The 400 Blows
iView Author: Shashank Walia
(Delhi, India)
EMAIL: shashankwalia [at] live [dot]com
The 400 Blows
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Times have changed and changed by a great deal. Today, whatever you may want to do, either you need a backing or jack to be in any part of any organization, cinema is no different.
Yes, there are few cases where will-power exceeds all such evils of new times but in major parts various evils hail. Expecting to get into a production house or a film company easily if he/she has a jack or any kind of support or getting a job of an assistant director or editor or any other aspect of filmmaking after getting a graduate diploma or a degree from a film school is justified but needing a degree or a film school stamp to discuss cinema is like getting 400 blows to me. Yes, the time has changed wherein if one needs to discuss serious cinema, he/she requires a film school branding.
I came across such an incident a few days back and it made me go into the circular motion of depression. I never thought such a time will come when to discuss cinema one will have to acquire some qualification or to be specific, one should be related to a film school. This whole incident started when I was at my friend’s place, having a normal chat on cinema. The other person who was there started with some great names of world cinema to show the level of quality and information his film school provides. The film school he belongs to is one of the so called prestigious institutions of Delhi whose name I would not like to mention here. I entered the discussion with some great names of Indian cinema such as Guru Dutt, V. Shantaram, Ritwik Ghatak and Bimal Roy. Then he challenged my opinion and accused me of getting over obsessive with Indian cinema due to less or no knowledge of world cinema. I was shocked. I never thought in my worst nightmares that to discuss films I will require having knowledge of world cinema. To be honest I don’t believe in the term world cinema, what I believe in is cinema. I am not escaping in any means with this statement of mine as I bashed the other person with names of Francois Truffaut, Kenji Mizoguchi, Edwin S. Porter and Kinji Fukasaku to provide him with the fact that he is not the only who watches the so called world cinema, at their homes on copied video DVD’s (the fact is the institute too doesn’t have the original DVD’S). What a film lover needs is passion and conviction that yes he can experience, understand and discuss every kind of cinema whether it is Italian neo – realism or French new wave or anything else. When I reached my home after this incident in the sense of sheer anger and distress I watched Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows. After I finished watching the film I realized in true sense that cinema is for everyone and no such ideologically messed up personality can stop me from discussing cinema, but this was a personal realization of the fact as I come across so many film enthusiasts who are not able to discuss cinema at times as they lack knowledge of world cinema.
Well I think this world cinema is for experiencing and learning new forms and conventions of cinema rather than checking the status of a film lover. Today whenever I come across such other persons I remind myself of the great Francois Truffaut who never studied in a film school and neither had he wished that his film can only be seen by a certain class of the filmmakers.So The 4 Hundred Blows for me is realization of the fact that cinema is for one and all and I use these words only when I come across such personalities suffering from superiority complex and I wish that all those film lovers who have deep knowledge of cinema should encourage the young and new film enthusiasts rather than discouraging them with their superiority in terms of knowledge about the medium.
Tags: Edwin S. Porter, Francois Truffaut, Guru Dutt, Kenji Mizoguchi, Kinji Fukasaku, ritiwik ghatak, Shantaram, v shantaram, V. The 400 Blows, 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
well well well this is the first time im readin such crude reality. yeah its true that people do boast about their film schools rather than their actual potential in film-making or even their knowledge on the world cinema. wat i intend to say is that as the saying goes,”Charity begins at home” similarly ur learning also begins at home. if people do not have knowledge about indian cinema including both regional and hindi,how do they expect to be the masters of world cinema.
a good peek-a-boo into reality
by this piece of writing, you have echoed the thoughts n voiced the opinions of people who are intimidatd by the ones who boast about their knowledge about world cinema.it is indeed a great effort to put a lock on those motormouths whop blow their own trumpets.CINEMA IS NOT A PRIVATE PROPERTY OF ANY INDIVIDUAL !!
i agree with the fact that u dont need any license to discuss, all you need is PASSION FOR CINEMA !!
I agree with Mr. Tegveer Singh that “Cinema is not a private property of an individual” it belongs to all of us and all of us have the right to watch and to discuss it.
