Tintorettor Jishu (Tintoretto's Jesus) [2008]

Adapted from a novel written by the legendary Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Tintorettor Jishu is the third “Feluda” venture of Sandip Ray, Satyajit Ray’s son. This is a taut, enjoyable and fun ride where private detective Prodosh Mitter aka Feluda (played very well by Sabyasachi Chakraborty) uses his enviable combination of brains and brawns to retrieve an invaluable painting by famous Italian painter Tintoretto. Though originally written as a whodunit by Satyajit Ray, Sandip has turned it into more of an adventure tale where the action packed climax takes place at the sprawling city of Hong Kong. Despite the competent handling and the undeniable entertainment aspect of the film, arguably the biggest obstacles that the director faced were the inescapable presence of his late father’s aura as well as the memories and nostalgia surrounding Feluda – one of the most popular characters of Bengali literature; and sadly the unforgettable character of Lalmohan “Jatayu” Ganguly has been reduced to petty comic buffoonery. The movie is a clear indication of the fact that it is high time Sandip Ray stopped being his father’s son and become his own man if he wants to leave a legacy of his own. The movie Nishijapon showed his capabilities as a filmmaker.









Director: Sandip Ray
Genre: Thriller/Action/Adventure/Mystery/Detective Movie
Language: Bengali
Country: India

Joint Security Area [2000]

Park Chan-Wook, famous for his brilliant, visceral depictions of violence in the now legendary Vengeance Trilogy, directed this otherwise sentimental anti-war movie prior to his ferocious Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. The movie starts with two alternate presentations of what might have led to shootouts and two murders at the highly brittle DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) between the two Koreas – the result of which could be renewed hostilities and worse, full-scale war. A neutral Swiss citizen of Korean origin (charmingly played by the lady who would later reverse conventions with devastating effect in Lady Vengeance) is asked to unearth what actually transpired; what follows is an unlikely but doomed tale of friendship and camaraderie that dared to defy synthetic man-made borders and barriers. Though the irony of the climax could have been more subtle and understated and the plot at times overtly borders on the maudlin, this is nonetheless a well-enacted tale dealt with enormous sensitivity and a good mixture of humour, satire and pathos by the director.








Director: Park Chan-Wook
Genre: Drama/War/Mystery/Political Drama
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

A Wednesday [2008]

Directed by debutant filmmaker Neeraj Pandey, A Wednesday is an assured thriller with a subject matter that is very relevant for today’s India (and more so, ironically, for Mumbai – the city this film is based on). Based on a fateful Wednesday afternoon, the movie chronicles the sensational attempt of a “stupid common man” to make a powerful statement to those concerned. At less than 90 minutes, this crisply edited and whirlwind of a thriller could easily qualify as one of the shortest outputs of Bollywood. The acting, too, is spot on, with the brigade being led by the iconic character actor Naseeruddin Shah at his most powerful as well as nuanced and identifiable. Though the message at times borders on the rhetoric, and the resources that the “stupid common man” calls upon and the precision with which he operates might seem too fantastic to believe, they might easily be ignored for the sake of the basic intent of the director and originality of the plot. This is a smart effort with an even smarter final twist.









Director: Neeraj Pandey
Genre: Thriller/Psychological Thriller
Language: Hindi
Country: India

Chaturanga (Four Chapters) [2008]

Noted theatre personality Suman Mukhopadhyay, who made a name for himself with his brilliant debut feature Herbert, chose one of Tagore’s most famous novels for his sophomore film. This is a complex psychoanalytical tale on love, friendship, socio-religious beliefs and inner ideological conflicts. Though I haven’t read the novel, watching the film was evident enough that translating the work into celluloid must have been a very tough act; consequently the director's conviction and courage deserve appreciation. Set in colonial Bengal, this is the tale of Sachish, who experiences radical swings of personal beliefs from positivism (atheism) to mysticism to finally disillusionment, coupled with his complex relationships with Sribilash, a cynical man of the world, and Damini, a passionate lady albeit a widow. Though the director’s presence is undeniable, and the acting, art direction, etc., too, are good, the movie does end up leaving one a tad disappointed. The reason for that isn’t really the director’s fault; rather it could be attributed to the difficult (and extremely) philosophical subject and sheer depth of the characters.








