What happens when a Brooklyn-born woman fulfils her life-long desire to ‘return’ home to Israel to see the land her Palestinian ancestors were ejected from 60 years ago? What happens when she meets a young Palestinian boy whose ambition, contrary to hers, is to leave Palestine forever? What happens when they — tired and angry of the constraints that dictate their lives — take things into their own hands to grab their rights, even if it’s by illegal means?
Answering all this and many more questions is film-maker Annamarie Jacir’s Salt Of This Sea. It’s the story of Soraya who discovers that her grandfather’s savings were frozen in a bank account in Jaffa when he was exiled in 1948. Determined to reclaim what is hers, she arrives in Israel. However, she faces her first stumbling block at the passport-control booth at Ben-Gurion airport when the authorities discover that her family hailed from Jaffa before 1948. She is interrogated and strip-searched at customs.
She encounters her next hurdle after arriving in Ramallah. Here, at the bank she’s told all Palestinian deposits before the formation of Israel had been wiped clean. Despite trying her best she fails to recover her grandfather’s money. She is also informed that she can’t apply for a Palestinian passport.
Determined to stick back, she finds a job at a restaurant. Here, she meets a young Palestinian waiter Emad. Despite a scholarship awaiting him in Canada, can't get a visa out.
Frustrated and bitter, Soraya decides to take things in her own hands. She, along with Emad and his film-maker friend Marwan, robs the bank to get back what she feels is hers. Running from the law, the trio escapes into Israel. Here, Soraya and Emad visit their ancestral homes.
Some fine moments in the film include the scene where Emad locates the ruins of his family village. Standing amidst a half-standing structure, Soraya and Emad become aware of their intimacy. The moment filled with long gazes and gentle gestures lingers in memory long after the film is over.
Moreover, the scenes at the start — black and white news footage from 1948 of Israeli tanks pulling down houses, panicked refugees running helter-skelter — are also noteworthy. Even the camerawork is brilliant at times, especially the scenes that capture the open spaces and shattered rubble as Soraya travels throughout Jaffa, Ramallah and Jerusalem.
The movie premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Since then it has toured numerous festivals and earned awards and acclaim. Overall, it’s the sort of movie which is both informative and thought-provoking. Soraya’s fury, Emad’s despair and moments like a brief glimpse of a baby being passed over a barbed wire border fence from father to mother make it one of the better Palestinian productions in recent times.
Friday, May 15, 2009
High and Low (1963)
Akira Kurosawa, who was a fan of American film noir, adapted High and Low from American author Ed McBain’s detective novel King’s Ransom. The story is of a powerhouse executive in the Japanese shoe industry who lives in a luxurious mansion on a hill overlooking a teeming city. His family becomes the target of a cold-blooded kidnapper. However, what seems like a basic kidnap drama is actually a story about a much deeper theme – of differences between the rich and the poor, employers and employees, husbands and wives; in short, it explores how people relate to each other based on their social status. Kurosawa brilliantly captures the irony of laissez-faire system gobbling economies and its evident effects in the present day planet through the use of shadows, a metaphor of the glaring social gaps.
The protagonist of the story — Kingo Gondo — is faced with difficult moral decisions after a kidnapping. His son was the target, but his chauffeur’s son was taken by mistake. He's hit by a huge ransom demand, paying which will ruin him financially. However, not paying it will ruin his moral values. The kidnapping is followed by the investigations which lead to a not-so-obvious ending.
High and Low is made up of two parts — the first one is about the kidnapping while the second one focuses on the hunt for the kidnapper.
One of the best scenes in the movie is that of Gondo stopping outside a shoe store window to have a look at the merchandise. That one moment underlines the fact that money, position and power don’t mean everything to him; it’s just shoes that he loves.
Technically it’s a brilliant film. Some of the early scenes remind one of Alfred Hitchcock’s usage of confined spaces to build suspense. If the camerawork is great, the soundtrack is brilliant. Primarily one of silence, it adds wonderfully to the gripping suspense.
High and Low is among the most suspenseful of Kurosawa's films. It looks at people across levels in society and their struggles and conflicts.
The protagonist of the story — Kingo Gondo — is faced with difficult moral decisions after a kidnapping. His son was the target, but his chauffeur’s son was taken by mistake. He's hit by a huge ransom demand, paying which will ruin him financially. However, not paying it will ruin his moral values. The kidnapping is followed by the investigations which lead to a not-so-obvious ending.
High and Low is made up of two parts — the first one is about the kidnapping while the second one focuses on the hunt for the kidnapper.
One of the best scenes in the movie is that of Gondo stopping outside a shoe store window to have a look at the merchandise. That one moment underlines the fact that money, position and power don’t mean everything to him; it’s just shoes that he loves.
Technically it’s a brilliant film. Some of the early scenes remind one of Alfred Hitchcock’s usage of confined spaces to build suspense. If the camerawork is great, the soundtrack is brilliant. Primarily one of silence, it adds wonderfully to the gripping suspense.
High and Low is among the most suspenseful of Kurosawa's films. It looks at people across levels in society and their struggles and conflicts.
I’m Not There (2007) — Tangled Up In Bob
This is one movie I’d wanted to watch for a long time!
The only time Bob Dylan’s name appears in the movie is when the opening credits roll out, which describe the movie as ‘inspired by the music and many lives of Bob Dylan’. Here, the phrase ‘many lives’ hold the key, because that’s what film-maker Todd Haynes has done. He has taken a sweep through the enigmatic singer-songwriter’s ‘many lives’ and has depicted those through six actors.
