Films in Review – Illusions, Delusions and the Truth
There are essentially two kinds of approach to making a film. Either objective or subjective. Now most films employ a combination of both and the few times that filmmaker has tried to stick to either one of them have led to interesting films but they haven’t been classics. I would argue that film is almost always subjective for the decision of where to place the camera changes the meaning of the entire scene being played out whether in fiction or documentary but that’s another debate for another day.
But one must do both in carefully thought out proportions lest the film become shrill and propaganda and not really art. That’s not to say it should be an equal mix, just a well considered one. It is for that reason that I do not write reviews for I feel it would be disingenuous for me to do so. BTW I love that word. Think of the fun I could have with it. Example “I think it would be disingenuous to turn in my homework” but enough about my fantasies.
I chose to write this post coz I chanced upon these gems by pure chance after a 2 week period where I saw nothing but anime. “Afro Samurai” in particular was so cool that I inadvertently started speaking Ebonics. I have to confess that a combination of Delhi accented +NYC tinged Wren & Martin English combined with Ebonics is really quite hideous but thankfully I got over it. Though I fear the call of Ebonics is too much to resist especially the way Ninja does it.
So without any further ado here are the films I saw this past week and my reactions to them.
Proibido, Proibior (2007)
Proibido, Proibior aka Forbidden to Forbid is an important film which not a lot of people outside of Brazil will see. The reason being that it’s merely a good film and not a great film. Since Brazil turns out so many great film with astonishing regularity, this film just fell into the cracks. I came across it by an absolute fluke as well.
Though the film is set in Rio I could almost imagine being set in Delhi or Bombay as well. The characters and story is almost archetypal, which is not to say that it’s cliched. In fact for from it. It’s just that you feel that you have met these people before. I for one dearly wish I had met the incredibly hot lead actress but that’s neither here nor there. The story is basically about 3 college students who are friends, 2 boys and a girl. Now before you start thinking about menage a trois let me disabuse you of that notion though there is a love triangle involved, albeit one which is done very well indeed. Let me go far as say that this film is very well suited for a desi remake (AUTHORISED !!!!!) but with a bit of tweaking involved.
The film portrays the internal conflicts of the 3 character very well but fails somewhat at the external ones which is why it isn’t a great film. But if a film like “Derailed” can be made into the “The Train” (I mean like really guys ?) then this film is pure gold. Funnily enough the film evoked memories of three of my favorite films though they have nothing whatsoever in common with this film or with each other. Those films are Truffaut’s “Jules et Jim, David Atwood’s “A Shot through the Heart” and Sudhir Mishra’s “Yeh woh manzil toh nahin”. Or maybe they do. I’m not a film theorist so can’t say. But in the end it’s not as good a film as either three but that’s like saying nothing is as funny as “South Park”. What is ?
The flaw lies as does in most cases at the denouement which is burdened by the film’s own sense of injustice and outrage leading to a bittersweet ending which doesn’t really hit the spot. But judge for yourself for my love of ambiguity tends to cloud my judgment. The performances are great and cinematography continues in the great Latin American tradition of remarkably simple yet effective verite. Jimmy jib shots do not a good film make.
Good Copy, Bad Copy (2007)
The debate over copyright and piracy is a much impassioned one with both sides convinced of each others point of view. As is usually the case on any issue there are extremists , moderates and people who couldn’t give a shit. For the last category, this film probably won’t hold any interest but if you fall under the first two, this is probably the most important documentary you will ever see. And that’s not a flippant remark.
Good Copy, Bad Copy belongs to the vanguard of artistic expression which allows the viewer to watch it for free and then lets him decide if it’s worth paying for. This Ladies and Gentlemen, is the incredible world of open source film-making. The way it works is simple. You download the film, watch it and if you feel like it pay the filmmakers whatever you feel like be it one dollar or a hundred. It’s on you.
The film spans the globe asking important players on both sides of the battle lines their views and what they think the future is. I was riveted, shocked and awed by what the film portrays especially during my fav part of the film, which is the grassroots cinema movement in my former homeland of Nigeria. There are also candid interviews from counter-culture icons like the wonderful folks at piratebay and DJ Danger Mouse.
I’ve had my views on this issue which I’ve not been shy to let known and after watching the film, while I think I have a better understanding of the nuances of the issue, my basic viewpoint remains the same. If someone profits from somebody else’s work then the original author is entitled to compensation. If not then in most cases it’s fair game like machinima , AMV’s and MV’s which is done for the sheer joy by adoring fans.
