skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The Romanian New Wave, known for naturalistic depictions of life in the country, has given us some truly memorable gems in the last few years. Tuesday, After Christmas, though not of the same caliber as say 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, 12:08 East of Bucharest, California Dreamin’, Tales from the Golden Age, etc., is nonetheless another feather in the country’s cap. A tale on adultery and the aftermaths of its revelation, the film is about a middle-aged married man with a doting daughter, who has fallen in love with a pretty and much younger lady. Despite the seemingly lurid theme, it has portrayed the events and the characters as utterly and unspectacularly quotidian, as a consequence of which the dynamics and the interactions are both believable and subtly disquieting. The fact that the revelation takes place around the time of Christmas – an occasion otherwise marked by celebration, happiness and familial bonding, has made this movie quietly resonating, heartbreaking and powerful as well. Minimalistic and intensely realistic in nature, the film is largely bereft of any background scores or quotable dialogues, has made great use of gripping long takes, and is filled with exceedingly naturalistic performances.
Director: Radu Muntean
Genre: Drama/Family Drama
Language: Romanian
Country: Romania
The Godfather Part III was the final chapter in Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy. Though it undoubtedly pales in comparison to the towering brilliance of the first two films in the trilogy, it still stands as a good film that brought the epic saga to a satisfactory and meaningful conclusion. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), now an ageing patriarch of the immensely powerful Corleone family, is on one hand trying his best to keep his promise to his former wife by making the family business fully legit, while at the same time completely being engulfed by an overarching sense of deep guilt over his various acts of crime and violence - especially that of his brother Fredo’s cold blooded execution. The film therefore was as much about keeping up with a new series of antagonists, particularly the cocky celebrity-gangster Joey Zaza and the smooth-talking and back-stabbing Don Altobello (Eli Wallach), as it was about Michael’s poignant reminiscing of his life that could have been and his futile attempts at redemption and peace of mind. The film is a tad uneven at parts. Its performances too are mixed – while Eli Wallach and Andy Garcia (as the illegitimate son of Michael’s long-dead elder brother Andy, and the chosen successor to the clan) were good, Sofia Coppola was a severe disappointment as Michael’s naïve daughter; Al Pacino’s performance too was affecting without ever touching greatness. The film was exceptionally photographed as before, and the final scene, which was both ironic and sad, had a sense of Shakespearean tragedy written on it.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Genre: Crime Drama/Gangster Film/Ensemble Film
Language: English/Sicilian
Country: US
Rabindranath Tagore was a polymath if there ever was one. The Renaissance Man of India (lovingly referred to by the sobriquet “Kobi Guru”, or The Great Bard) was a poet, composer, song writer, novelist, short story writer, playwright and painter (and prolific in each of these); he was also a philosopher, nationalist, educationist, social reformer, humanist, great admirer of natural sciences, and tireless spokesperson for world peace. India’s greatest genius and one of the most versatile geniuses the world has ever known, he was also the biggest idol of Satyajit Ray, a versatile genius himself. The documentary Rabindranath Tagore, which might as well be qualified as “Genius on Genius” (aptly quoted by one of my professors while introducing it to the audience), was made on the occasion of the bard’s birth centenary as homage to the Bengali Nobel laureate by one of his most devoted pupils. The film chronicles the life and times of Tagore, along with references to his fascinating lineage, his incredibly progressive philosophies, and his vision for a world sans war and violence. It comprises of both original footages as well as some dramatized sequences, with Ray’s baritone providing the stirring narration. Ray reportedly remarked about the documentary, “Ten or twelve minutes of it are among the most moving and powerful things that I have produced.”
Director: Satyajit Ray
Genre: Documentary
Language: English/Bengali
Country: India
James Stewart starred in a number of Anthony Mann films, and The Naked Star is usually considered the their best collaboration. One of the early examples of revisionist Westerns, it is far removed from the good guy-bad guy story-lines typified by Classic Westerns. Stewart here plays Howard Kemp, bounty-hunter who isn’t just laconic but also prefers to be a lone wolf. He is forced to enlist the assistance of an old brusque prospector and a young dishonourably discharged soldier, in order to catch hold of Ben (excellently played by Robert Ryan), a notorious and maniacal fugitive, take him to the concerned authority, and collect the ransom that has been declared by the state. None of the characters in the film is flawless, consequently the journey of the group is made as much perilous by the harsh, arid landscape they must travel to, but also the intense psychological rivalry between the trio (on account of their inherent lack of trust towards each other) – the psychotic captive makes full use of the latter by continually supplying more and more fuel into the fire. Meanwhile, also tagging along with them is a hotheaded beaut (Janet Leigh) who happens to be Ben’s girlfriend; only that, over the course of their journey, she and Kemp start developing mutual feelings for each other. The crisp, violent film is therefore more about psychological warfare than actual fights, though it still boasted of some memorable action sequences culminating in a brutal climax.
Director: Anthony Mann
Genre: Western/Psychological Western/Action
Language: English
Country: US
The second chapter in Bergman’s much acclaimed “Trilogy of Faith”, Winter Light is a fierce, austere and distressing examination on religion, faith and despair. This would rank as one of the starkest and bleakest films made by the Swedish master – that’s something given that Bergman was never known for making easy, audience-friendly movies anyway. The film has only three characters worth noting – Tomas (Gunnar Bjornstrand), a middle-aged pastor in a small rural church, suffering from a severe bout of spiritual crisis and emotional turbulence, and tormented by his inability to decide on god’s existence; Marta (Ingrid Thulin), a school-teacher and Tomas’ former mistress who’s almost devotional in her blind love for the seemingly cold pastor; and, Jonas (Max Von Sydow), a suicidal fisherman who somehow seems to the pastor as an extrapolation of his subconscious. Completely bereft of music and shot in static black-and-white, Bergman employed lingering moments of silence, long takes, uncomfortable close-ups, and a desolate surrounding to reflect not just “God’s silence” but also the complex and disconsolate state of the pastor’s mind. The fact that the pastor is a stand-in for the director himself, makes this harsh, superbly-enacted drama that much more poignant and powerful.
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Religious Drama
Language: Swedish
Country: Sweden
The Norwegian film Insomnia, which was later remade in the US by Christopher Nolan, is a dark and moody psychological thriller that is as gripping as it is quietly unsettling. Jonas Engstrom, a taciturn Swedish homicide cop arrives in a godforsaken Norwegian town to investigate the murder of a young girl; assisting him are his partner Erik, and Hilda, a local cop with a sharp mind of her own. The case takes a turn for the worse when Engstrom accidentally shoots his partner, forcing him to cover it up. We soon enough realize that Engstrom, otherwise revered by his colleagues, is in essence a deeply flawed character. And, to add to that he starts suffering from insomnia on account of the 24-hour sunshine which leaves his cold sense of judgement severely compromised. Thus what ensues is a cat-and-mouse game where the increasingly edgy detective must not just stay a step ahead of his smart antagonist, but also Hilda who starts growing suspicious about him, and not to forget his barely controlled temptations too. The location plays a vital role by adding subtle layers to the storyline as well as Engstrom’s character. The excellently paced film is expertly acted by the cast, led from the front by the veteran Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard. His superb turn of a man being gradually led to the edge of his sanity by his inability to sleep (and consequently, think rationally), coupled with taut and competent direction, have led this brooding Scandinavian thriller, with quintessentially European sensibilities, to a fine denouement.
Director: Eric Skjoldbjaerg
Genre: Thriller/Psychological Thriller/Detective Film/Police Procedural/Post-Noir
Languages: Norwegian/Swedish
Country: Norway