The first ‘Dylan’ is an 11-year-old boy Woody, a black folk singer with a guitar slung over his back. Ben Whishaw is Dylan as the poet Rimbaud. Christian Bale plays Dylan as Jack, a protest singer, who takes the Greenwich village folk scene of the early 1960s by storm. Bale also gets another turn where he plays Pastor John, a reference to Dylan's ‘born-again’ period. The late Heath Ledger plays an actor essaying a Dylan-like figure in a Hollywood film. Then we have Dylan as Billy The Kid (Richard Gere), a bearded recluse. However, the highlight of the movie is Cate Blanchett as Jude – the hard-smokin’, pill-poppin’ caustic rock'n'roll iconoclast. She looks and acts great as Dylan in his trademark shades, wild corkscrew curls and killer cheekbones.
The title of the film is taken from a 1967 unreleased Dylan song I'm Not There. Surprisingly popular Dylan hits like Blowin' In The Wind or Just Like a Woman are absent. Instead, songs like Idiot Wind, Ballad Of A Thin Man and Visions Of Johanna can be heard from time to time.
The DVD comes with a pile of bonus stuff like notes about the movie, director, trailers, behind the scenes, cast, crew and director interviews and more.
Overall, the movie is a wild, roller-coaster ride. Right from the opening scene that refers to Dylan’s motorcycle accident in 1966 to the lengthy end credits with the spine-tingling version of Knockin' on Heaven's Door playing in the background, the movie ties up no loose ends. It lets Dylan stand as a brilliant, evasive enigma highlighting throughout that no one ever made pop music more incandescent than him.
The only time Bob Dylan’s name appears in the movie is when the opening credits roll out, which describe the movie as ‘inspired by the music and many lives of Bob Dylan’. Here, the phrase ‘many lives’ hold the key, because that’s what film-maker Todd Haynes has done. He has taken a sweep through the enigmatic singer-songwriter’s ‘many lives’ and has depicted those through six actors.
The first ‘Dylan’ is an 11-year-old boy Woody, a black folk singer with a guitar slung over his back. Ben Whishaw is Dylan as the poet Rimbaud. Christian Bale plays Dylan as Jack, a protest singer, who takes the Greenwich village folk scene of the early 1960s by storm. Bale also gets another turn where he plays Pastor John, a reference to Dylan's ‘born-again’ period. The late Heath Ledger plays an actor essaying a Dylan-like figure in a Hollywood film. Then we have Dylan as Billy The Kid (Richard Gere), a bearded recluse. However, the highlight of the movie is Cate Blanchett as Jude – the hard-smokin’, pill-poppin’ caustic rock'n'roll iconoclast. She looks and acts great as Dylan in his trademark shades, wild corkscrew curls and killer cheekbones.
The title of the film is taken from a 1967 unreleased Dylan song I'm Not There. Surprisingly popular Dylan hits like Blowin' In The Wind or Just Like a Woman are absent. Instead, songs like Idiot Wind, Ballad Of A Thin Man and Visions Of Johanna can be heard from time to time.
The DVD comes with a pile of bonus stuff like notes about the movie, director, trailers, behind the scenes, cast, crew and director interviews and more.
Overall, the movie is a wild, roller-coaster ride. Right from the opening scene that refers to Dylan’s motorcycle accident in 1966 to the lengthy end credits with the spine-tingling version of Knockin' on Heaven's Door playing in the background, the movie ties up no loose ends. It lets Dylan stand as a brilliant, evasive enigma highlighting throughout that no one ever made pop music more incandescent than him.
Happy Together (1997)
In pursuit of ever-eluding happiness and unrequited love — that’s what Wong Kar-Wai’s Happy Together is all about!
It’s perhaps Wai’s boldest movie to date – a dysfunctional and ultimately doomed gay relationship between two Hong Kong expatriates living in Argentina. However, the biggest irony is in the movie’s title itself because neither is anything happy in the relationship between the two characters Lai Yiu Fai (Tony Leung) and Ho Po Wing (Leslie Cheung), nor are they always together. Their relationship is a continuous process of breaking up and making up.
Getting away from Hong Kong the duo ends up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. While searching for a waterfall they anger each other and go their separate ways. Fai takes up a job at a bar and Wing turns to a life of hustling. Their paths cross again and when Fai sees Wing’s new lifestyle, he is destroyed. Somehow they still find themselves back together, but their relationship fails to stand the test of time and falls apart again.
Fai finds a new job at a restaurant and befriends Chang, a fellow Chinese from Taiwan. Chang’s sincerity helps Lai out of depression. However, Chang soon leaves Buenos Aires and this makes Fai sink into depression again. To combat the loneliness, he starts having sex in anonymous bathrooms and movie theatres.
After a few months, Wing contacts Fai to restart the relationship again. But this time Fai refuses. Eventually, Fai decides to return to Hong Kong. On his way back, he visits Chang’s family. He steals a picture of Chang as a remembrance.
This is the film that cemented Wong Kar-Wai’s reputation as one of the leading film-makers of our time. Christopher Doyle shoots the film in lovely shades of rich, lurid colour. Though set in Buenos Aires, the duo is hardly shown to interact with the Argentines thus reinstating their sense of isolation and emotional estrangement from homeland. Summing up, this is a story of two people who don’t belong and don’t want to belong, and yet are sad at not belonging. Though they could have been happy together, it was never to be.
It’s perhaps Wai’s boldest movie to date – a dysfunctional and ultimately doomed gay relationship between two Hong Kong expatriates living in Argentina. However, the biggest irony is in the movie’s title itself because neither is anything happy in the relationship between the two characters Lai Yiu Fai (Tony Leung) and Ho Po Wing (Leslie Cheung), nor are they always together. Their relationship is a continuous process of breaking up and making up.
Getting away from Hong Kong the duo ends up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. While searching for a waterfall they anger each other and go their separate ways. Fai takes up a job at a bar and Wing turns to a life of hustling. Their paths cross again and when Fai sees Wing’s new lifestyle, he is destroyed. Somehow they still find themselves back together, but their relationship fails to stand the test of time and falls apart again.
