14th Kolkata Film Festival- Day 1
iView Author: Sulakshana Biswas (Kolkata, India)
Email: pottermaniac143 [at] gmail [dot] com
The 14th Kolkata Film Festival threw open its doors to the general public on 11th November, 2008. Out of the many films that were shown, these are a few of them which I managed to see.
1. My Uncle(1958)
Director: Jacques Tati
Language: French
How do you explain watching a movie in an alien language without any subtitles, and yet enjoying it thoroughly….well either that film has to be a Chaplin classic or it has to be something like Jacques Tati’s My Uncle. Jacques Tati, as the quintessential common man of the sub-urbs, in a fish-out-of water situation, while dwelling with his rich urbane, modern and disturbingly perfect brother, does not even come as a patch on Chaplin portrayal of the Tramp, but manages to be a lovable Uncle Podger, in the most befooling situations. The crisis created in a struggle to discipline a child who would rather be with the street urchins, eating junk and playing in the mud, than ride a bicycle in a caged veranda, where the football lying in the vicinity has numbers inside of checks, and the bid to retain that child-like innocence fast sublimating from people is brilliantly portrayed in the film. This satire scores, and is very rightly regarded as Tati’s very own Modern Times.
2. Eight And Half (1963)
Director: Federico Fellini
Language: Italian
I guess this film just does not require any introduction. Fellini’s Oscar wining tour-de force, a masterful take on the trials and tribulations of an Avant-garde filmmaker, is not only a story well told, but brilliantly executed with seasonings of surrealism, here and there. Fellini divides the world into two kinds of people, one who can be easily read and the other, whose psyche does not come under the realms of conventional understanding. The second type, Fellini asserts, consists of confused people, someone like the protagonist, Guido….who dreams of owning the greatest harem in the world…..where only his rule is valid…a harem where all the women of the world shall reside….Guido’s inner conflicts, his desperation to do something, yet not mustering enough courage and energy to go ahead, comes alive with Marcello Mastroianni’s impeccable performance. My favorite of the day.
3. Three Monkeys (2008)
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Language: Turkish
Three Monkeys, Turkey’s 2009 Academy Awards official submission to Foreign-Language Film category is brilliant. The vicious circle of life, usurping the decrepit cords of communication in a family, where one is more a stranger to each other, has been masterfully engineered by director Nuri Bilge Ceylan. A wonderfully crafted narrative, with splashes of dream sequences here and there, the meticulous use of the sound of silence and beautiful visuals, add to artistic brilliance of the film. Special mention to the performances by the cast: Yavuz Bingol, Hatice Aslan, and Rifat Sungar as the husband, wife and son respectively are superb. Hope it wins the Oscar.
4. Pardeshi (2007)
Director: P. T. Kunju Muhammad
Language: Malayalam
The pang of the suffering “outsiders”, the minority who are looked upon as traitors in India, forms the basic premise of Pardeshi. It is also a premise of great promise, and once the opening credits roll and we see Mohanlal as the ageing Moosa, a representative of the class in question, one expects the film to be a revelation. Unfortunately, a faulty script with amateurish execution can kill even the brilliant aspects of the film that desperately try to keep it alive. The film reeks of brilliant performances by Mohanlal and Shweta Menon, but the support cast and the background score (literally!) add to the noise. It was a let-down after a hattrick of great movies.
5. A Hero In Rome (2006)
Director: Panos Angelopoulos
Language: Greek/ Italian
In a bid to meet Luciano Pavarotti, the protagonist goes to Rome, where he is robbed and embarks on a journey to survive, bordering on the seemingly false hope of returning to Greece, ever. Certain portions were brilliant….thanks to the mature performances of the actors and an equally plausible direction….but at some places, the film becomes too banal, and some characters appear as caricatures. On the whole, it’s good.
Tags: film festival, Kolkatta Film Festival, World Cinema
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Mon uncle is a classic Tati, love it….but why without subtitles?? is it demeaning for the french if we translate their words in English??
darn am missing all this…. :(
I liked the synopses, Sulakshana. The way you’ve written them.
How did you watch a film without subtitles????? That too a film at a fest.
Do update as you see more and more films here…Tx..
@ Sulakshana
I am really envying you & even I’m curious to know why the movie – My Uncle didnt have subtitles.BTW I’ve seen Paradesi & I’m just curious to know why you felt the script was faulty.Was there anything specific that you did not like?
I personally liked the way the movie ended- it was quite realistic.And yes the performances I thought were also amazing, not just of Mohanlal & Shweta Menon , but all other supporting characters played by seasoned artistes were well etched.
@Arthi and Sethumadhavan
… apparently the subs stopped working before the screening or something like that….said a friend of mine.
the subtitles thing is not a big deal if you are familiar with k.i.f.f, missing subs, changed film schedules are part of the experience here
now am jealous … :P
well written su … keep the non-”film waale” updated …
i don’t know y……..i kept on wondering throughout da entire screening…..:(
@rick
thik bolechish bhai!
@Sethumadhavan
i found pardeshi’s script to be faulty because it didn’t cater to justified pacing….a thing that is very essential to keep a viewer glued to the screen…. the moments were hurried and some unnecessary portions were a tad too long…also the way the story progresses…it does not have the amazing simplicity borne out of mundane situations….made so famous by Ananth Nag in Malgudi Days…which the film desperately tried to establish
pardeshi isn’t bad….but it could’ve been much better
Good short analysis of some very fine films. Looking forward to more days.