But that’s my opinion. Please make your own. And if you can please donate something towards the film. It wasn’t cheap to make as you will see for yourself. Here’s the link.
http://www.goodcopybadcopy.net/download
Chomsky vs Foucault (1971)
I confess that I haven’t read a single word that either of them have written nor could I figure out what they were talking about. I watched it with the sole assumption that when two of the brightest philosophical minds of the past century engage in debate, it should throw up some darn neat ideas. Which I’m sure it did. Just that I couldn’t figure it out. What I did discover was that Chomsky has an incredible command over both the English language (Trust me not all Americans do ) and the fine art of debate (Ditto). Oh and Foucault somehow reminded me of Ernst Stavro Blofeld. It’s only about 10 mins long so watch it if you can and explain to me what did they talk about.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x32axv_chomsky-vs-foucault-1971_politics
The Colors of Infinity (1995)
I would pay good money to watch Arthur C. Clarke narrate the yellow pages in a nasal drone if he were so inclined. I guess you can pretty well imagine the adulation I have for the man. So you can imagine my delight at discovering that there existed a documentary presented by His Clarkeness himself about Fractal Geometry while messing around in the library. I’ve been fascinated by Fractals ever since I read about it in Jurassic Park. Yes there was a book before there was a movie.
Michael Crichton’s sheer genius lies in how he can take incredibly complex scientific concepts and make it understandable for a complete layperson aka MOI. I read the book one week after the film released and if memory serves me right I hadn’t even passed puberty then but I still understood the basic concept. I vowed that I would devote myself to the pursuit of science after reading the book. Unfortunately or fortunately for the scientific community I did pass puberty soon enough and immersed myself in the pursuit of God’s greatest invention.
So 15 years later I keep my date with destiny and finally understand the Mandelbrot set and Fractal Geometry and trust me it’s a stunner. The images are beautiful and in what must be the moment of the year for me, His Clarkeness mentions how much the imagery looks like what people experience when they trip. He also deadpans that he “hasn’t done the experiment himself”. Yeah right. The man who wrote “2001″ and “Rendezvous with Rama” never tripped. But then who am I, a mere mortal, to contradict His Clarkeness ?
Godspeed , old friend. We’ll reach the stars soon enough.
Ashley and Kisha (2007)
One of the biggest ironies in life is that how many times we end up doing the right thing for the entirely wrong reasons. This little seen film is ample proof of that fact of life. But first a little insight into me and my life.
I live in LA and have yet not bought a car for a variety of reasons which are not germane right now. As a consequence I spend a lot of time on the bus. Now for someone who grew up in DTC and Redline aka Blueline aka Deathline buses, the Big Blue Bus is nothing short of a limousine service at least for heading to UCLA and back. Trying to go bar-hopping, working crews or trying to be on time for a date is another story.
So anyways It’s been established that I spend a lot of time on the bus so I do have to while the time away. Unfortunately I can’t read in a bus or car as I get nauseous for some reason. I think it’s a genetic trait passed down generation to generation. Happily enough for me I possess a video ipod which is my pride and joy.
Apart from music I also load up music videos, short films , documentaries and podcasts on it and watch em whenever my fancy is tickled. I keep showing people a relatively obscure though totally unfairly gorgeous WKW short when they profess ignorance of the man’s genius. And surprisingly enough not a lot of people have heard of him. Even people who work in films. There seems to be a huge discrimination towards films with subtitles which is funny.
But again I digress. So apart from all this high art, I also load up porn on my ipod. While you may snigger it is a huge stress-buster especially when you are stuck in a traffic jam. So this week I synced my ipod as I usually do and through an underground channel which I frequent I for my pornographic visual stimuli. While doing so I can only judge what content to download by the name and cover art. Now names are of vital importance while selling anything to a consumer and I think I’m more gullible than most because of my life long fascination with etymology.
So I chose a 50 min video which promised lesbian sex and went by the delightfully charming and exotic name of “Ashley and Kisha”. It sounded fun, exciting and even a little Japanese. Now if the video had been called “Sally and Molly” I wouldn’t have deigned to even glance at it let alone download it. But I took the road less taken / more exotic sounding title and that to invoke Frost, made all the difference.
Suffice it for me to say that the film is truly about love and not sex. In fact I didn’t even watch the sex part of the tape which was the original intention. I was entranced by the eponymous real life couple when they talked about how they met, fell in love and the problems they face. The fact that they are not drop dead gorgeous but rather just real people makes the video that more truthful and enjoyable.