Fai finds a new job at a restaurant and befriends Chang, a fellow Chinese from Taiwan. Chang’s sincerity helps Lai out of depression. However, Chang soon leaves Buenos Aires and this makes Fai sink into depression again. To combat the loneliness, he starts having sex in anonymous bathrooms and movie theatres.
After a few months, Wing contacts Fai to restart the relationship again. But this time Fai refuses. Eventually, Fai decides to return to Hong Kong. On his way back, he visits Chang’s family. He steals a picture of Chang as a remembrance.
This is the film that cemented Wong Kar-Wai’s reputation as one of the leading film-makers of our time. Christopher Doyle shoots the film in lovely shades of rich, lurid colour. Though set in Buenos Aires, the duo is hardly shown to interact with the Argentines thus reinstating their sense of isolation and emotional estrangement from homeland. Summing up, this is a story of two people who don’t belong and don’t want to belong, and yet are sad at not belonging. Though they could have been happy together, it was never to be.
The Lover (1992, France)
This French film was all about sex and forbidden passion.
“She gave her innocence, her passion, her body. The one thing she couldn't give was her love,” says the tagline on the DVD cover of The Lover.
Set in 1929 French colonial Vietnam, The Lover, or L’Amant in French, is based on Marguerite Duras’s internationally successful biographical novel of the same title. It traces the intense and passionate love affair between a poor 15-year-old French schoolgirl living in French Indochina (Vietnam) and a 32-year-old wealthy Chinese man.
They meet during a ferry ride across the Mekong River while the girl — who has left her impoverished mother and brothers — is returning to the boarding school to complete her studies. Their attraction is instant. The girl — looking to explore her sexuality — accepts the man’s invitation of a ride in his car and thus begins their doomed relationship. They hardly speak inside the car, but touch each other’s hands. The next day the man waits for her near her school. She walks straight into his car and they head to a room for a sexual encounter — the first of many to follow.
Though she becomes his lover, he cannot take her as his wife because he can’t marry someone outside his caste. The girl’s mother sees this as an opportunity to extort money from the man. Refusing to play the part of a prostitute, the girl goes her own way, but continues the passionate affair.
The film was nominated for Best Cinematography at the Oscars. Jean-Jacques Annaud should be given due credit for the bringing this period piece to life with its stunning visuals. The lavish period sets and evocative photography provide an authentic portrait of 1920s Indochina.
The DVD, released by Shemaroo, comes with a price tag of Rs 349. It contains a booklet that has an introduction to World Cinema, a note on Jean-Jacques Annaud and a brief about the movie.
The film starring Jane March as the teenage girl and Tony Leung Ka Fai as the Chinese man is an engaging one. Its crux is the couple’s consistent denial of the fact that there’s anything to their relationship; they both know that knowledge of their affair will bring drastic consequences to each other. Overall, it’s a beautiful portrait of a turbulent love story.
“She gave her innocence, her passion, her body. The one thing she couldn't give was her love,” says the tagline on the DVD cover of The Lover.
Set in 1929 French colonial Vietnam, The Lover, or L’Amant in French, is based on Marguerite Duras’s internationally successful biographical novel of the same title. It traces the intense and passionate love affair between a poor 15-year-old French schoolgirl living in French Indochina (Vietnam) and a 32-year-old wealthy Chinese man.
They meet during a ferry ride across the Mekong River while the girl — who has left her impoverished mother and brothers — is returning to the boarding school to complete her studies. Their attraction is instant. The girl — looking to explore her sexuality — accepts the man’s invitation of a ride in his car and thus begins their doomed relationship. They hardly speak inside the car, but touch each other’s hands. The next day the man waits for her near her school. She walks straight into his car and they head to a room for a sexual encounter — the first of many to follow.
Though she becomes his lover, he cannot take her as his wife because he can’t marry someone outside his caste. The girl’s mother sees this as an opportunity to extort money from the man. Refusing to play the part of a prostitute, the girl goes her own way, but continues the passionate affair.
The film was nominated for Best Cinematography at the Oscars. Jean-Jacques Annaud should be given due credit for the bringing this period piece to life with its stunning visuals. The lavish period sets and evocative photography provide an authentic portrait of 1920s Indochina.
The DVD, released by Shemaroo, comes with a price tag of Rs 349. It contains a booklet that has an introduction to World Cinema, a note on Jean-Jacques Annaud and a brief about the movie.
The film starring Jane March as the teenage girl and Tony Leung Ka Fai as the Chinese man is an engaging one. Its crux is the couple’s consistent denial of the fact that there’s anything to their relationship; they both know that knowledge of their affair will bring drastic consequences to each other. Overall, it’s a beautiful portrait of a turbulent love story.
Stealing Beauty
Bernardo Bertolucci’s Stealing Beauty was one of the movies that I had been longing to see from a long time. Finally, when I laid my hands on the DVD I couldn’t wait to see it… and guess what… it was a great experience…
Stealing Beauty — released in theatres in 1996 — is a homecoming of sorts for the Italian film-maker. It is his first film shot in his native land since the early ’80s. Now, as part of their home video series, Palador has launched the movie’s DVD.
Stealing Beauty is about Lucy, an American teenager, vacationing on a hilltop villa in Italy with a group of her late mother’s artist friends. She wants to reunite with the Italian boy she fell in love with four years ago during her last visit to the villa. However, her main agenda is to find her father. A dairy of her late mother suggests she was conceived on that hilltop. So who could be her father – the Italian war correspondent who wrote to her mother for 20 years, the dying English playwright or the artist who makes sculptures from trees? Amidst all this Lucy also finds it the perfect atmosphere to loose her virginity.
Lucy’s arrival scene in the villa — where her sexual status instantly becomes the main topic of conversation — lingers in memory long after the film is over. “There’s a virgin in the house,” exclaims one of the characters. Lucy’s entry also affects the other women, who are either challenged or reminded of their youth.
