Skirt Day - Jean-Paul Lilienfeld (2009)

La journée de la jupe (2009)

« Une jupe, ce n'est qu'un bout de tissu, mais qu'elle soit courte ou qu'elle soit longue, ce symbole peut nous aider à gagner une bataille contre l'obscurantisme, et même contre ce qu'il convient d'appeler, la haine des femmes. Cette jupe, c'est l'anti-niqab, c'est l'anti-burqa... » - Isabelle Adjani

"A skirt, it is just a piece of fabric. But be it long or short, this symbol can help us win a battle against obscurantism, and even against what is generally known as misogyny. This skirt, it is anti-niqab, anti-burqa..." - Isabelle Adjani (lead actress).

This film is politically incorrect and is meant to provoke  the audience into taking extreme points of view, since it says things that seem outright racist or Islamophobic. However, as the plot twists and turns, with surprises calculated to heighten the melodrama, it becomes clear that it is a critique of what many people think ails the liberal, multiculturalist vision of modern society. 

The leading lady is named Madame Bergerac, evoking the legendary Cyrano. The story starts with a rehearsal of 'Bourgeois Gentleman' by Moliere. So the evocation of La Douce France is deliberately provocative from the beginning, until verbal threats of rape lead the spectator into the "Real France", supposedly.

That said, the ideology of the story does seem simplistic, where stereotype characters abound. So it becomes very easy to brush it off as a right-wing point of view. The trouble is that many liberals do confess that it becomes rather difficult to deal with situations in which you become so careful about not sounding racist in your judgement that you end up not criticizing something illiberal at all.

Two Days in Paris - Julie Delpy (2007)

If films like Before Sunrise and Before Sunset are far from your idea of a romantic comedy, then this one is recommended. It takes a great deal of inspiration from Woody Allen and there's a bit of Godard, too, but then adds some 21st century originality to this combination of neurosis and wit. There is enough crudeness and political incorrectness in the film to make it funny and savoury-sweet in a very European way. Interestingly, Julie Delpy did not just act in, but was a co-writer of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, so this film seems her way of getting the American films out of her system.

Stephen Holden's review from the NY Times

Something Different (O něčem jiném) - Věra Chytilová

For those who are familiar with 'Daisies' - the more famous film from the Czech director Věra Chytilová, this is an earlier and more accessible film. It juxtaposes two women with very different lives - one is an international gymnast and the other is a simple housewife. Both grapple with existential questions.

It would have been very easy to fall into the trap of making yet another polemical feminist film, but Chytilova tackles the subject brilliantly. A must watch for anyone who thinks a film with a political message cannot be fun to watch. The black and white images are beautiful and the performances lovely. Here is the beginning of the film to whet your appetite -

More about the film - http://www.kinoeye.org/02/08/cieslar08.php

Last Days in Jerusalem (2011) - Tawfik Abu Wael

Last Days in Jerusalem (2011) - Tawfik Abu Wael

 

When do you become an outsider in your own country? When you decide to leave, or only after you have taken the plunge, or never? And what if you don't leave after all? An interesting look at the Israel-Palestine situation via an Arab couple from Jerusalem on their way out of the country. The wall is everywhere in the background, but there is also a wall between them. On the surface, the film is about the couple, who keep separating from each other and keep coming back - not unlike some couple in some film by Michelangelo Antonioni. Deep within, it is also about separation from a country that is their homeland, but not quite theirs. It is not clear whether they belong together - neither the couple, nor them and the country they inhabit. And there are no solutions.

The Education (2011) - Dirk Lütter

The Education (2011) - Dir: Dirk Lütter

An intense exploration of the corporate office space. Nothing much happens, but the constant threat of being made redundant looms. Spying on your colleagues and reporting anything that may make them look bad to bosses is actively encouraged, which seems rather similar to the way KGB or the Stasi operated. The smallest bit of information that you provide may mean the loss of a much-needed job to someone. This affects the way people interact in the office environment. The icy cold, steel-grey palette used enhances the threat and plays down anything mildly warm. The only escape is shopping malls, gadgets and other objects of pleasure available, such as games. The few outdoor scenes provide only a limited relief to the characters and to viewers, which in turn enhances the claustrophobia of the work environment. A must-watch for service-sector employees and those who hope to boost their economic situation thanks to them.

Recommended films at the International Film Festival of India, Goa.

Recommended films at the International Film Festival of India, Goa.