It’s inspiring and eye-opening and made me both feel and think which I think is the highest ideal of film and led me to watch the next film. There is a whole series of these films which I’ll try to watch.
Summer in my Veins (1999)
I never knew Nishit Saran but we might have been friends. Though he was a few years older to me we had a few common friends but neither of us were aware of the other’s existence. According to what I heard from people Nishit was a brilliant young man who aced the 12th Boards, got a scholarship to Harvard to study film and was one of the brightest young stars of the then nascent indie film scene.
I had the chance to see the film at a festival in 2001 or 2002 but after reading the synopsis in the festival program I ducked out and headed to get a coffee instead. You see the film is about Nishit coming out to his mom while she came to visit him on his graduation. At that point in life I used to think that homosexuality is evil. I was a stern opposer and not just passively. It wasn’t until I actually went to NY, studied and worked with gay people that I realized that they are just as human as any of us. But at 20 years of age that wisdom still eluded me so I never did see the film or meet Nishit who was present that day.
Tragically Nishit never got to fulfil his potential when he died a couple of years later along with 3 other kids in a senseless and tragic accident when a out of control truck rammed the car they were in on a foggy winter night near Lodhi Gardens. All of Delhi was shocked and saddened and if I recall correctly shook the government of their collective ennui and prompted them to address the lack of safety on Delhi Roads. I was saddened as well for there is nothing more tragic than youth being felled in bloom.
The years passed and Nishit’s name would pop up every now and then in conversations and people would always say what an amazing film he made and how he could have been one of the best. By that time my attitude had softened a bit but his film was hard to come by and slowly he faded from public memory as well as mine.
Until this week when I saw “Ashley and Kisha” and I somehow remembered Nishit and his film. A google of his name led me to his film and I finally watched it. I have rarely seen something as courageous and moving from someone so young. There is something about honesty and emotions in real life that narrative fiction tries so hard to emulate but rarely succeeds. That is why documentaries matter. To help us realize what is real and what merely an illusion. One must cherish both but know where to draw the line.
If anybody reading this post has only the time and inclination to watch one film of the many I mentioned, I beseech and implore you to watch this one. I never knew you Nishit and it was my fault.
It would have been my honor to call you my friend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9VpIGEwOvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxYa-gS2CCc&feature=related
Richard Dawkins : The Root of All Evil (2006)
I first came across Richard Dawkins when I saw him being interviewed on the BBC show “Hardtalk”, a TV show which I used to watch religiously (Dawkins would not be pleased by my choice of words) for the sheer pleasure of watching the magnificently cunning Tim Sebastian take people apart in debates without
raising his voice by an octave. Sometimes he got as good as he gave and it was all “a jolly good show”.
I rarely if ever had a clue as to who the were guests or what were the issues being discussed but that didn’t diminish my enjoyment by an iota. You see in another life I would be a lawyer right now and making a living arguing. Despite not following that path I still yearn for good, sensible, rational and nuanced debate so I try to fulfill those needs in the films I watch and make. I can’t argue for arguments sake but if there is something I feel very strongly about and if I feel that the opposite person is of sufficient intelligence and not a dyed in the wool fundamentalist, I let it rip.
Dawkins made a very strong impression on me and I read up a bit more about him and his beliefs. Dawkins is arguably one of the most important scientists and thinkers in the modern world. He is also an atheist who believes that religion is the root of all evil and is not shy about letting his view known. He’s written a number of books, a few of which denounce religion completely.
Needless to say I haven’t read a single word he’s written which is not because I oppose his views or don’t like the fella. I actually hold him in very high esteem as I do most sociological thinkers. It’s simply that I rarely read anymore as I need visual stimuli to be intellectually stimulated. Ergo comics.I did attempt to read his book “The God Delusion” but never managed to go beyond the preface so I gave up.
Now I think Dawkins understood my quandary and hit upon the great idea to more or less adapt the
book into a TV documentary where he would try to demonstrate his viewpoint. I was like “neki aur pooch pooch ?” Unless you are familiar with North Indian turns of phrase, that particular idiom is unfathomable so I won’t try to explain. Unfortunately enough BBC documentaries are hard to come by on Netflix and Blockbuster so I never did see it. The UCLA library is another matter altogether. Thank God for liberal arts and sciences colleges. If I had been attending a school say in the bible belt, I would have probably been burnt at the stake if I even typed Dawkins’ name in the computer catalog.