American actor Liv Tyler plays Lucy. The film also stars Rachel Weisz (The Mummy) and Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare In Love) among others.
However, the true star of the movie is Bertolucci himself. The Italian countryside has never looked more alluring as he’s made it look in every frame. Before starting work on this film, for 15 years Bertolucci — the creator of The Conformist and Last Tango in Paris — lived in self-imposed exile from his homeland. During that time, he worked on his ‘Eastern Trilogy’ – The Last Emperor (1987), which won nine Oscars, The Sheltering Sky (1990) and Little Buddha (1993).
Though he is better known for these films, Stealing Beauty remains one of the most complex, rich and penetrating movie he’s ever tackled.
Stealing Beauty — released in theatres in 1996 — is a homecoming of sorts for the Italian film-maker. It is his first film shot in his native land since the early ’80s. Now, as part of their home video series, Palador has launched the movie’s DVD.
Stealing Beauty is about Lucy, an American teenager, vacationing on a hilltop villa in Italy with a group of her late mother’s artist friends. She wants to reunite with the Italian boy she fell in love with four years ago during her last visit to the villa. However, her main agenda is to find her father. A dairy of her late mother suggests she was conceived on that hilltop. So who could be her father – the Italian war correspondent who wrote to her mother for 20 years, the dying English playwright or the artist who makes sculptures from trees? Amidst all this Lucy also finds it the perfect atmosphere to loose her virginity.
Lucy’s arrival scene in the villa — where her sexual status instantly becomes the main topic of conversation — lingers in memory long after the film is over. “There’s a virgin in the house,” exclaims one of the characters. Lucy’s entry also affects the other women, who are either challenged or reminded of their youth.
American actor Liv Tyler plays Lucy. The film also stars Rachel Weisz (The Mummy) and Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare In Love) among others.
However, the true star of the movie is Bertolucci himself. The Italian countryside has never looked more alluring as he’s made it look in every frame. Before starting work on this film, for 15 years Bertolucci — the creator of The Conformist and Last Tango in Paris — lived in self-imposed exile from his homeland. During that time, he worked on his ‘Eastern Trilogy’ – The Last Emperor (1987), which won nine Oscars, The Sheltering Sky (1990) and Little Buddha (1993).
Though he is better known for these films, Stealing Beauty remains one of the most complex, rich and penetrating movie he’s ever tackled.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
THE WORLD-CINEMA ORGY
Over the last five days, I happened to see quite a few movies — 11 to be precise. At the end of the week I surprised myself… I had actually spent close to 25 of the last 120 hours in watching movies.
This entire experience left me wanting for more — for more such world-class movies! Because I’ve never seen such great films — each one better than the other — in a long, long time. If I hadn’t watched those, I would have surely missed out on something.
Once the ‘movie orgy’ — as I would like to call it — was over, I decided to devote some time to review each film. And guess what… I surprised myself with the reviews I wrote. I say ‘surprised’ because I’ve never ever written a review before this. So I didn’t know where and how to start. But eventually the brilliance of each movie made it a roller-coaster ride for me — and the reviews turned out quite good… yes, for someone writing a review for the first time, it was indeed a satisfying and enriching experience…
Over the next few blogs, all that I’ve decided to do is publish those reviews one by one.
Here they go… starting with five films of Alfred Hitchcock — the undisputed king of mystery and mayhem.
Of thrills and chills
Mistaken identity, innocents falsely accused, betrayal, hair-raising escapes, double-crosses etc., are some of the recurring themes in Alfred Hitchcock’s movies.
As a tribute to the film-maker, Palador recently launched a collector’s edition boxset of five DVDs containing some of his earliest works. The movies include The Manxman (1929), Blackmail (1929), Murder (1930), The Skin Game (1931) and Rich And Strange (1931).
The Manxman – Hitchcock’s last silent film – is the story of two friends in love with the same woman. Rejected by the girl's father when one of them goes to a foreign land to seek his fortune, the other sees his chance with the girl. The Manxman is remembered for its stunning scenery, shot on location in Cornwall.
Hitchcock made the transition to sound film with Blackmail. Here, a woman accidentally murders a man. She is seen by a criminal. When the woman’s policeman boyfriend is assigned the case, the criminal blackmails them. Hitchcock shot almost the entire film in sound, back-to-back with a silent version for distribution to the many cinemas not equipped for sound. The result was a critical and commercial triumph and confirmed Hitchcock as an acclaimed director.
In Murder, an actor is found standing over the body of a murdered colleague and has no memory of what happened. The jury sentences her to death. One juror disagrees and, using his theatrical skills, probes into the case only to discover the real murderer in a thrilling climax. Hitchcock has a cameo role near the midpoint of the film, as a passerby in front of the house where the murder took place. The film contains a number of innovations, including what some believe to be the first use of a voice-over.
The Skin Game revolves around two rival families. When the aristocratic patriarch of one of families resorts to blackmail to settle a dispute over land rights, it leads to disastrous results. Hitchcock was, reportedly, bored by the project, but entertained himself with one particular shot – the climactic scene – which, however, didn’t even make it into the completed film.
Rich and Strange is about a married couple who go on a world cruise to escape their humdrum lives. But their relationship begins to fall apart when they both become attracted to other people. The film is notable for the techniques utilised by Hitchcock that would reappear later in his career. Most notable are the sets, including a recreation of a full-sized ship in a water tank.
This entire experience left me wanting for more — for more such world-class movies! Because I’ve never seen such great films — each one better than the other — in a long, long time. If I hadn’t watched those, I would have surely missed out on something.
