love coming of age stories and this one is a brilliant film that explores troubled youth, the people we are indebted to and why one may have to go back to the past to move forward. 7.5/10

(Picture sourced from Wikipedia)

Just saw the video this morning. I remember watching it as a kid. Amazing track. Amazing video. Sigh…music like this is so hard to come by these days. Sadly, the band never had another memorable track.

 Video at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qmVn6b7DdpA

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watchin’ the puddles gather rain
And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
and speak my point of view
But it’s not sane, It’s not sane

I just want some one to say to me
I’ll always be there when you wake
Ya know I’d like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and I’ll have it made

And I don’t understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that there’s no rain
And all I can do is read a book to stay awake
And it rips my life away, but it’s a great escape
escape…escape…escape…
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
ya don’t like my point of view
ya think I’m insane
Its not sane…it’s not sane.

Ranga Shankara (JP Nagar, Bangalore) was host to the play, Butter and Mashed Banana. Directed by Ajay Krishnan, this was an amazingly humorous yet profound look at our system of censorship.

It’s a three act play wherein the first act details the illegitimate birth of the protagonist (conceived on a night of ill advised but passionate love) to a Shiv Sena/Right Wing father and a CPI(M)/Left Wing mother. The conflict of ideas begin long before the child is born but the effects are life long.

In the second act we see that the protagonist is now a famous writer who has become a celebrity but his own countrymen know little of him as his book, “Bahabah” is banned by the Censor Board which deems it too offensive.

Freedom of Speech is your fundamental right, but you can’t say whatever you want, you know.

In the third act, the protagonist decides to change things by entering politics where he finds the system to be far too corrupt to change. The ruling and opposition parties fight over him to yield disastrous yet comical results. There is this one line by the opposition where the leader quotes the Blabbermouth Law of 1952 (Sayterius Minimus) which states, “Thou canst sayest what thy wants.” Call me lame, but I thought it was hilarious.

I thought the play was very well written and in spite of being slightly over the top still managed to tackle issues like freedom, morality, religious fanaticism and sexual awakening (or the lack of it).

And yes, there is music as well with some great lyrics and guitar strumming (by Ajay Krishnan himself). The three actors are excellent and the script is laced with dry wit and irony. It does manage to get the point across, albeit in a very humorous way.

If this play comes your way, I suggest you NOT miss it. At 100 Rs a ticket, it’s a great way to spend a Sunday evening!

Drop the cause and join the line.

Something made you cry, it’s the dirt in your eye.

PS: Butter and Mashed Banana is apparently used on a hangman’s noose to tighten the knot (Thank you Google!).

I’d been meaning to buy a copy of The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins but the price tag of Rs 720 was a tiny deterrant. However, I bought the new paperback edition at one third the price yesterday. The first 80 pages I’ve read so far have amazingly lucid arguments. One of those books you don’t want to put down but don’t want to finish too soon either.

Also, chances that you’ll come across this film are minuscule but if you do get a chance, watch Danny Boyle’s Sunshine. An excellent Sci Fi film that really does justice to the genre. Speculative fiction at it’s best. It delves into the moral and ethical dilemmas the crew of a space ship face whilst attempting to save mankind from annihilation. (No, it’s nothing like Armageddon) The final sequence is an experience that is almost spiritual. OK…not really but excellent nonetheless. 8.5/10

Listening to Avenue of Hope by I Am Kloot [Lyrics]

The Cannes Film Festival opened with a screening of Wong Kar Wai’s My Blueberry Nights. However what interests me more are the short films screened there. Having seen a few shorts that were screened at Sundance (on my computer; I didn’t go to Sundance), I’m blown away by the potential of this medium.

This year a short film from India will be screened at the Cannes.

Luke Mendez, a Mumbai based film maker will be screening his 18 minute short film, Dog Eat Dog. It portrays the grim realities behind the so called American Dream. Read about it here.

Sadly, short films are overlooked in India with many oblivious to the fact that there exist some amazing short films that ignore the traditional 3 act structure out there. If you intend to watch them, I suggest you start with the immensely entertaining BMW Series Short Films which were helmed by auteurs like Guy Ritchie, Ang Lee, WKW etc… starring Clive Owen.

Sample this! 

[Cannes Logo sourced from Wikipedia] 

I’m looking in on the good life I might be doomed never to find.
Without a trust or flaming fields am I too dumb to refine?

                                                -New Slang, The Shins

A very neat HP ad featuring Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfCJ-7kMgRs]

Disclaimer: I enjoy reading both Sartre and Superman.

How exactly does one critique somebody’s work? Do you base it on what a large sample section of the public felt (or is bound to feel) or do you look for an intrinsic artistic value?

When the Da Vinci Code came out, it was acclaimed beyond comprehension. The literati loved it; conspiracy and history…they thought it delivered on an intellectual level. However, over the months as the book went on to become a million dollar industry in itself, the very same critics who lavished praises on it distanced themselves from it. Why? Because believe it or not, there is a perception that if something becomes too popular or appeals to the public, it cannot be art. Apparently, not everybody understands art. Right.

So how do you judge art? Scott Adams, on his blog went on to say that you can judge art only by the standards it sets to achieve. That’s exactly how I feel.

You cannot compare an issue of Playboy with a piece by Umberto Eco. You simply cannot. They are both stimulating, albeit in different ways. Whereas one strives to fascinate the libidinous male populace, the other is intellectually stimulating.

Recently, Spiderman 3 has faced a lot of backlash for being over the top and cheesy. While I admit that it is true, I do not see it as a flaw. The director envisioned something out of the pages of a comic book so how can you blame something for intentionally being corny? There is an intrinsic entertainment value for stuff like that. So wait…can something artistic NOT be entertaining? Vice versa?

I’m confused.