Director: Suman Mukhopadhyay
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Existential Drama/Religious Drama/Romance
Language: Bengali
Country: India

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring [2003]

Often considered to be the finest work till date of Korean enfant terrible Kim Ki-Duk, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… and Spring is an intensely philosophical work of art. This dream like fable is set at a small Buddhist monastery located at somewhere in an unbelievably serene landscape of remarkable natural beauty. The movie follows the life of a character through the various seasons of nature as well as life – from childhood through adulthood to old age, and covering a plethora of experiences including joy, sorrow, lust, jealousy, rage, tranquility and bliss. In essence, it has captured the cyclical journey of life, and ironically a vicious one at that. The movie is lyrical in content, comprises of very few spoken words (a common link for all the Kim Ki-Duk films that I've seen), and is embalming for those with a philosophical bend of mind; however, scratch the surface a little, and you’ll notice a very palpable and disturbing statement on the inherent violence in human nature. The acting is good, managing to capture the various nuances of the story. Interestingly, the director cast himself in one of the seasons (winter), and did a fine job at it.








Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

The Proposition [2005]

The Proposition, in the modern tradition of revisionist or (as some fellahs like to put it) deconstructionist Westerns – a sublime example of which is Unforgiven – is a disconcerting and unforgiving work of astonishing visual clarity and fascinating storytelling. The movie has covered the entire spectrum, ranging, as a reviewer neatly summed up, from the beautiful to the brutal, and from the mesmerizing to the menacing. At its heart lie the themes of loyalty, revenge, justice and redemption. Set against a harsh and turbulent Australian landscape, the movie starts off with a bloody gunfight following which a weary British cop gives a proposition to an Aussie outlaw – he must kill his deranged older brother in order to save his naive younger sibling from the gallows. Aided by a brilliantly laid out script, stunning photography, and a melancholic soundtrack that manages to lend an evocative air to the moments of chilling carnage, the movie is an explosive masterstroke where terrific acting performances have coalesced with a very potent message of hope amidst lawlessness and desolation. This harrowing yet profoundly lyrical tale, with its barely concealed simmering rage as well as its exceedingly disturbing depictions of loneliness, brutality, honour and conflicting conscience, is a visceral poetry on violence; in that sense another brilliant movie of recent times comes to my mind, Cronenberg’s “mainstream” masterpiece A History of Violence.

To read a more detailed review of the movie by me, click here.








Director: John Hillcoat
Genre: Western/Psychological Drama
Language: English
Country: Australia

Cronos [1993]

-->Cronos was the movie that didn’t just introduce Mexican auteur Guillermo Del Toro to cinegoers, but also his freakish story-telling skills. Cronos is more of a psychological horror movie than a physical one. It is a unique and innovatively concocted reversal of the classic vampire tales. An elderly owner of a curio shop chances upon a device that grants one of mankind’s greatest desires – eternal life to those who use it. However, it also has its cons as the benevolent Mexican soon discovers after his ‘death’. To complicate matters a dying megalomaniac, too, is after it, with his thuggish nephew in tow. Having earlier watched his two masterpieces The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth, Cronos is an indication of an extremely talented director’s fast growing maturity and signature touch. Be it through the subtle ironies of human existence, the pathos of the curse that is immortality, or the undying devotion of the little girl towards her grandfather even through his pathetic after-life – this is a tender and imaginative movie that forms an important preamble to Del Toro’s subsequent works.





Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Genre: Horror/Psychological Horror/Vampire Movie
Language: Spanish
Country: Mexico

13 Tzameti [2005]

Shot in grainy black and white, made with a tight leash on the economic aspects, and eerily minimalist in composition, French filmmaker Gela Babluani’s debut feature 13 Tzameti is a sparse yet effective thriller. It is an austere tale of psychological terror, at the heart of which lies a subtle and intelligent variation of Russian roulette, where the players and members of an underground society participate in a deadly game of highest possible stakes. The director’s younger brother, in his (you guessed it) debut acting performance, has done a fine job in the role of the protagonist who realizes in the worst possible manner, as a critic so aptly put it, that “there’s no such thing as free lunch.” This low budget arthouse movie with a deceptively calm and mundane opening, allows a steady buildup of tension. Though neither greatly nerve-wracking nor filled with any remarkable character study, this ingenious low-budget movie nonetheless points towards a promising career for the director.