Once the ‘movie orgy’ — as I would like to call it — was over, I decided to devote some time to review each film. And guess what… I surprised myself with the reviews I wrote. I say ‘surprised’ because I’ve never ever written a review before this. So I didn’t know where and how to start. But eventually the brilliance of each movie made it a roller-coaster ride for me — and the reviews turned out quite good… yes, for someone writing a review for the first time, it was indeed a satisfying and enriching experience…
Over the next few blogs, all that I’ve decided to do is publish those reviews one by one.
Here they go… starting with five films of Alfred Hitchcock — the undisputed king of mystery and mayhem.
Of thrills and chills
Mistaken identity, innocents falsely accused, betrayal, hair-raising escapes, double-crosses etc., are some of the recurring themes in Alfred Hitchcock’s movies.
As a tribute to the film-maker, Palador recently launched a collector’s edition boxset of five DVDs containing some of his earliest works. The movies include The Manxman (1929), Blackmail (1929), Murder (1930), The Skin Game (1931) and Rich And Strange (1931).
The Manxman – Hitchcock’s last silent film – is the story of two friends in love with the same woman. Rejected by the girl's father when one of them goes to a foreign land to seek his fortune, the other sees his chance with the girl. The Manxman is remembered for its stunning scenery, shot on location in Cornwall.
Hitchcock made the transition to sound film with Blackmail. Here, a woman accidentally murders a man. She is seen by a criminal. When the woman’s policeman boyfriend is assigned the case, the criminal blackmails them. Hitchcock shot almost the entire film in sound, back-to-back with a silent version for distribution to the many cinemas not equipped for sound. The result was a critical and commercial triumph and confirmed Hitchcock as an acclaimed director.
In Murder, an actor is found standing over the body of a murdered colleague and has no memory of what happened. The jury sentences her to death. One juror disagrees and, using his theatrical skills, probes into the case only to discover the real murderer in a thrilling climax. Hitchcock has a cameo role near the midpoint of the film, as a passerby in front of the house where the murder took place. The film contains a number of innovations, including what some believe to be the first use of a voice-over.
The Skin Game revolves around two rival families. When the aristocratic patriarch of one of families resorts to blackmail to settle a dispute over land rights, it leads to disastrous results. Hitchcock was, reportedly, bored by the project, but entertained himself with one particular shot – the climactic scene – which, however, didn’t even make it into the completed film.
Rich and Strange is about a married couple who go on a world cruise to escape their humdrum lives. But their relationship begins to fall apart when they both become attracted to other people. The film is notable for the techniques utilised by Hitchcock that would reappear later in his career. Most notable are the sets, including a recreation of a full-sized ship in a water tank.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Twin treat for Indian cricket!
March 2, 2007 - what a day it has been for Indian cricket!
First our senior team takes world champs Aussies to the cleaners in the first final of the tri-series and, then, our Under-19 team defeats South Africa to win the World Cup for the second time.
Not often does one hear of the same country winning two finals in a single day!
One thing that has been evident in both the finals was the attitude and body language of our cricketers. Not even for once, did the Indian players look like losing.
In the CB series final at the SCG, when ‘boxer’ Hadyen and ‘monkey’ Symonds were going great guns, the Indians never lost their cool. They kept the pressure on and, in a great move, Dhoni introduced Bhajji into the attack. Soon, both Hayden and Symonds unleashed a flurry of strokes. It was evident that the only thing they had at the back of their minds was to teach the “little weed” a lesson. But their strategy backfired on them when, in a span of two overs, Bhajji removed both the ‘boxer’ and the ‘monkey’.
After their exit, the rest of the Aussie squad, with the exception of Hussey, departed as soon as they came to the crease. With this defeat, the Indians go one-up in the best of three finals. If India wins the second final at Gabba, Brisbane then Australia would have to be content with sad farewells to Adam Gilchrist and Brad Hogg, both of whom have announced their retirements.
The other final in Kuala Lumpur was a battle of nerves and India held on to theirs till the end. Bowled out for 159 following a stifling performance by South African bowlers, India responded superbly by blowing the South African top order away before rain intervened. After resumption South Africa never got going and, it was just a matter of time before the Indian bowlers cleaned up the South African middle and lower orders ensuring a superb victory. The Indian team remained unbeaten throughout the series. After 44 matches across seven venues, there is no doubt that the best team was crowned Under-19 World Champions.
These two victories round up what can be called one of the best days for Indian cricket.
Now, we just hope that the senior team beats Aussies in the second final. That would be the perfect icing on the cake.
First our senior team takes world champs Aussies to the cleaners in the first final of the tri-series and, then, our Under-19 team defeats South Africa to win the World Cup for the second time.
Not often does one hear of the same country winning two finals in a single day!
One thing that has been evident in both the finals was the attitude and body language of our cricketers. Not even for once, did the Indian players look like losing.
In the CB series final at the SCG, when ‘boxer’ Hadyen and ‘monkey’ Symonds were going great guns, the Indians never lost their cool. They kept the pressure on and, in a great move, Dhoni introduced Bhajji into the attack. Soon, both Hayden and Symonds unleashed a flurry of strokes. It was evident that the only thing they had at the back of their minds was to teach the “little weed” a lesson. But their strategy backfired on them when, in a span of two overs, Bhajji removed both the ‘boxer’ and the ‘monkey’.
After their exit, the rest of the Aussie squad, with the exception of Hussey, departed as soon as they came to the crease. With this defeat, the Indians go one-up in the best of three finals. If India wins the second final at Gabba, Brisbane then Australia would have to be content with sad farewells to Adam Gilchrist and Brad Hogg, both of whom have announced their retirements.
The other final in Kuala Lumpur was a battle of nerves and India held on to theirs till the end. Bowled out for 159 following a stifling performance by South African bowlers, India responded superbly by blowing the South African top order away before rain intervened. After resumption South Africa never got going and, it was just a matter of time before the Indian bowlers cleaned up the South African middle and lower orders ensuring a superb victory. The Indian team remained unbeaten throughout the series. After 44 matches across seven venues, there is no doubt that the best team was crowned Under-19 World Champions.
