http://imdb.com/title/tt0496319/

Just as the film was about to start, Ethan Hawke came on stage to introduce it. The film is based on the novel of the same name he wrote a few years back.

“When you’re young everyone keeps telling you to follow your dreams but when you’ve grown up, they get all offended if you even try.“

I walked in expecting the film to be a visceral experience a la Before Sunrise or Before Sunset. But that wasn’t the case; which is not a bad thing per se. The film is extremely intense and emotional. The characters are very real and raw which make them easier to relate to and hence make it an uneasy film to sit through for some people.

William (loosely based on Hawke himself),an aspiring 20 year old ‘actor’ comes to New York to look for work. He meets Sara, an emotionally scarred ’singer’ and the two fall in love and go through the motions. On the surface, this is a story about two artists finding love in a city where people like them are dime a dozen. But like in most cases, the disillusionment wears off and things get awry. Apart from this being a story about first love, it’s inherent pains and coming of age , it’s also a tale of closure. William longs for closure with his father (Ethan Hawke) who bailed on him as a kid. One of the most beautiful scenes in the film is the conversation with his mother played by Laura Linney. ”It’s amazing how many times you can find love”, she tells her depressed son.

Mark Webber as William was not exactly the perfect candidate for the role in my opinion but the other actors shine in this brilliant film, especially Catalina Sandino Moreno and Laura Linney as Sara and his mother respectively.

The soundtrack to the film by Jesse Harris is noteworthy and it’s the probably best I’ve heard in a while. The direction is pretty good in spite of a couple of editing faults. Ethan Hawke’s film is a flawed but commendable achievement.

For the discerning viewer, there is a cameo by Richard Linklater in the first half of the film.

7/10

Ever since I got here, the MIFF 2007 is something I’d been eagerly awaiting and it’s finally here. Owing to time (and financial) constraints, I was able to get passes to only two screenings; but I intend to go for a couple more later on.

Anyway the films I have passes to are:

1. The Hottest State: Ethan Hawke

The mediocre reviews do bother me a bit but I’m fairly certain that I’m going to like this; mostly because it’s a coming of age tale and also because I’d like to think Hawke learned a thing or two from his association with my favorite director, Richard Linklater.

2. Everything’s Gone Green: Douglas Coupland

This Canadian film had caught my fancy back in Hyderabad itself. Also, it’s been favorably compared to another film which happens to be the one film people associate me with.

Reviews to follow.

[Logo sourced from http://www.melbournefilmfestival.com.au ]

I was a victim of a series of accidents, as are we all.

                            -Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan

http://imdb.com/title/tt0130827/ 

Mankind, probably the most mysterious species on our planet. A mystery of open questions. Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? How do we know what we believe to know? Why do we believe anything at all? Innumerable questions looking for an answer, an answer which will raise the next question and the following answer will raise a following question and so on and so forth. But in the end, isn’t it always the same question and always the same answer? 

If there’s one film that truly describes my personal philosophy, it’s this one. Tom Tykwer’s brilliant tribute to the role chance and timing play in our lives is a film for the times.

Lola (Franka Potente) gets a phone call from her frantic boyfriend. He just lost the 100,000 marks he owed a mob boss and he goes on to tell her that in 20 minutes, he will rob a supermarket. She has 20 minutes to stop him from doing anything stupid.

Tom Tykwer shows us 3 realities; 3 ways the pivotal 20 minutes could have transpired.  That’s what makes this an incredible experience. Technically, the film is outstanding. I actually kept going back a couple of times to marvel at the meticulous direction.

Also, if you do plan to watch it, I suggest you watch the German version with English subtitles and not the dubbed version.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/07/11/1183833599460.html

Sith Lord, Emperor Palpatine…er…Pope Benedict XVI has ‘corrected‘ erroneous interpretations of the 1960s reforming Vatican Council. As of now Protestant churches are not really churches and the Orthodox churches are ‘wounded churches’. But he does admit there are elements of truth in the aforementioned churches. The humility!

The new document, issued by the Doctrine of the Faith, which the Pope used to head, reaffirms traditional teaching that the Roman Catholic Church is the only true church…

What puzzles me is the temerity with religious leaders voice opinions these days. As if the two tablets from the mountain weren’t restrictive enough, the man went on to bring forth The Ten Commandments for Driving.

To think…people like these get taken seriously!

PS: The resemblance is uncanny though. Also, for those who didn’t quite catch the reference, the title is a quote by Palpatine from the film. (Click here for audio)

The reality show, On The Lot is pretty pathetic but it does showcase some amazing talent. If you’ve been watching, you’re probably familiar with Zach Lipovsky’s work. Two of his short films are probably the best on the show.