I have come across some people who have better knowledge of the world cinema than those who are studying in the so called prestigious film schools of India.
I will again agree to what Mr.Tegveer Singh said that all you need is PASSION….yes thats the word PASSION….The PASSION FOR CINEMA
Way to go dude…film school can maybe teach you film making but a film maker is born…film school education is certainly recommended but it is not the end all and be all of films…as you are aware the best film makers all over the world are born due to their passion for films not their “training from film school”.
I take it that you are talking about Jamia…personally with no disrespect from Jamia or FTII…I am a college drop out but am working in films and I have many FTII graduates working with me and some even under me…some are very good…others are so so…film school education can help the best of us…but then the best of us would be OK without it too…but for the worst of us, it maybe the only option available and they are the ones who need the lofty names from world cinema to survive…
It doesn’t matter how much you can recite…a parrot can do that. Its how much you can “do”. Let your so called friend come onto a film set and ask him to say “action” and “cut” and then we’ll know what is his mettle…
For that matter ask him to stop talking and attempt to write a decent script…
“INT. ROOM. DAY”…they’re probably the only decent words he’ll manage.
Maybe I’m being a bit biased…but take the best film makers, most of them never went to film school and Syd Field or Robert McKee never wrote a decent script…
PS: Trauffaut rocks…and so does Ghatak.
Well to be honest it not about Jamia or FTII but its about superiority complex of those who have extra knowledge. I completely agree with shiv and would like to thank him for appreciating me and being a 2nd voice to my thoughts. Yes film school does provide you with extra punch but the blood you need for cinema cannot be transfused into you by any of the film schools.
And yes Tegveer you are right on its passion what matters ……
Can I get a Wha wha for Passion?
you are right that to discuss cinema all you need is passion. Shut ‘em up with yours.
But, I disgaree that one owes some allegiance to the cinema of their nationality or ethnicity. For someone to wax eloquent about Truffaut or the Coens one does not need to appreciate Ray and Ghatak and be knowledgable.
To make films however, one needs a lot more. Passion that is not sharpened with craft and skill is useless when it comes to mounting a film.
charaivethi charaivethi.
It’s good to have vast knowledge but not a necessity to make good films. To make a good film one need not even study films, observing life will do!
@Shashank
Correct me if I’m wrong but by your logic if someone wants to be a master Italian chef then he first needs to master Tandoori cooking ? Or no Indian should attempt to be an opera singer without first learning Indian classical music ?
8…
is this conclusion written in the article??
1 needs skill…understanding of the medium nd observation nd openness to own anything from anywhere 2 make gud film…passion is not always the driving force behind gud films…it may b 1 part but only passion cant make a film…
passion cant make a gud writer…passion supported by very hard work…wisdom…nd learning capability can b helpful in any field…but passion alone is other name of over confidence…
a v shantaram films lover maynt like tango in paris nd opposite is also true…
quoting big names…big books…big films doesnt make 1 great maker
its abt exposure 2 certain culture…
if u ve extra time u can search outside of ur culture otherwise 2 live life is it necessary 2 watch films of whole world? 2 read books of whole world?
no
Hi Shashank, hi TVS. You both are from VIPS right? Never expected to see you here… but then I guess I also fell prey to the ‘film school to be qualified to talk’ way of thinking, knowingly or unknowingly
@dabba
boss i never said in my article that first watch Ghatak and then see Fellini. The article is all about inability of some people in discussing cinema due to less knowledge of world cinema. Why should one have an upper edge if he knows world cinema ? Thats it. I am not against going for world cinema rather i myself watch it every other day but if we have more knowledge then a person, we should not discourage him rather we should make him aware with such new forms and options available.
@Mitch
Let me correct you i love Italian, Thai, Chinese but i also love Indian. People its not about any conflict between Indian and World Cinema, its about throwing your superiority on new ones who are entering in the world of cinema and humiliating them because they don’t know who Akira Kurosawa is…. I hope you got it.
@dabba
Well one thing more this article was not about film making and yeah we’ll talk about film making in my next post – thanks for an idea.