These two victories round up what can be called one of the best days for Indian cricket.
Now, we just hope that the senior team beats Aussies in the second final. That would be the perfect icing on the cake.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
BCCI is a sham!
My last blog in December was about Saurav Ganguly making one of the most amazing comebacks in Indian cricket. Now, after a month, I post my next blog, and it is ironical that this time it’s about Saurav Ganguly being dropped from the Indian One-Day side! Kudos to BCCI for making the beginning of the end of Dada’s ODI career.
After all the “tamasha” of the last fortnight, just when Team India had begun to bond beautifully after the Perth victory, BCCI has ensured that the camaraderie is short-lived.
I was amazed when I first came to know that Saurav Ganguly had been excluded from the ODI side. I can understand Dravid’s and Laxman’s exclusion, but how can a person who has had an average of about 66 in the last year in ODIs be dropped. It’s just a mockery of the selection process.
BCCI says Dada was dropped because he is “not the best of fielder” in the team. Then what’s BCCI’s yardstick for keeping Sachin Tendulkar in the team? Does he get younger with every match he plays or is he one of the best fielders in the team? Sachin is a great batsman, no doubt, but by no means is he a great fielder. He is not anymore athletic than Dravid or Ganguly.
BCCI is nothing but a set of morons. It’s a sham.
I’ve always maintained that Indian selectors are a bunch of jokers. However, what I admire about them is they keep proving this fact time and again. That’s one thing consistent in Indian cricket.
Cheers once again to the (B)oard of (C)ontrol for (C)ircus in (I)ndia.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Souravmania is here to stay
What a year it has been for Sourav Ganguly. The man, who made the greatest comeback in cricket a year ago, scored 1,000 runs in a calendar year in both formats of the game, hit the first double century of his career, scored his maiden hundred at the Eden Gardens in front of his home crowd, and now, scored a century of Test matches when he stepped into the MCG on Wednesday.
From carrying drinks (or his refusal do so) in 1992, to his shirt-waving act at the Lords balcony, from making Steve Waugh wait at the Eden Gardens for the toss during the epic 2001 series, to the entire fiasco involving Greg Chappel, Dada has always been in the midst of many controversies, more non-cricketing than cricketing.
Now with his 100th Test at Melbourne, Dada has crossed a new landmark. And, I am sure it would be more satisfying to him than any of his other centuries. Going by his current form and body language, it seems retirement is still a far way off.
The man, who changed the tag of “tigers at home, rabbits abroad” that India carried earlier, has never looked hungrier for runs. Like him or hate him, but it is difficult to ignore the man who is “after God on the side”. Souravmania is here to stay.
From carrying drinks (or his refusal do so) in 1992, to his shirt-waving act at the Lords balcony, from making Steve Waugh wait at the Eden Gardens for the toss during the epic 2001 series, to the entire fiasco involving Greg Chappel, Dada has always been in the midst of many controversies, more non-cricketing than cricketing.
Now with his 100th Test at Melbourne, Dada has crossed a new landmark. And, I am sure it would be more satisfying to him than any of his other centuries. Going by his current form and body language, it seems retirement is still a far way off.
The man, who changed the tag of “tigers at home, rabbits abroad” that India carried earlier, has never looked hungrier for runs. Like him or hate him, but it is difficult to ignore the man who is “after God on the side”. Souravmania is here to stay.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Please invent a Time Machine, Mr Wells!
Three years of staying away from Kolkata has made me realise how important the city is to my life. There hasn’t been a single day that I have spent without reminiscing about Kolkata. Nostalgia strikes me, especially, when I am in the company of my Bengali buddies or when the drinking gets a bit heavy. At the same time, my eyes get moist and I feel a lump in my throat in the full knowledge that those days that I spent in Kolkata will never return.
I wish, along with the novel, Mr H G Wells had actually invented the Time Machine, so that I could relive those days… so that I would never miss...
...the sight of locals staring at westerners, or the ‘whites’, making them really conscious and uncomfortable. Few years ago, on a winter afternoon, I saw a bunch of ‘whites’ playing frisbee at the Maidan. It was surprising to notice that the real action was not inside the playing arena, but outside it, where a sizable crowd had gathered just to watch the ‘whites’ playing
...a bus ride for Rs 3
...a cup of cha at the roadside for Rs 2
...the chicken, mutton or egg rolls, or combinations, at roadside stalls starting from Rs 8
...a plate of chicken or egg chow mien at the same stall starting from Rs 10
...the juiciest mutton steaks at Olypub
...watching movies at Lighthouse, New Empire, Globe, Roxy, Metro, Chaplin, Elite, or one of the other English movie theatres. I felt very sad when, on my last trip, I saw Lighthouse had been turned into a shopping arcade
...the smoke and alcohol-filled evenings at Starlit Garden, the only-men’s bar at Park Street
...grabbing a quick beer on certain hot afternoons at Starlit Garden before proceeding to Kusum’s for their mouth-watering hot kathi rolls
...the Christmas week where the whole Park Street would be lit up from one end to the other with a huge Santa greeting people at the head of Park Street
...the Flury’s all day breakfast —a simple affair comprising eggs, toast, ham, bacon, sausages and brown bread
...michael’s roadside momo stall in Camac Street. The momos cost fifteen bucks for a plate of five on all weekdays from 11 am to 2 pm
...the great music at Someplace Else, a narrow dark room by the lobby of Park Hotel. I love the bar counter, the stage set up for a live band, the cocktails, good music and good finger food
...the makeshift book stalls constructed with wood, bamboo, sheets of corrugated tin and canvas on College Street, or ‘boi para’ as it is referred to by Bengalis
...the visits to one of the most ‘intellectual rendezvous’ in Kolkata, the Indian Coffe House. Every time I think about Coffee House and my college days, I listen to the evergreen song by Manna De – “Coffee house-er shei adda ta, aaj aar nei”
...the evenings that I spent watching the sunset at Outram Ghat having ‘cha’ in a ‘bhaar’
…bunking my classes to play cricket in the winter afternoons
… getting into the tin-plated buses, sharing an auto rickshaw with 5 (sometimes 6) other people, taking a ride in the tram and the metro rail, shopping my heart our in Esplanade, getting on the hand-pulled rickshaw and much much more.