In case it’s not clear by now by my numerous references to God in my posts, I am not an atheist. I believe in God but I do not feel I need to enter places of worship or serve holy men in order to communicate with God. I was born a Hindu but have prayed at all places of worship for the major religions with the sole exception being a fire temple where tried as I might, I could not get in. Sad but true.
Despite my personal beliefs I was quite eager to hear what Dawkins had to say. Needless to say, he made some very strong points and a lot of what he said made a lot of sense. A couple of interviews with a Christian evangelist pastor and and a former American jew turned Muslim fundamentalist are scary and almost make you shit in your pants. The whole evolution vs design debate is as polarizing now as it was when Darwin unveiled his magnum opus. In case anybody is interested please please watch “Inherit the Wind”. I was lucky enough to watch a Broadway revival starring Christopher Plummer. I don’t go to watch plays often and in my humble inexperienced opinion, it was FUN-FUCKING-TASTIC.
I disclaim that Dawkins focuses almost exclusively on Christianity and Islam which I think is kinda appropriate coz they are the two major religions which are inherently proselytizing in nature. I’m not commenting on whether that’s good or bad, just stating the obvious. In all fairness enough blood has been shed in the name on non proselytizing religions as well but let’s concede Dawkins his stipulation.
His sense of moral outrage and utter bewilderment is quite evident which in the end flaws his approach. For in his own way, Dawkins is as big a fundamentalist as the people he condemns are. The case in point is the interview with the one person who did make a sensible and rationale case for religion and man’s need for it which surprisingly enough didn’t end up in the TV broadcast, just on the Special features. No quid pro quo here eh ?
It’s the same lack of giving the other party a chance to respond which makes Michael Moore’s post “Bowling for Columbine” films less powerful and more manipulative. After Charlton Heston’s interview, the act of leaving the girl’s picture on the doorstep said more than any words ever could. The point is you have to let the other party speak and let the audience decide. You can’t decide it for them.
So here is my response to your documentary Mr Dawkins. And this is only to your documentary and not your book which lots of people tell me is more fair, equitable and nuanced. Religion bestows upon us a sense of morality which is quite often twisted and mutated beyond repair but at the end it’s man’s conscience more than anything else which prohibits him from regressing into beasts. Religion plays a major part in that. The problem lies in the way religion is interpreted.
Science is amoral Mr Dawkins which again is the nature of the beast. It does not care about right and wrong and the costs involved. That is why we need both. If knowledge isn’t tempered with wisdom and conscience then mankind will not survive. A point amply displayed in the recently released anime masterpiece “Vexille”.
And in the end I feel the problem lies in the nature of man for he is born to be aggressive and covet what is not his. Do not Christians fight Christians in Ireland ? Do not Sunnis fight Shias ? Does not a brother kill a brother over land and property ? Does not genocide occur over political and cultural differences ? Has any of us never fought with a dear friend over the affections of someone ?
To quote Gordon Gekko “The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.”
Agree or disagree with the above cult dialog or not, I feel that science cannot just ignore the complexities of man’s nature and his sociological endeavors and constructs while laying the blame solely at the foot of religion. Will Science’s next step be to modify our genetic strain to weed out greed ? Where does it end ?
I do not possess even an fraction of your intelligence and learning Mr. Dawkins so take it for what it’s worth. Oh and the cinematography was absolutely gorgeous. I saw it twice just for the visuals. I am an avowed groupie and I hope you adapt your other books as well. I do love a good debate.
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Woohoo, that’s a lot of good stuff. Just finished the Chomsky & Foucault piece. Quite good though fundamentally flawed. I am sure Mainak will have his share to say on Chomsky.
Summer in my veins is marked for viewing tomorrow morning.
The most interesting write up was that of Good Copy Bad Copy. I remain ambivalent on the morality of the issue and we could have another round of debate on the same.
However, I am absolutely sure about the economics of such open source music or films where you pay for what you feel it is worth. It is bound to fail in the long run unless other sources of revenues are unearthed. This as long as humans remain rational. The Radiohead example is quite illustrative on this.
Dawkins is another debate and I find it surprising that you found him almost fundamentalist. The books as you mention are definitely balanced. It’s one of the complaints I have about the audio-visual medium vis-a-vis books. AV media tends to be more polar than literature so my suggestion is try The God Delusion once more
Anyway, thanks for this. Wildly eclectic!!