Director: Gela Babluani
Genre: Thriller/Psychological Thriller
Language: French
Country: France

Closely Watched Trains [1966]

One of the most outstanding products of the sixties’ Czech New Wave movement, Jiri Menzel’s Closely Watched Trains is a black political satire presented in the garb of a delectable and farcical comedy. Like his latest work I Served the King of England, at the heart of the movie lies a charming and deceptively innocent fable (with a diminutive protagonist) that is as much an absurdist parable as it is a sharp political critique. The movie follows a soft spoken but seemingly apathetic young guy, Milos, who has gotten the safe job of a railroad worker during the turbulent and draconian Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia. What follows is a curiously funny coming-of-age story, but with enough allusions and indications that his safely ensconced existence is surely on the path of experiencing a tragic turn of events. Filled with unforgettable incidents, fascinating characters that could easily be called parodies, and moments of wry black humour and farce, this universally acknowledged masterpiece and deeply human anti-war movie deserves far wider recognition in popular circles.








Director: Jiri Menzel
Genre: Comedy/Political Satire/War Drama/Resistance Movie/Coming of Age
Language: Czech
Country: Czech Republic (erstwhile Czechoslovakia)

Race [2008]

There’s a thin line of distinction between stylish directions and employing gimmickry to entice the viewers; Race unfortunately falls in the latter category. Unlike the Coen Brothers, the brother duo of Abbas-Mustan are never known to venture beyond the genre of fast thrillers, and are always known for playing to the gallery; further ‘plagiarism’ is a word they do not treat with contempt. At the heart of the movie lies an insurance policy for accidental deaths, whose source lies in the noir classic Double Indemnity. The story revolves around a meandering plot (with more twists than even the makers of Fargo could have conceived) filled with the usual elements of lust, betrayal and murder. The movie is saved from being a damp squib by the entertaining thrill-a-minute ride and the strong acting performances by the three male leads – Saif Ali Khan as a brooding millionaire, Akshay Khanna as his scheming half-brother, and Anil Kapoor as a gleefully sleazy detective with a voluptuous dumb-as-a-dodo assistant in tow.









Directors: Abbas-Mustan
Genre: Thriller/Crime Thriller/Neo-Noir
Language: Hindi
Country: India

Jules and Jim (Jules et Jim) [1962]

--> -->Jules and Jim, legendary French auteur Francois Truffaut’s third film, is considered to be one of the seminal works of the French Nouvelle Vague movement, and rated by many as his greatest masterpiece. Even though there’s no doubting the movie’s artistic merit, to me it didn’t manage to attain the magnificent glory of his first two features – The 400 Blows and Shoot the Piano Player, the latter being my personal Truffaut favourite. A classic treatise on the free-love movement, the movie focuses on the memorable friendship of its two eponymous character – Jules, a shy German guy, and Jim, an extroverted Frenchman, and their destructive love for Catherine, a thoroughly enigmatic and free-spirited lady, “the real woman”. The movie is as famous for its non-conformist spirit and tragic aftermaths of the protagonists' ménage à trois, as it is for its innovative approach on the technical front. Though never Godardian in its execution, it still manages to achieve a level of technical virtuosity through its subtle usage of such iconic techniques as freeze frames, jump cuts, handheld camera movements et al.





Director: Francois Truffaut
Genre: Drama/Romance/Buddy Film/Avant Garde
Language: French
Country: France

Amelie [2001]

Amelie is one of those movies which are extremely difficult to categorize in simple terms – it could be called a modern day fairy tale, a poignant human drama or a black comedy in equal measures. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Amelie is as quirky in its portrayal of some of the most oddball and memorably atypical characters one can hope to come across, as it is enthralling for its stunning visuals and imageries. Amelie, a lonely, shy and good-hearted girl, whose growing years can be called anything but normal, decides to leave her stamp on the world through small deeds that end up leaving lasting imprints on the lives of those concerned, including herself. Armed with an exceedingly fertile imagination, loads of creative energy, a soft-corner for fellow kindhearted misfits like her, and a charming personality that is as contagious as her quirky acts of selflessness, the delightful personality of Amelie is heartwarming in its characterization. The movie is filled with deftly concocted humour, wit and a lovely mixture of humanism and a delectably skewed sense of observation. Though the movie seems to drag a bit in the middle due to repetitiveness of a few developments, but they get lost easily in the ingenious plot and an utterly engaging style of narrative. This whimsical fable does deserve every bit of attention and accolades it received upon its release.








Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Genre: Comedy/Romantic Comedy
Language: French
Country: France

Ashes and Diamonds [1958]

Polish master Andrzej Wajda’s most famous (and perhaps his finest) film, Ashes and Diamonds was the final chapter in his famed World War II trilogy. The movie, set on the last day of 20^th Century’s most acrimonious war, in one of the worst affected countries – Poland, this is a deeply anti-war movie; it is thought-provoking, but never overtly aggressive. The plot involves a young member of the underground resistance movement being entrusted with the job of carrying out an assassination. But the movie, in essence, focuses on much more – ranging from political confusion and ideological ambiguity in a mission which for outsiders and fanatics was wither black or white, to love and comradeship at times of war. Though the subtitles gave me a lot of trouble (the bit rates of the movie and the subtitles were different, and hence necessitated a lot of adjusting) and didn’t let me have a very fulfilling experience, the Camus-esque existentialism and the strangely affecting performance of the lead actor, posthumously labeled Polish James Dean for his promising career having been cut short by his tragic death, caught my attention nonetheless.








Director: Andrzej Wajda
Genre: Drama/Political Drama/Resistance Film/War Drama
Language: Polish
Country: Poland

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead [2007]

Veteran American director Sidney Lumet has always been a searing critic of the “American Dream”, most notably in two of his most legendary movies – 12 Angry Men and Dog Day Afternoon. And his latest movie is a masterly study of the complex interplay between seemingly easily definable characters, on the backdrop of a disastrous jewellery store heist. The movie, through its grim and severely claustrophobic narrative, and through terrific usage of flashbacks and shifting perspectives (point-of views), presents a distressing picture of an urban landscape where dysfunctional families, misplaced loyalties, vacuous sense of ethics, unforgiving modes lifestyles, and a twisted sense of natural justice, are the unfortunate orders of the day. Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a cocky and seemingly successful career-man with a sultry trophy wife, Ethan Hawke as his intellectually and monetarily challenged brother, and Albert Finney as their surprisingly dogged and ruthless father, have given remarkable performances to present a rapidly decaying social and moral structure, filled to brim with such elements as lust, betrayal, frustrations and at times downright idiocy, in this dark, distressing thriller.









Director: Sidney Lumet
Genre: Crime Thriller/Psychological Drama/Family Drama/Heist Movie
Language: English
Country: US

Singin' in the Rain [1952]

I can’t say that I have seen all the great musicals that are there to see; in fact musicals aren’t my favourite genre to start with. But of all the ones that I have seen, Singin’ in the Rain has got to be my favourite (may the makers of Sound of Music, An Englishman in Paris, My Fair Lady et al rest in peace). A delightfully loving homage on Hollywood’s dream factory, the movie has provided a captivating portrayal of star system and the real people behind the makeup, though a slapstick superstar of silent movies (Gene Kelly at his enthralling, histrionic best) and an ingenue who hates the glossy make-believe world portrayed therein (played charmingly by Debbie Reynolds), at the backdrop of cinema’s revolutionary and historic transition from silent films to talkies. Hilarious, humourous, satirical, affable, poignant, insightful – this is heartfelt, nostalgic and good cinema at its best. And who can ever forget Gene Kelly tap-dancing his way to glory to the title track “I’m Singin’ in the Rain”, rendered unforgettably by the mellifluous baritone of Frank Sinatra, in one of the most brilliantly choreographed and photographed sequences in film history. Pure magic.








Director: Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
Genre: Comedy/Musical/Showbiz Comedy/Satire
Language: English
Country: US

Paris, Texas [1984]

Paris, Texas ranks as the best film by celebrated German filmmaker Wim Wenders, and is often counted among the finest movies ever made. This is a marvelous road movie that delves into spiritual, post-modernist and psycho-analytical issues. The vast American landscape with its neon billboards, long uninterrupted highways and vast uncharted territories has been wonderfully employed to depict human alienation where communication has become a difficult parameter. Right from its lazily captivating opening sequence, where a mysterious looking man without any name or identity is seen wandering about the Texan deserts, the director keeps us enthralled. Soon we come to know that he has been missing for the last four years and has a young son who is being looked after by his thoroughly Americanized brother and his wife. But the reasons for his sudden disappearance are revealed only at the end through the now legendary one-way glass monologue. Like Alice in the Cities, another majestic road movie by Wenders, here too the complex relationship between a disenchanted adult and an exuberant child plays at the forefront of the movie. Harry Dean Stanton, as the melancholic, taciturn and deeply human protagonist Travis, is brilliant in his understated portrayal; and so is the performance of the kid who plays his young son slowly getting to connect with his father. The long, evocative camera shots and the minimalist acoustic guitar riffs play vital roles in presenting a poetic tale of loneliness, lost love and home-coming.

p.s. My more recent review of this film can be found here.