Kolkata is not just a city for me. It’s an experience, an experience of a lifetime filled with so many fond memories... memories that would forever be a part of me. It is a city that would always be my home, no matter in which part of the world I live in.
I wish, along with the novel, Mr H G Wells had actually invented the Time Machine, so that I could relive those days… so that I would never miss...
...the sight of locals staring at westerners, or the ‘whites’, making them really conscious and uncomfortable. Few years ago, on a winter afternoon, I saw a bunch of ‘whites’ playing frisbee at the Maidan. It was surprising to notice that the real action was not inside the playing arena, but outside it, where a sizable crowd had gathered just to watch the ‘whites’ playing
...a bus ride for Rs 3
...a cup of cha at the roadside for Rs 2
...the chicken, mutton or egg rolls, or combinations, at roadside stalls starting from Rs 8
...a plate of chicken or egg chow mien at the same stall starting from Rs 10
...the juiciest mutton steaks at Olypub
...watching movies at Lighthouse, New Empire, Globe, Roxy, Metro, Chaplin, Elite, or one of the other English movie theatres. I felt very sad when, on my last trip, I saw Lighthouse had been turned into a shopping arcade
...the smoke and alcohol-filled evenings at Starlit Garden, the only-men’s bar at Park Street
...grabbing a quick beer on certain hot afternoons at Starlit Garden before proceeding to Kusum’s for their mouth-watering hot kathi rolls
...the Christmas week where the whole Park Street would be lit up from one end to the other with a huge Santa greeting people at the head of Park Street
...the Flury’s all day breakfast —a simple affair comprising eggs, toast, ham, bacon, sausages and brown bread
...michael’s roadside momo stall in Camac Street. The momos cost fifteen bucks for a plate of five on all weekdays from 11 am to 2 pm
...the great music at Someplace Else, a narrow dark room by the lobby of Park Hotel. I love the bar counter, the stage set up for a live band, the cocktails, good music and good finger food
...the makeshift book stalls constructed with wood, bamboo, sheets of corrugated tin and canvas on College Street, or ‘boi para’ as it is referred to by Bengalis
...the visits to one of the most ‘intellectual rendezvous’ in Kolkata, the Indian Coffe House. Every time I think about Coffee House and my college days, I listen to the evergreen song by Manna De – “Coffee house-er shei adda ta, aaj aar nei”
...the evenings that I spent watching the sunset at Outram Ghat having ‘cha’ in a ‘bhaar’
…bunking my classes to play cricket in the winter afternoons
… getting into the tin-plated buses, sharing an auto rickshaw with 5 (sometimes 6) other people, taking a ride in the tram and the metro rail, shopping my heart our in Esplanade, getting on the hand-pulled rickshaw and much much more.
Kolkata is not just a city for me. It’s an experience, an experience of a lifetime filled with so many fond memories... memories that would forever be a part of me. It is a city that would always be my home, no matter in which part of the world I live in.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
The ABC of Bengali
A is for Aaffice. This is where the average Kolkakattan goes and spends a day hard(ly) at work. If he is in the Government he will arrive at 10, wipe his forehead till 11, have a tea break at 12, throw around a few files at 12.30, break for lunch at 1, smoke an unfiltered cigarette at 2, break for tea at 3, sleep sitting down at 4 and go home at 5. It’s a hard life!
B is for Bhision. For some reason most of the Bengalis don’t have good bhision. In fact in Kolkata most people are wearing spectacles all the time. The effects of this show in the city.
C is for Chappell. This is the Bengali word for the Devil, for the worst form of evil. In the night mothers put their kids to sleep saying ‘go to bed, or Chappei will come and take you away.’
D is for Debashish. By an ancient law every fourth Bengali Child has to be named Debashish. So you have a Debashish everywhere and tying to get creative they are also called Deb, Debu, Deba with variations like Debnath and Deboprotim thrown in.
E is for Eeesh. This is a very common Bengali exclamation made famous by Aishwarya Rai in the movie Devdas. It is estimated that on an average a Bengali uses eeesh 10,089 times every year. (That’s counting eeesh and other eeesh-ish words).
F is for Feesh. These are creatures that swim in rivers and seas and are a favourite food of the Bengalis. Despite the fact that a fish market has such strong smells, with one sniff a Bengali knows if a fish is all right. If not he will say ‘eeesh what feeesh is theesh!’
G is for Good name. Every Bengali Boy will have a good name like Debashish or Deboprotim and a pet name like Shontuda, Chonti, and Dinku. While every Bengali Girl will be Paromita or Protima as well as Shampa, Champa and Tuki. Basically your nickname is there to kiil your goodname.
H is for Harmonium. The Bengali equivalent of a rock guitar. Take four Bengalis and a Harmonium and you have the successors to The Bheatles!
I is for lleesh. This is a feeesh with 10,000 bones which would kill any ordinary person, but which the Bengalis eat with releeesh!
J is for Jhola. No self respecting Bengali is complete without his Jhola. It is a shapeless cloth bag where he keeps all his belongings and he fits an amazing number of things in. Even as you read this there are 2 million jholas bobbling around Kolkata- and they all look exactly the same!
K is for Kee Kando. It used to be the favourite Bengali exclamation till eeesh took over because of Aishwarya Rai (now Kee Kando’s agent is trying to hire Bipasha Basu).
