Frozen : Access Denied
iView Author: Gaurang (Pune, India)
Email: j.gaurang [at] gmail [dot] com
Frozen : Access Denied
My experience of Frozen was a Déjà vu. Not in the terms of its content, but the emptiness, the frustration and resentment, which I experience when a supposedly awesome film leaves me blank, confused, indifferent and untouched.
I still remember seeing Taxi Driver few years back. One of the most appreciated Scorcese feature. I saw it, tried to feel it but in vain and ended with frustration of not connecting with Travis Bickle (except for 2 scenes, one when he takes the girl to a shady porn theater and the “You talking to me?” scene). I consoled myself by telling “Boy!! This is just your initial foray into the cinema of the west. Don’t worry, it will take time.” But I was so damn unaware what Anurag Kashyap had in store for me within few months. No Smoking released and now even apna desi cinema left me in a deep pit of frustration. The surreal plot was mistaken by me for “The Game” like plot. Till the end I was waiting for that plot twist which would answer all my doubts. But then it didn’t happen. It wasn’t supposed to happen.
Similarly a romantic movie like Chungking Express became a cerebral exercise for me. Now this is heights right!! Lol. The next in my watch list was In the mood of love. But I’m yet to watch it. I’m afraid of the repercussions it would have on my perception of my intellect and sensibilities.
That was a lengthy digression from Frozen, but an important one to etch out my character properly and prepare you for the following. Maybe I should have deleted the Taxi Driver part, to keep my credibility intactJ. But then, Jo hai who hai yaar!!
Frozen, as every single soul knows it by now, is one of the best shot film. As the film poster says quoting AK, it is a visual delight. Hell yeah. But isn’t this in a way belittling the director, whose story is being overshadowed by the photography. According to me the brilliant visuals kick started and overtook the film, and never let the film out of its grasps. The story and the characters weren’t given any chance to break through shell of the visuals and reach me.
The breathtaking visuals and the surreal philosophical voiceovers created quite a strange and cold atmosphere for the characters to dwell in. The main characters were the father, the daughter and the son. The daughter and the son behaved vaguely and strangely throughout the film hardly giving me any insight into them, or connecting with them. The final twist laden voiceover tried pretty hard to sum up all their feelings, their insecurities but I guess it was too late for me to make any connection or feel anything.
The father worked hard and tirelessly to make ends meet. His life is turned to hell when a money lender openly asks to trade her daughter for money. This is followed by one of the very few genuine moments. We see the helpless face of the father, on brink of total breakdown. He sits near the window of the bus while returning home, moist eyed. Here I could actually SEE the helplessness and the sheer shock of such a direct advance on her daughter, on the father’s face, but alas couldn’t FEEL it. Why couldn’t I feel it? Have I become apathetic? In fact I’m a person who becomes moist eyed easily while watching films like Bicycle thieves, Frozen river, Pursuit of Happyness (in the ‘making ends meet genre’ genre) and a lotta other films too. Maybe it was too subtle to my sensibilities.
The dialogues are sparse throughout the film. Why? Don’t families talk that much? Does the director wanna show that actions speak louder than words? Or was it done deliberately to weave mystic around characters and make them inaccessible to the audience? The actions too consist of the mundane stuff the father does to earn livelihood and a series of impenetrable gazes and stares by the daughter. The mischief between the daughter and son is also dealt very vaguely and not shown clearly. Every alternate scene in the first half is dedicated to this mischief. We are supposed to understand that the child within the grown up daughter is still alive and she is still naïve. That point is driven home in the first couple of scenes, but the mischief continues and continues endlessly. And after a point it gets irritating.
There are innumerable random shots of the scenery around, the people of Ladakh, the market place and many more things. Maybe they were there to keep the vague and surreal atmosphere alive. They surely kept the vague atmosphere alive. My cousin and I have a joke amongst us. Whenever a character does something beyond normal viewer’s comprehension, or whenever shots without head and tail are inserted, we tell each other “look, the pickchur is surreal”.
I tell all this not to demean any artists abstract creativity. Infact I tell this feeling inferior deep inside, not to be able to appreciate cinema as an art. One of my good friends always tells me, that an abstract creation is the most satisfying for any artist. And the audiences who can feel that are to be envied. Another good friend yesterday was talking about Andrei Tarkovsky and Stanley Kubrick. According to him, Kubrick was the master of cinema as a medium and Andrei Tarkovsky was the master of cinema as an art form. I guess I’m well versed with Cinema as a medium, but still not able to crack the art form.