Director: Wim Wenders
Genre: Drama/Road Movie
Language: English
Country: Germany/US

Away with Words [1998]

Away with Words has nearly everything that could be there in the cinematography section – from point-of-view shots to flashforwards, from subdued blue filters to bright natural lightings, from standstills to motion blurs; and they are all a treat to the eye. Of course, coming from world’s most famous DOP Christopher Doyle (of Chungking Express and Hero fame), this was expected – more so since he had complete carte blanche given that this is his directorial venture. And one cannot deny the fact that his exceptional usage of visual montages has created an intensely surreal feast for the viewers. However, it can’t also be denied that Doyle’s directorial debut is an exceedingly curious, psychedelic and experimental movie devoid of any narrative, despite the theme of loneliness and alienation trough the tale of its two protagonists – a Chinese guy with the ability to associate physical dimensions with abstract words, and a hard-drinking Australian (undoubtedly Doyle’s alter ego). Too many liberties were taken where more restraint was necessary principally because Doyle the cinematographer strongly overshadowed Doyle the filmmaker. Hence the end product is a visual delight for the eyes but a bizarre jumble of undecipherable sequences for the mind.









Director: Christopher Doyle
Genre: Psychological Drama/Ensemble Film/Experimental
Language: Chinese
Country: China (Hong Kong)

3-Iron (Bin-Jip) [2004]

Controversial Korean director Kim Ki-Duk’s 3-Iron is a uniquely beautiful and an immensely contemplative movie. The movie is filled with deeply existential and philosophical undertones, thanks in large parts to its sparse dialogues, beautifully choreographed imagery, and the hauntingly surreal narrative. In fact, the two principal protagonists of the movie – a strangely psychotic drifter who surreptitiously moves in unoccupied houses only to spend some serene time and do some unexpected philanthropy, and a fragile and bruised married lady living a torturous existence under complete domination of her volatile husband – are never seen conversing with each other, and yet develop a profound, platonic relationship where eye glances, facial expressions and soft touches take the place of words. Despite being punctured with displays as well as implications of brutality and violence, the movie is filled with layers of symbolisms and a lingering sense of sadness where dreams and reality are juxtaposed to an extent where they remain hardly separable.









Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Genre: Drama/Romantic Drama/Psychological Drama
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

California Dreamin' (Endless) [2007]

I’m really falling in love with Romanian cinema (Romanian New Wave if you will). There is a distinct and instantly recognizable flavour to their movies (be it 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, 12:08 East of Bucharest or this one, my last movie at 2008 Kolkata Film Festival) – grim and compelling realism, bold take on troubling socio-political issues, minimalist in composition and often deadpan satires. The first and only film of Cristian Nemescu (he died in a car crash while the movie was in post-production) California Dreamin’ (Endless) is an exceedingly enjoyable yet bitingly cynical fable set during the infamous Kosovo War. Brilliantly enacted by its ensemble cast, the movie presents a small Romanian village community and a group of American soldiers carrying NATO equipments, where each of the principal protagonists are driven by their own agenda (selfish or otherwise) – the Captain of the army group whose only concern is the deadline, the soft spoken Sergeant, the servile local Mayor striving to attract investments, the stationmaster who hates anything to do with America, his physically captivating and rebellious daughter, and the school nerd secretly in love with her. Despite the jerky camera motions or scrappy editing in the last third of the film, this is a powerful movie suffused with sharply observed insight, dark but enjoyable humour, a deep sense of pathos, and masterful interjections of satire and irony. The director’s untimely death is indeed a great loss for the world of cinema.


To read a more detailed review of the movie by me, click here.








Director: Cristian Nemescu
Genre: Drama/Comedy/Political Satire/Black Comedy/Ensemble Film
Language: Romanian
Country: Romania