Kabei: Our Mother [2008] Review – An Altruistic Mother in an Indoctrinated Society
One of the most over-worked sub-genres in cinema is the home-front movies that usually chronicle the tragedies faced by average European families amidst World War II. However, Yoji Yamada’s “Kabei: Our Mother” (2008) has this benefit of being a home-front film that uncovers the Japanese perspective, which is relatively unexplored compared to American & European viewpoints. On one hand, it provides a biting commentary on Japanese wartime policies
Angry Indian Goddesses [2015] Review: A Flawed yet Brave Attempt!
Pan Nalin’s Angry Indian Goddesses is not the revolutionary film it sets out to be. Yet, it leaves a mark for there are seven leading ladies who aren’t only beautiful, but are also a racing alert for the ogling male entity that they can fire-up on all cylinders if the fuel is all filled up and its a left hand drive.
Unlike most Bollywood films that center around women, the greatest strength of AIG is the…
The 400 Blows [1959]: An unsentimental film about Adolescence
I did read quite a bit about Francois Truffaut before watching ‘The 400 Blows’ and found the man notoriously interesting. Before Truffaut made his debut as a film director, he was a vehement film critic who infamously stripped movies he didn’t like, in his reviews. His harsh film criticism barred him from attending the 1958 Cannes Film Festival. Only one year later, he won the Best Director Award at the same festival for his debut…
Why Don’t You Play In Hell? [2013]: An Independent Filmmaker’s Wet Dream!
When Sono’s classic music plays in the background, there’s no looking anywhere else. If you find a dull moment in the film, let me know. Why Don’t You Play in Hell? has an abundance of entertaining moments and more than that, it is packed, punched, pushed and penetrated with spirit. The movie is silly, hilarious and a mess. But thanks to the pulsating background score, enjoying the transcendent high is just the beginning. There’s a…
Gueros [2014] Review : A Romantic & Insightful Take on ‘Slackerdom’
The meaning of the word ‘Gueros’ is defined before the movie rolls on. It means ‘light-skinned people’ (a derisive slang), and so there might be a thought on the back of your mind that it’s about racism (and the resulting class divide) in Mexican society. Yeah, it touches that subject with a dash of deadpan humor. Actually, the sensational social commentary in “Gueros” peacefully unveils in the background, while our attention is grabbed by the…
The Little Prince (2015): A Heartfelt Eulogy on Lost Childhood & Love
It is a huge risk to adapt a beloved children’s novella like The Little Prince, which is one of the most translated books in the world (translated to more than 250 languages) and sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Although its water-color illustrations feel akin to children book, French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s observations on human condition in “Little Prince” are more poignant than what we witness in some credible, modern adult fictions.
10 Films “The HOF-men Recommend”: 4th Edition
Here are the 10 films that made it to the 4th edition of our ‘HOF-Men Recommend’ Series. You can check out the 2nd and 3rd Edition at the end of this post.Firaaq, made by first time director and critically acclaimed actress Nandita Das, examines the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots. There are five parallel stories which explore the life of a set of people one month after the riots ended. We follow a myriad…
Tamasha [2015]: Conscious Choices, Subconscious Aspiration
How many of us think about the attainable ambition we had as a child, while sipping a coffee or staring at infinity during office hours when that ambition has almost become unattainable, and all passion for pursuing it has dried up ? I guess, many of us. Even a thought of not able to pursue my own passion drains me emotionally. Tamasha fabricates an emotionally profound tale around an introvert character who is scared…