Speaking of Art form, what is art? It is the expression of what you truly feel deep inside. And I very well understand that those feelings cannot be expressed in a simple manner which everyone can relate too. How can it? The feelings are the artists’ own. He/Her himself only feels it. It cant be felt exactly the same way by anyone else. And here, I guess comes the abstraction in art. What we feel and perceive as abstract, evokes those deep feelings in that artist and the true connoisseurs of the art who at an intellectual, spiritual level are closer to the artist.
Similarly, Frozen may evoke strong feelings in fellow cinephiles, but for me, it remains as an exercise in cinematography and yet another frustrating day at cinema.
Tags: frozen
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
dat was heart-felt. thanks for sharing.
A good and Honest Review.
@ Gaurang: mate, i cn understand your helplessness at deciphering the abstract of Frozen. honestly, some others also came to me at the end of the premiere show and said the same thing, albeit in different words.
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i guess the reason of Q&A kept at the end of the show, with none other than the Director himself was with an objective to throw some more light on the comprehension (or the lack of it) among people who tried desperately but cudnt get the idea in toto.
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Shivajee has always maintained that its a very personal film. i guess the best way in which he cud have, (and he did, in fact), was to tell the analogy of Calvin & Hobbes as the underlying theme of the film.
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i suggest you watch it again. u r lucky to have the opportunity still. let me be honest, i also didnt understand the concept in its entirety after my first viewing. Not that I am claiming I have now understood it completely. but yes, im better informed than I was earlier.
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if after a repeat viewing (with the knowledge of hindsight working in your favour this time), you are still not able to get the theme, you are always welcome to say it didnt work for you.
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nothing personal though. im still deiphering “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” even after almost 5-6 viewings. same goes with The Fountainhead (the book…) for me.
“”look, the pickchur is surreal”" …. lol …. so true ! ….. N1
@Magik
Thnx buddy… boj bahut badh gaya tha.. share karna hi pada bhai!!
@Cinemausher
Thnx for the kind words..
@Satyendra
I almost laughed out of my chair, when during the Q&A, the guy ekdum bindass asked “Was the film a story of the girl or of the father and his hardships? What were u exactly trying to tell”. hehe.. Bechaaraa public was dumbfounded yaar… The “Inner friend” thingy came from out of the blue yaar!! I know that twist was supposed to bring the whole film into perspective. But it really didn’t do that for me.
Maybe a second viewing would do that. But lets come to the basics. The danny-gauri relationship. Was it etched out that well? Did you feel that warmth in the family? Why were we denied access to the characters?
If all these things worked for you, then I guess it was kept very subtle, which I couldn’t percieve, sense or feel.
Again, this could all change in the second viewing. So lets see… Although its gonna be really difficlt to motivate myself to revisit it..
@ Gaurang- that was a very honest take on the movie & I appreciate it from that perspective.
Well all movies cannot reach out uniformly to everyone, this didnt work out for you-as simple as that.
@Sethu
Its not as simple as u say man… I get pretty depressed by such experiences..
@ Gaurang: yaar, i cant buy u the time or ur enthusiasm, but if u hazard these two, im game to bear the cost of ur tkt once more. lets watch it agn while it lasts.
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in fact, im already making plans with my own set of 10-12 frnds to do it agn soon, probably tomorrow eve show (2nd June). mayb in esquare, mainly due to evening show timings. u r always welcome. SMS me if interested.
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if it still doesnt work for u, lets accept it without any further diagnosis or autopsy…
@Satyendra
I cant give you my word on this today itself… but will surely think about tom eve and try to get myself enthused for it…
Anyways I’ll msg you whatever it may be
Satyendra owes us a write up on what made him do the impossible. What made him organize the premiere of the film in Pune. I am really intrigued by Satyendra’s efforts though I do understand it. I really want Satyendra to tell it in his words.
I hope Satyendra will fullfill this wish as well as he did by giving us the opportunity to watch the film along with the Starcast.
Also I would like to dedicate this comment to the bindass guy in the audience who at the end of the movie asked that question to Shivajee ‘So you trying to tell us the story of the girl right ?’.
I love movies.
@ Rahul: the write-up is already posted on PFC. please do check it by the title “FROZEN PREMIERE, PUNE”
Guys the plus and the minuses :-)
Wow I am happy that atleast people are discussing this.
@Gaurang I am ashamed my film made you depressed and sad and frustrated etc because it didn’t touch you…I never wanted it like that. Also there are lot of films in recent times which have left me dumbfounded, yes I am talking about highly recommended films. As I said everyone’s perspective is right. Who am I to tell you you are wrong in what you thought?