Nader and Cimin - A Separation - Asghar Farhadi

Hi-So - Aditya Assarat

Luc Besson Retrospective - Leon, Big Blue, The Fifth Element


American Section - Sketches of Frank Gehry (Sydney Pollack)

Tribute Section:
Raoul Ruiz - Lost Domain

Sidney Lumet - Network

Claude Chabrol - The Swindle

Recommended Films at the Mumbai Film Festival

Here is a list of recommended films from the Mumbai International Film Festival.
For the complete selection and schedule, visit http://mumbaifilmfest.com


International Competition:

• Las Acacias Pablo Giorgelli (Argentina-Spain / 2011) - selected this year at Cannes Critics week 
• My Little Princess Eva Ionesco (France / 2011) - stars Isabelle Huppert, one of the most important living actors today. 
• She Monkeys (apflickorna) Lisa Aschan (Sweden / 2011) (Special mention at Berlin)

World Cinema:

• Pina Wim Wenders (Germany-France-UK / 2010)
• The Turin Horse (a TorinÓi LÓ) Béla Tarr (Hungary-France-Switzerland-Germany / 2011)
• We Have A Pope ( Habemus Papam ) Nanni Moretti (Italy-France / 2010)
• Almayer’s Folly ( La Folie Almayer ) Chantel Akerman (Belgium-France / 2011)
• Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da) Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey / 2011)

French Cinema:

• The Snows of Kilimanjaro (Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro) Robert Guédiguian (France / 2010)

Cannes Critics Week:

Almost every film here is worth watching, but here are a select few:

• The Hour Of The Furnaces (la Hora De Los Hornos) Octavio Getino & Fernando Solanas (Argentina / 1970)
• Esther Amos Gitai (Austria-Israel-UK / 1986)
• See How They Fall ( Regarde Les Hommes Tomber ) Jacques Audiard (France / 1994)
• Boy Meets Girl Leos Carax (France / 1984)
• Rana’s Wedding (jerusalem, Another Day) Hany Abu-Assad (Palestine-Netherlands-UAE / 2002)
• Provincial Actors (aktorzy Prowincjonalni) Agnieszka Holland (Poland / 1979)
• Walkover (walkower) Jerzy Skolimowski (Poland / 1965)
• Or (mon TrÉsor) Keren Yedaya (France-Israel / 2004)

The Political Subtext in '7 Khoon Maaf'

Vishal Bharadwaj's '7 Khoon Maaf' is a deeply flawed film. However, instead of delving on the film's failures, I would like to discuss the political subtext present throughout the film.

Disclaimer: The following describes some critical plot elements. If you plan to watch the film, and if you are the kind of person who does not like to know too much about the film before watching it, discretion is advised.

Neil Nitin Mukesh's character is Susannah's (the protagonist played by Priyanka Chopra) first husband. He is overpowering and aggressive, much like Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister. Neil loses a leg during Operation Bluestar, which also ultimately cost Indira Gandhi her life.

John Abraham's character is a youth icon - a bit similar to Rajiv Gandhi, whose reign followed Indira Gandhi's death in 1984. He is also an extremely popular character in the film who ultimately underdelivers, again, much like Rajiv Gandhi.

Next comes Irfan Khan's character. He is shown to be a Kashmiri poet and this episode happens during the height of the Kashmiri disturbances in the late eighties and early nineties. He is sadist and tortures Susannah. It is quite an interesting plot development, since Susannah is seduced by the Kashmiri and then tortured. One could say that Kashmir plays the same role in the Indian psyche - seducing, poetic but which ultimately proves a sadist lover to a masochistic India - one can't let go of it, and one can't help getting tortured by it.

The fourth husband is the Russian and is juxtaposed against the Pokhran nuclear tests of 1998. What appears as a triumph (the nuclear tests) ultimately ends up in a betrayal - sanctions imposed on India by the US and other nuclear powers. In the films, the Russian seems alluring, but ends up betraying Susannah.

What follows is Annu Kapoor - the Policeman and the first Hindu lover of Susannah - during the BJP's rule in India. It is interesting to see that this character is around for a long period in the film before he actually possesses Susannah, much like the BJP, which has been around for a long time, but which gained power only much later in India's history. It is also rather clever or subversive (depends on the way you see it ;-) ) of Vishal Bharadwaj to show this character requiring Viagra to perform with the lady! On the one hand, the BJP came to power riding on militant, jingoistic Hinduism (one can't help remembering Anand patwardhan's film 'Father Son and the Holy War' here). This episode ends with the IC-814 hijack episode - an episode that tested the masculinity of the Saffron party.

Then comes Naseeruddin Shah - during the long congress rule with Dr. Manmohan Singh as the PM. Like him, Naseer's doctor is very knowledgeable, but ultimately proves to be bankrupt and ineffective. The episode ends with the 26th November 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai.

Throughout the film, the unattained and unrequited love is that of Vivaan Shah playing Arun. He is an orphan with a twinkle in his eye. To me, he is quite like the Saleem Sinai of Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children - perhaps the only lover worthy of India/Susannah, but their love for each other is never fulfilled. 