Sunshine Girl: A little girl hides the Sun under her bed. Chaos ensues.

Time Upon a Once:Breathtakingly original!

Also, our very own second generation bharatiya nari, Shalini Kanatayya made waves on the show .

All the shorts made thus far can be viewed on the site.

I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member.

I was watching Annie Hall for the umpteenth time and that’s when I was hit by a strong desire (yes, yet again) to be more like Woody Allen’s character, Alvy Singer. Agreed he’s not exactly the epitome of male perfection but there’s something about him in spite of his neurotic mannerisms and sometimes unnecessarily lengthy expositions that make him something of a role model.

There is this scene where he expresses his wariness of God men and religion when he exclaims to Diane Keaton’s character,

Look! There’s God coming out of the men’s room!

Setting aside his witty yet profound musings on every aspect of culture, he is also an embodiment of childish hopefulness in a sea of cynicism. His character always maintains the middle ground, not too much of an intellectual yet has more going on upstairs than the average person.

Now if only I could find a girl more like Diane Keaton…

I’m a self confessed internet addict. I’m one of those people who just *have* to check their mails and feeds every five minutes. But ever since I got here, I’ve never had the time to indulge myself mostly due to the lack of an internet connection at the hotel I stay at, the outrageous rates at the net cafes around and the fact that a good part of my life is spent at work.

I’ve been in Melbourne for little over a month now and I just realised I know very little about the place. There are plenty of free wi fi hot spots all over the place! The bandwidth is decent (this coming from an angry Sify user) and the coffee is great!

It pains me thinking of all the things I could’ve done with all the money I spent at Internet centers this last month.

Listening to Signal Fire by Snow Patrol

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401711/

This isn’t just a film for short film lovers; it’s an amazingly visceral meditation on the various forms of love in and for one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Paris. The two hour feature consists of 18 short films based on the 20 Arrondissements (‘municipal boroughs’) in Paris.

When 18 of today’s best film makers come together, you are bound to expect some great cinema. For most part, they don’t disappoint but I didn’t care for the one by Wes Craven (Père-Lachaise) so much. My favorite short was the last piece by Alexander Payne (14e arrondissement) which portrays a middle aged woman in Paris; trying to fulfil her life long dream of visiting the city. She narrates her experience in thickly accented French. Deeply moving as only Payne can write. The entire atmosphere feels a lot like it did in Sideways.

There are a few flashes of brilliance (the ones by Cuaron and the Coen Brothers) but it did feel a little uneven at times. Not that surprising as it comes from 18 different film makers. At the end, it’s a film that will leave you pondering on relationships and the places you fall in love with. It reminded me of Manhattan, Woody Allen’s love letter to the city and one of my favorite films.

[And yes, Natalie Portman stars in Faubourg Saint-Denis, the short directed by Tom Tykwer. I'm not going to praise her performance for the fear of becoming redundant and creepy (in a 'creepy stalker' kind of way). ]

8.5/10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_je_taime

(PS: This film also made me long a bit for home)

Recently, I happened to attend one of those social situations where a lot of Non Resident Indians (mostly students) gather to feign love for their country, speak in put on Australian accents and dress up in clothes one just can’t wear on the street in Melbourne. As if jumping to loud thumping Bhangra music wasn’t bad enough, I was forced to sit through what I’ll probably remember for the rest of my life as one of the most torturous experiences ever. They screened Dhoom 2 to a cheering audience of around 500 proud Indian youth.

Now, before I’m misunderstood as one of those guys who go around trashing Indian films, let me state that I love Cinema; no matter what language. They don’t have to be realistic or art house films. They don’t have to be entirely believable. I am all for suspension of disbelief and such stuff and I totally understand what popcorn/time pass enetertainment means.

This is not that.

Dhoom 2 is an assault on the intelligence of the average Indian. The director assumes that no matter how non existent the plot, no matter how plastic the characters, no matter how inane the dialogues, the average Indian would be won over by the sheer loudness of the film. The film is so over the top that it gets beyond bad after the first five minutes. The melodrama is cringe inducing and the characters border on plain idiocy. Women seem happy wearing shockingly less and being treated like nothing more than eye candy and the men (who morally and ethically ambiguous as they are) have even less personality than the Transformers.

What boggles my mind is that in spite of the pile of crap that is Dhoom 2, it did amazingly good business and won numerous awards(!!!). Makes you wonder where the country is headed.

I urge you to see the film however. Some things have to be seen to be believed.