@krishn
In my personal opinion watching films does help you in growing as a filmmaker but its not important to have watched all kind of films. It depends on the taste, now Anurag Kashyap has a DVD collection of more than 12000 films (sorry Anurag if the number is less I read it in an interview of yours an year back) coz he loves cinema and there can be directors who don’t watch much cinema but make great films, so its all about one’s personal opinion and attitude.
@Astha
Good to see you here keep posting……….
So if what you are referring to is “mine is bigger than yours syndrome” then why single out cinema ? It applies to any facet of life be it books, music or even the size of one’s paycheck. Or lets talk bout my personal fav. Examination marks or grades. What exactly is your objection here ? Intellectual snobbery ? Part and parcel of the human dna buddy.
In my opinion there are only two kinds of films. The ones that you like and the one’s that you don’t. Country of origin or reputation of the filmmaker is irrelevant to the true cineaste. Let the films be judged on quality and not partisan feelings.
@shasank,
The one who had tried to shut you up had a fascist outlook of the world and probably he had not had any logic that was supirior than you.But film school is not to be blame here.This school is a good system as far as I am concerned.Because you can find a course, a collection of books,cinemas and all to enrich you.But people who does boast about schools are bound to be ones who in actuality do not study film.They are there to get a brand only.It happens in any other profession also.To love cinema you need nothing but a love,but to make films you need certain things and film schools can provide them.Otherwise one has to go to a great length(that takes a toll too) to learn all those(because it is scattered). So I think easy accessibility can be an advantage for film school goers and that saves time too.
But I think for a maker it is necessary to know world cinema,to know the grammer, language, inventions and latest developments, like any other disciplines(physics, chemistry,philosophy-you just name it).Cinema itself is an international subject and no great maker never had made films without knowing other great works.Only at the time you are making one film you will automatically represent your nation,tribe,culture typically.Because you are a product of that.So,Indian cinema and world cinema are not pitted against one another,but are developing simultaniously and often influencing each other too.So friend cheer up and get a cine-treat with another hundred-thousand cinemas.In the end only cinema will win and no ‘muscle flexing’.
@Mitch
Mitch i think you are not clear here; on one side you justifies superiority and on other side you talk about likeness or dis-likeness of cinema. Here I am not at all talking about region or quality or form of cinema, what I am talking about is superiority. You talking of paychecks, books and art etc. is correct but at the same time we must respect and appreciate the curiosity of a young mind. If some one new to cinema wants to know about cinema and his zone is restricted to for say Ram Gopal Verma or Ashutosh Gowariker then whats wrong in it; whats the big deal if he/she does not know about french or italian cinema or for say Hollywood. One with superior knowledge can always encourage him or provide him with new information rather then showing superiority and humiliation to him. Well its all about transfer of information. You talk about books well its a source of transformation of information. If there would be no power you may not know about Guru Dutt forget Truffaut. I hope you got my point.
@SuddhaSatya
Very true, I fully agree with you. I am not blaming film schools rather i want more and more film schools to come up to accommodate growing population of film lovers.
All schools (good ones that is) only foster your interest..not create it..I graduated in Hotel Management years ago..then the normal populance just did not know what this profession was all about..I had mates who joined in for the glamour(??!!)..then saw the reality and just faded away from campus..the others stuck on, developed efficiency at study and work, got jobs, some did well, others jumped ships to more lucrative avenues then for the money, still others just stuck on for lack of anything better but by then some these few had become focussed and passionate..cut to today..all of us who stuck on, sharpened the saw are successful!
So, summarily, schools only foster the growth of an individual and it is not about the abiding interest in a subject..coz I meet at least two people everyday who tell me how my business at hand is to be conducted..I don’t rebuke them, human nature…
Film schools foster the creative spirit in an interested student, fuels his ideas, his passion and his knowledge, the tool of success is dedicated hard work..that is where a majority of the people fade away..and braggarts are a part of every profession..not only films..Cool!!
SuddhaSatya speaks the words of wisdom again!
@ shashank –
my comments were directed at other commentors upthread and not necessarily your post. intellectual snobbery will always exist. one must either ignore, or go toe-to-toe. keep writing.