Thus, the film's attempt seems to be that of endowing the character Susannah with the complexity of India - many try to master her, but she cannot be mastered by falsehood, violence or chauvinism, She longs for a pure man, but such men can only be found in the millions of its common citizens, who can never really rise above their situation to prove their worth to her and to fulfill her.

Dabangg!

I watched Dabangg in one of these dilapidated single-screen movie halls that charged 35 rupees for a ticket. It was a weekday evening, but the hall was almost full. The film kept an otherwise noisy crowd completely hooked throughout its duration. The visuals and the locations are clearly meant to match a good old western. However, since this is no 1975 (when Sholay was released), there is absolutely no attempt at concealing the absurdity of the story; nor is there any attempt at over-sentimentalizing the love angle or the loss of central characters. This is Hindi cinema at its kitschy, over-the-top, campy best - so unintellectual that you cannot help but laugh along.

Going by the audience's reactions, I realized what a loss the average Indian crowd has had with the multiplexes and the metropolis-themed movies that are supposedly made for the young people of today. I hate watching films with those popcorn-munching, heavily perfumed rich brats who have paid hundreds of rupees only to watch the film while constantly smsing or chatting on the phone. This audience was a good contrast. I know why they flock to watch Salman Khan films. I feel a bit sorry for them, since I just don't see any actor in the next generation who can appeal to them in the way Salman does.

Peepli Live (2010) - Anusha Rizvi

Although farmer's suicides are a serious problem, I am not one of those killjoys who claim that one cannot make use of satire to depict a serious problem. My advice to those would be to go read Srilal Shukla's Hindi novel 'Rag Darbari'. Thus, I am already empathetic to the film's message and form; the same goes for its portrayal of media and politicians as ruthless - which should come as no surprise to anyone who watches television and who has an iota of intelligence. Having said that, I must confess that the film was a big let-down.

Both the script and the direction were hurried. Most scenes just seemed to finish too early, as if there were so many check-boxes to be checked before the film got over in its 100-odd minutes. On the other hand, there were not too many points to be made - once the media and the politicians enter the frey, the film has nothing more (or original) to say and it seems to get breathless just saying nothing, but making it a shouting match of saying nothing, to make things worse. Scatological jokes, swear-words relying on the infidelities of sisters and mothers, or on various parts of the anatomy are not new to me - they don't offend me, but I don't get cheap thrills just because someone on screen utters them either. So the jokes seemed just juvenile. More seriously, as a friend pointed out, the end is more or less copied from "No Man's Land", which won the foreign film Oscar when Amir's Lagaan was in the race, so this seems like a way of getting a kick out of copying your (better) adversary. 

I am sorry to say, but I don't get impressed by such things. Neither do I get fresh insights into the plights of the Indian farmers by watching such silly films. If you need to get entertained by Indian villagers while still  getting some serious insights about India and its problems, I will recommend 'Rag Darbari' any day.

Winter's Bone (2010) - Debra Granik

This is just the kind of depressing piece of Americana that I love to watch on the indie film circuit. Everything in the film - from the faces of the actors, the winter landscape, the rare but pithy dialogue, the amount of things left unsaid and the underlying horror and beauty of life - is perfect. Highly recommended to people who hate 'movies' but love cinema, who hate Hollywood but love Russell Banks's America.

Flamenco (1995) - Carlos Saura

If you like Spanish guitar, throaty songs and passionate dance, then the film will satisfy your senses. Some of the best dancers, singers and musicians come together, helped by the cinematography of Vittorio Storaro and the vision of Carlos Saura.

Here is a magnificent piece to tempt you...

Noviembre (2003) - Achero Mañas

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376800/
What happens when a group of radical theatre enthusiasts come together and vow not to do commercial theatre in the 'money-and-me' nineties? To call their theatre 'Street Theatre' does not really do justice. The challenges they face from an establishment that seems to have forgotten 1968 and its aftermath are not as bad as the challenges they face themselves when living in a world where any form of radicalism is treated as an insult, if not an outright threat. A must-watch for every theatre person and performing artist who would dare to call himself contemporary. Also, a must-watch for every person who cries 'hurt sentiments' at the drop of a hat.

Trailer from Youtube:

Mother Joan of the Angels - Jerzy Kawalerowicz

A haunting tale of passion repressed by dogma. Excellent acting (as is the norm in Polish cinema), visuals and music.

Matka Joanna od aniołów is a film against dogma. That is the universal message of the film. It is a love story about a man and a woman who wear church clothes, and whose religion does not allow them to love each other. They often talk about and teach about love—how to love God, how to love each other—and yet they cannot have the love of a man and a woman because of their religion. This dogma is itself inhuman. The devils that possess these characters are the external manifestations of their repressed love. The devils are like sins, opposite to their human nature. It is like the devils give the man and woman an excuse for their human love. Because of that excuse, they are able to love.