@Subrat
Thank you for Free Entry. Since you seem to be taking requests how about a career retrospective of Kanti Shah ? Please……….
As far as Dawkins goes I really do wanna read his books but again reading remains the stumbling block. I haven’t even read any new sci-fi for the past 2-3 years. A sad state I hope to get out of soon. Probably a backpacking trip will cure me of this malaise.
Mithun..Yes, I agree, Dawkins’ documentary at times seems a bit biased and propaganda based but, I think, that is deliberate (in particular the title). In fact even in his book, “the god delusion”, you might feel kind of uncomfortable at some places ( I did) but after reading through them hopefully you will see his underlying argument and may be his need for this propaganda.
“science cannot just ignore the complexities of man
Another fantastic piece. Keep writing.
What I did discover was that Chomsky has an incredible command over both the English language (Trust me not all Americans do ) and the fine art of debate (Ditto).
It wouldn’t come as a surprise if one knew that he is a linguist. And not just ANY linguist, he is one of the foremost linguists of all time and has substantially changed the course of linguistics research with his theories (especially the one that considers language as an inate human organ). But then, knowing the language well is not the same thing as using it well. You will find many who are not fan of the way he writes (and speaks). Just Google “Chomsky prose generator” and you will see what I mean.
BTW, thanks for the reviews.
wittingstein pawns all :D
@Vikrant
Since u were the one who initiated the heated plagiarism debate would love to know your views on Good copy, Bad copy.
As far as Dawkins go I am exploring the rest of his work.
@rabindro
Thanks amigo
@Vinay
Chomsky intrigues me so I shall try to watch his other stuff.
@Vivek
Eh ?
@Mithun
Interesting stuff.
That Chomsky vs Foucault thing was posted here before. That’s when I watched lots of Chomsky videos on youtube. Check out the quote in the beginning of this one.
The colours(or is it colors?) of infinity sounds interesting. I was once supposed to write a computer program to generate Mandelbrot set which I never did because I hated coding :D
Coming to dawkins, I have half-read ‘The Blind Watchmaker’, couldn’t finish for some reason but it was very interesting. Your fundamentalist remark remids me that my dad called Dawkins an extremist after reading ‘The Selfish Gene’.
Btw never came across anything where he denounced religion but then I haven’t even completed a single book by him.
Anyway, how can I get hold of ‘The Colours of Infinity’ and ‘The Root of All Evil’?
Oh haan totally agree on Crichton. I read, re-read, re-re-read parts of ‘Timeline’ where he explains the multiverse etc. loved it!
Mithun…Thanks a lot for recommending Summer in my veins..it is indeed (as you mentioned) courageous, honest and touching. Thank you again and a special thanks to Nishit for sharing it. Too bad he is not around…a great loss indeed.
I always felt a bit of discomfort talking about and being around gay people….I don’t know why. May be because I never had a friend in my close circle who is gay. At some point I started understanding that its just their life and their choice about sexuality…its just an aspect of their personality…its not a big deal…but still there remains a bit of awkwardness and it bothers me…hopefully with time…as I get more mature…I will be able to get over it.
Ya, I will post my comments on good copy bad copy soon…
Thanks for the post.
@Neeraja
I’m trying to get hold of the rest of Dawkins’ and Chomsky’s documentaries to better understand the men and their work but whatever I’ve seen is very fascinating.
I think they should be available at your university library or on google video.
@Vikrant
It took me a long time to overcome my prejudices as well and I’m sure the same will be true in your case. Nishit’s loss is a big one indeed.
@Mithun
Thanks for sharing GOOD COPY BAD COPY with us. I watched it just now. And I also donated 3Euros to the filmmakers. How much did you give them?
BTW Check out the latest episode of Bill Maher. One of the guest is Richard Dawkins. And the conversation is quite “fairy”
http://www.youtube.com/user/HBO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us9c2KQkW6A
@Subrat
I have read most of Chomsky’s work about Politics. Or you can say specifically about American Foreign Policy. I have started read him in the reverse order. Which means I have read some of his latest books. Not his earlier works. He has just too many books out there.
I had seen this conversation between Chomsky & Faucoult almost a year ago. I literally thanked Internet & Youtube for its magic that day.
TO watch a conversation between such people which happened 30 years ago at the UC Berkley campus from anywhere in the world.
@Mainak
I gave em 5 dollars which is bout one square meal for me. :d
I was really impressed by the way these guys went about making the doc. The bit bout Nigeria almost brought tears to my eyes. :d