Don’t push yourself to watch Frozen again. I know all of us are busy with our lives. I really appreciate you took out time to watch the film once.
Thanks for the post man :-)…
@Satyendra,
Man hope you come to mumbai,i need someone to sponsor my tickets.
@ Cinemausher: sir, main finance fild mein kaam karta hoon, financiar nahin hoon…
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jokes apart, please do let me know whatever help u need from my side at any point of time. wud try to mobilise ppl / funds in whatever way i can.
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seriously, whats the deal btw? what sponsorship r we talking abt?
Ah !! same happend with me quite a few times. To my surprise I found oscar nominated Lagaan boring and coud not sit trough the movie.
I love the exchange between Gaurang and Shivajee.In the world of cinema, this is a very rare experience indeed..
@ Ajay: sir, thats really surprising, but then, we all need not have the same sensibilities.
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a few days back, i asked a friend to hear out the fan-boy’s x-rated version of emosional atyachar, and he was absolutely not impressed at all. on the other hand, other frnds freaked out on this and hailed it even better than BC Sutta.
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to each his/her own…
Shivajee
First and foremost you should be proud of this flim and I am sure you are proud and well as emotionalyy attached as its your first baby.
If I were you I would be immensely proud as well. The flim is for keeps. If someone has not seen the flim or have not understood the flim. Well in a way the flim is a slice of life. And all that comes in that slice.
@Rahul
Thanks for your kind words :-)
I am surely very proud of my film and of course I am proud of the effort my cast and crew took to make it. Man we have won two more awards in Spain on the same day of Pune Premiere. Check the Qwiki Link. Also check the other films which were in competition with us….So I am very happy and proud.
As I said it is everyone’s perspective. If I or any other film maker has to satisfy everyone then we will have to play SMS games during the whole filmmaking to get everyone’s views. And it would be telecasted live as a reality show…”kindly sms what you are not liking about the film and the winner gets to meet the cast or act in the next schedule”…
We have made what we wanted to make. Good,bad,ugly…We did it and we are really proud.
@Jha,
You can sponsor me a movie ticket, a see a smile and satisfication from my face.
Anyway presently searching for a person who can give me dv cam for 2 days free of cost for my docu.
@ cinemausher: haha, sure bro. next time im in Mumbai, im definitely gonna buy u a tkt for the movie tht we both (and others, if possible) will watch together.
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abt dv cam for 2 days, i guess some kindered soul at PFC might just b able to help u. lemme spread the word.
@ Shivajee
“Man we have won two more awards in Spain on the same day of Pune Premiere”
Congratulations Dude. Keep It UP. Thats a real good news. What are these awards ? Are these awards part of some flim festival. Fill us on the details. Its a very good news.
@ rahul: the Qwiki link for the awards is already posted by Sethu. check it out.
It is a start.
As we have been discussing cinema/Indian cinema and present trends, this is a case in point.
I guess if more films come from this trend, then that would mark the end of the ‘See the same thing, Feel the same way’ kind of movies – something like watching a cricket match with everyone rooting for the home team. I guess the direction is tending to be more personal and the interpretatio and visualization is all meant to elicit subjective reactions.
I have not seen the movie – but from the undercurrent of the posts by vipin, jehan, Sethu, Satya and Gaurang, i can infer that it will be the perennial elephant to the gang of blind men. I wish that i too can join the gang soon!!
A very nice writeup and as Jadugar Goga would say,
Keep em coming!! :-)
I agree with A1. Kudos to Shivajee Chandrabhushan to come out and respond to a person reviews(which wasnt favorable to the movie). The review was sincere and so was the response from the maker.
“Speaking of Art form, what is art?” : Jo movie samajh nahi aaye, wo art film hoti hai. As simple as that………
@gony dhoni
lol….. aur jo movie samaj mein aayi woh art film ho hi nahi sakti… hehe
On a serious note, I’m really thankful to Shivajee to respond me in such kind words, actually I was afraid about how would he take this review…
@Shivajee
Sir, I’m honoured to have your response on this average joe’s write-up on your film. And yeah, the pune premiere turned out to be a good omen I guess, congrats for the awards in Madrid.
I distinctly remember your words before the film, when you told how thrilling the premiere event is especially in your home country and also about how the first pictures of the film, when the lights go dim, are the most precious moments for any filmaker. That was heartfelt and we could very well feel the emotional choke in your voice. Main bhi senti ho gaya tha!!!