- Jerzy Kawalerowicz, in an interview in Kinoeye

A Bomb was Stolen (1961) - Ion Popescu-Gopo

A delightful comedy about the absurdities of war, weapons and the quest thereof. The obvious association is with the Kubrick classic 'Dr. Strangelove', Jacques Tati and of course the Marx Brothers. It's a shame that just because a film comes from Romania, it is now forgotten, despite having been nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes once. Thanks to the web, I found someone else with similar feelings: The Forgotten: The Dumb Bomb Would love to get hold of some of his animated films from the 'Homo Sapiens series'. See a sample below:

Alice in Wonderland (2010) - Tim Burton

An interesting script gone askew in execution. The idea of having a grown-up Alice with an existential dilemma about - what else but the Austenian conundrum of whom to get married to - sounded like a promising start. The post-modern question 'Is this really Alice?' or 'What is the real Alice like?' seemed to go in the right direction, too - as did Alice's refusal to sleigh anyone even if her life depended on it, just because the script demanded it. I was willing to condone Alice for falling in love with the mad hatter, but the repeated maxim 'All the best people are mad' sounds kitschy in 2010, I must confess. The Bandersnatch turning out not as evil as it seems (well, at least for the heroine!) seems right out of the Harry Potter territory of plot twists just to keep the story going ahead, with a veneer of 'everyone who looks evil is not so' to keep the moralists happy, but without even the simple balancing act of a conventionally good-looking character turning out evil. At the end, when Alice takes charge of her life by refusing to marry a twit, what does she do? Go off to build an empire in China, in full colonial style. Political correctness, anyone? If this is what Tim Burton can produce (with Disney's money) in 2010, I can't help feeling sorry for the poor lad. I would prefer 'Charlie and the chocolate factory' any day. As for post-apocalyptic vision, you can't beat the 'Blade Runner', dear old chap! In short, 'You used to be much more...muchier. You've lost your muchness, Tim!'

Sideways (2004) - Alexander Payne

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/

I have a horror of Americans talking about food and wine. However, this turned out to be a delightful film. If you like Woody Allen, Paul Giamatti will probably grow on you.

Quotes: 
If anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot! 


Jack: Pinot noir?
Miles: Mmm-hmm.
Jack: Then how come it's white? 

Did you drink and dial?

Avatar (2009) - James Cameron

Just when you had enough of mythological heroes of the Joseph Campbell type from the Hollywood churn, here comes another one that is apparently breaking all records not just with its faux-pacifist message, but also with its revolutionary visuals. Trivia about the film reveals that the crew spent some time in Hawaai living according to (their idea of) tribals during the day, spending the night at a posh hotel. I found this more revealing about the quality of this film than any amount of crap about CGI.

Of course, when Roger Dean is your model, it should not surprise anyone that the visuals are so kitschy. Wishing that someone in Hollywood would take Douanier Rousseau, or Klimt landscapes as their model can qualify only as wishful thinking. When it comes to Kitsch, though, I prefer the intentional, ironic campy art of Andy Warhol or Jasper Johns to this unintentional crap that people actually seem to find beautiful! Considering that it was mostly Americans who gave us pop art in the first place, one can't help lamenting that period as some sort of a golden age in American art. When I further consider that  Hollywood's B grade movies and American pop art inspired directors like Godard to make films like Pierrot le Fou, the mind just boggles at how Hollywood has devolved since then.

Just in protest, this post will have no images from Avatar, but a few pop art images...

Jasper Johns, Map, 1961. Museum of Modern Art New York City.

 

Robert Rauschenberg, Riding Bikes, Berlin, Germany, 1998.

  

Roy Lichtenstein, The Head (1992), Barcelona.

 

Jim Dine, 'Study for This Sovereign Life', 1985

And a few images from cinema's use of kitsch...

 Jean Paul Belmondo in Jean-Luc Godard's Pierrot le Fou (1965).

'Kika' - Pedro Almodóvar (1993) poster

 

The Criterion DVD cover for Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love (2000)

The Danube waves (1959) - Liviu Ciulei

IMDB Link - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053404/

A typical war film, but well-executed in an old fashioned way. Romania is under Nazi occupation. A ship is carrying German ammunition through a mined Danube. A communist is on board as the captain's mate. The newly married captain's wife is also there. Knife in the Water? No, this film was made in communist Romania , probably as a propaganda film. Wages of fear? Heavy influence of. With a big difference, though - finally, the communist defeat of the Nazis must come through.

Green Water (2009) - Mariano De Rosa

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1353785/

Mid-life crisis becomes inevitable as a man cannot handle a stranger's attraction to his daughter. A psychologist wife who takes it in her stride and a son who may grow up to be gay make the problem even more acute. Not just another mid-life crisis film, but an extremely well-made one.