L is for Lungi. People in Kolkata manage to play football and cricket wearing it. Now there is talk of a lungi expedition to Mt. Everest.
M is for Minibus. These are dangerous half buses whose antics would effortlessly frighten the living daylights out of Formula 1 race drivers.
N is for Nangtoe. This is the Bengali word for Naked. It is the most interesting naked word in any language!
O is for Oil. The Bengalis believe that a touch of mustard oil will cure anything from cold (oil in the nose), to earache (oil in the ear), to cough (oil on the throat) to piles (oil you know where!)
P is for Phootball. This is always a phavourite phassion of the Kolkattan. Every Bengali is born an expert in this game. The two biggest clubs there are Mohunbagan and East Bengal and when they play the city comes to a stop.
Q is for Queen. This really has nothing to do with the Bengalis or Kolkata, but it’s the only Q word I could think of at this moment. There’s also Quilt but they never use them in Kolkata.
R is for Rabi Thakur. Many years ago Rabindranath got the Nobel Prize. This allows everyone in Kolkata to frame their acceptance speeches and walk with their head held high and look down at Delhi and Mumbai!
S is for Sardarjee whom Bengalis are very envious of because he is born with a semi-monkey cap on.
T is for Trams. Hundred years later there are still trams in Kolkata. Of course if you are in a hurry it’s faster to walk.
U is for Ambrela. When a Bengali baby is born they are handed one.
V is for Violence. Bengalis are the most non-violent violent people around. When an accident happens they will shout and scream and curse and abuse, but the last time someone actually hit someone was in 1979.
W is for Water. For three months of the year the city is underwater and every year for the last 200 years the authorities are taken by surprise by this!
X is for X mas. It’s very big in Kolkata, with Park Street fully lit up.
Y is for Yastarday. Which is always better than today for a Bengali.
Z is for Jeebra, Joo, Jip and Jylophone.
B is for Bhision. For some reason most of the Bengalis don’t have good bhision. In fact in Kolkata most people are wearing spectacles all the time. The effects of this show in the city.
C is for Chappell. This is the Bengali word for the Devil, for the worst form of evil. In the night mothers put their kids to sleep saying ‘go to bed, or Chappei will come and take you away.’
D is for Debashish. By an ancient law every fourth Bengali Child has to be named Debashish. So you have a Debashish everywhere and tying to get creative they are also called Deb, Debu, Deba with variations like Debnath and Deboprotim thrown in.
E is for Eeesh. This is a very common Bengali exclamation made famous by Aishwarya Rai in the movie Devdas. It is estimated that on an average a Bengali uses eeesh 10,089 times every year. (That’s counting eeesh and other eeesh-ish words).
F is for Feesh. These are creatures that swim in rivers and seas and are a favourite food of the Bengalis. Despite the fact that a fish market has such strong smells, with one sniff a Bengali knows if a fish is all right. If not he will say ‘eeesh what feeesh is theesh!’
G is for Good name. Every Bengali Boy will have a good name like Debashish or Deboprotim and a pet name like Shontuda, Chonti, and Dinku. While every Bengali Girl will be Paromita or Protima as well as Shampa, Champa and Tuki. Basically your nickname is there to kiil your goodname.
H is for Harmonium. The Bengali equivalent of a rock guitar. Take four Bengalis and a Harmonium and you have the successors to The Bheatles!
I is for lleesh. This is a feeesh with 10,000 bones which would kill any ordinary person, but which the Bengalis eat with releeesh!
J is for Jhola. No self respecting Bengali is complete without his Jhola. It is a shapeless cloth bag where he keeps all his belongings and he fits an amazing number of things in. Even as you read this there are 2 million jholas bobbling around Kolkata- and they all look exactly the same!
K is for Kee Kando. It used to be the favourite Bengali exclamation till eeesh took over because of Aishwarya Rai (now Kee Kando’s agent is trying to hire Bipasha Basu).
L is for Lungi. People in Kolkata manage to play football and cricket wearing it. Now there is talk of a lungi expedition to Mt. Everest.
M is for Minibus. These are dangerous half buses whose antics would effortlessly frighten the living daylights out of Formula 1 race drivers.
N is for Nangtoe. This is the Bengali word for Naked. It is the most interesting naked word in any language!
O is for Oil. The Bengalis believe that a touch of mustard oil will cure anything from cold (oil in the nose), to earache (oil in the ear), to cough (oil on the throat) to piles (oil you know where!)
P is for Phootball. This is always a phavourite phassion of the Kolkattan. Every Bengali is born an expert in this game. The two biggest clubs there are Mohunbagan and East Bengal and when they play the city comes to a stop.
Q is for Queen. This really has nothing to do with the Bengalis or Kolkata, but it’s the only Q word I could think of at this moment. There’s also Quilt but they never use them in Kolkata.
R is for Rabi Thakur. Many years ago Rabindranath got the Nobel Prize. This allows everyone in Kolkata to frame their acceptance speeches and walk with their head held high and look down at Delhi and Mumbai!
S is for Sardarjee whom Bengalis are very envious of because he is born with a semi-monkey cap on.
T is for Trams. Hundred years later there are still trams in Kolkata. Of course if you are in a hurry it’s faster to walk.
U is for Ambrela. When a Bengali baby is born they are handed one.
V is for Violence. Bengalis are the most non-violent violent people around. When an accident happens they will shout and scream and curse and abuse, but the last time someone actually hit someone was in 1979.
W is for Water. For three months of the year the city is underwater and every year for the last 200 years the authorities are taken by surprise by this!
X is for X mas. It’s very big in Kolkata, with Park Street fully lit up.
Y is for Yastarday. Which is always better than today for a Bengali.
Z is for Jeebra, Joo, Jip and Jylophone.
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