Sir one final thing, You said that Frozen is not a run of mill film, costumes wont change in a blink, Danny wont break into an item song. Sir, the people understand that, no one was expecting such things from frozen. Nowadays such commercial films are hardly seen in the theatre. People just expect to be touched and moved by a film like yours. Nothing more nothing less.
I dont blame you of ignoring the audience. You made wat you wanted to, what you felt deep inside. But, I say this as humbly as I can, dont say that Frozen didn’t work because it didnt have song and dances. I hope I’ve made my point clearly without offending you.
Despite all claims to the contrary, I have always found the visual medium intensely personal. Turn on Flikr and you shall see thousands of sunset images and no two shall be the same. Some glint, some shade shall always be different.
Similarly, We also have the film medium. Of course, worldwide it is called “filmed entertainment”. It is so called because studio execs need to show that this is a form of business that works! But, essentially it is a medium of communication. But then, what do we communicate?
Hitch communicates that men have no clue about women. Devi communicates that women cannot be subjugated, at all times. Jungle communicates the urban dweller’s fear of the unknown. So on and so forth.
Frozen has its own communication about karma, loneliness and security. It may or may not be in your face. Even Sam Raimi isn’t. The happiness of a cinephile is to understand what the story sets out to communicate.
Let me illustrate. I saw Contract the first time. Disliked it. Very much. Then, one day the DVD landed in my bedroom. Inserted it and had a quiet viewing again. Forgot about the acting, the mannerisms and the technique. Concentrated on the story theory. What RGV wanted to say? Obviously, the gangsters and their ways were just a medium of expression for him. He could have plotted the story in very mundane surroundings of a corporate office. But it wouldn’t cut ice with the viewers. So, he went back to his next best corporate body – gangs! Then, the story dawned. It irked me that I did not get it the first time. It also irked me that RGV had made me look stupid. But then, he has been showing the middle finger to all of us for a long time now. Maybe saying to himself that,”Bastards, enough of spoon feeds, go figure out some stuff man!!”…
Exactly that. As a junta, we have been spoon fed for too long. We have now an intelligence that can only figure out Kuch Kuch hota hai, Janasheen, Rush Hour 3 and Terminator at first go. No, don’t take offence, anyone. It is as simple as that. Not long ago, OK about 30 years ago or before much more complicated stuff used to come on screen, not only in Hindi cinema but in the regional cinema too. And used to get appreciated for what they were. OK they were not superhits. But then, you need to be a genius like Raj Kapoor to say what you want to say and yet have a super hit, an acceptance from one and all.
Have we still figured out all the twists in Jewel thief or Badaltey Rishtey? They too were superhits.
The medium needs attention. It needs devotion too.It does not need adulation. Shivajee will make other films too. Some small and some large. Others shall do too. The moot point here is see all of them, by buying a ticket at your favourite theater and support the essence of entertainment. Most of the time they will not disappoint you.
Nice one Indraneel da! You have almost compelled me to watch Contract..hehe. Btw, I’m dying to watch Frozen. Don’t know when. Where.
Indraneel-da: its a sense of deja vu, because when frozen team was in pune, we discussed this whole phenomenon at length, even taking examples of a frozen and a badaltey rishtey… and we all were generally of the same opinion that cinema as a medium must be appreciated for what it is, not what individuals necessarily perceive them to be from their POV.
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Contract is a great example for that. for long, i hv been following RGV’s blog, and i sincerely feel that for long he has beenshowing us all his middle finger, ridiculing us to interpret his take of the medium.
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as tanul says, u hv compelled me to have another look at contract. fortunately, its already in my drawing room…!
Guys, now you would realize why Shivajee resists all temptations to write about the “director’s” POV. Interpretation, so to say!
@Tanul..probably even the upload fellas are not having access to the few prints that are in circulation, so a pirated print is just not happening..you would just have to wait for a good DVD! Worth it..because Shivajee and some others are making a kick ass “MAKING OF FROZEN” that’ll ‘rock’ the climes!
Dear Gaurang,
Though it is true that whatever has to be conveyed in a film should be done within the film. That extraneous explanations are just that. Extraneous. Sometimes a little prompt from the maker of the film helps understand their work better. Left to your own understanding, Tarkovsky would be unapproachable. The authorship of an film unlike anything else is not necessarily singular. In this case an article on FTII people.com might help.
Check out
http://www.ftiipeople.com/?p=186#more-186