Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali [1955], Aparajito [1956], Apur Sansar [1959]

Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road), Aparajito (The Unvanquished) and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu), the three mesmerizing, lyrical tales encapsulating Apu’s journey from birth and childhood to adolescence to manhood, respectively, (cinematic equivalent of Bildungsroman), propelled Satyajit Ray from an aspiring filmmaker and cinephile to immortality as the greatest genius of post-independent India. Apu’s fascinating relationship with his elder sister Durga in Pather Panchali, his taking over responsibility after his father’s demise in Aparajito, his fleeting attempt to be a family man in Apur Sansar – these are themes that have been etched in my mind. Watching the lyricism, the bleary-eyed beauty, the complex and multi-layered character development of Apu, the emphasis on the sensory and visuals over narrative reminiscent of films of the silent era, the strong influence from the distinctive Italian genre of neorealism (Ray was heavily influenced by Vittorio De Sica’s The Bicycle Thief), one can feel Ray’s passion and love for cinema, and appreciate his impeccable eye for detail. Stories of how Ray managed to complete Pather Panchali with limited funds and against numerous obstacles are stuff that legends are made of. Apur Sansar, perhaps the best among equals, also kick-started Ray’s long and fascinating collaboration with actor Soumitra Chatterjee, whose sensitive and intense portrayal of Apu’s manhood is terrific to say the least. The beauty, joy and pathos painted in the Apu trilogy are unmatched in any trilogy before or since.





Director: Satyajit Ray
Genre: Drama/Family Drama/Rural Drama/Coming-of-Age/Urban Drama/Psychological Drama/Epic
Language: Bengali
Country: India

Breathless (A Bout De Souffle) [1960]

One of the greatest movies ever made, Breathless, upon its release, revolutionized motion pictures forever, and established itself as a cinematic as well as a cultural icon. Arguably the most seminal work of Nouvelle Vague or the French New Wave movement, and former Cashiers Du Cinema critic and the great French intellectual Jean-Luc Godard’s audacious debut feature, Breathless was a treatise on existentialism, love and betrayal; it was also a clever rework of as well as a loving homage to the popular American genres of gangster and film noir, and the prevalent pop culture. The characters of the movie’s protagonists – Michel, a casual gangster who likes imitating Humphrey Bogart and on the lam after killing a cop, and Patricia, an American girl who sells New York Herald Tribune in front of Champs-Elysees in Paris, are as well etched as that of the city of Paris, evocatively photographed in grainy black-and-whites. The jagged narrative, sudden jump cuts, characters speaking to the camera, deliberate distortion of spatial uniformity, ad-libbed dialogues – these were but few of the iconoclastic signatures of the film. Godard’s great contemporary Francois Truffaut (who, incidentally had written the story for the movie) aptly summed up the film’s immense stature when he famously stated that, “There are movies before Breathless, and there are movies after Breathless”. Touché.

Note: My recent review of the film can be found here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Director: Jean-Luc Godard 

Genre: Drama/Urban Drama/Gangster Drama/Existential Drama/Crime Drama/Film Noir 

Language: French 

Country: France

True Romance [1993]

Perhaps the best film that Tarantino never made, True Romance is one hell of a roller coaster ride that must be undertaken to appreciate its worth, and this love-on-the-run story is anything but a mushy romantic tear-jerker. We like movies with an ensemble cast, but more often than not they leave us disappointed. However, like Reservoir Dogs, True Romance shows that exception proves the rule. Each of the brilliant character actors cast in this movie, irrespective of their screen time, has delivered punches that I will surely remember for a long time. Dennis Hopper as the chain-smoking cop/dad, Gary Oldman as the crazy pimp, Christopher Walken as the sophisticated gangster, Brad Pitt as the half-witted stoner, James Gandolfini as the smiling assassin, Tom Sizemore as a relentless cop – each of these fascinating American character actors delivers high-voltage performances in their short screen times. Christian Slater as the sole male lead, along with his lady love, too have put in memorable performances as the modern day Bonnie and Clyde, going through the motions and grabbing every damn opportunity thrown on their way. Tony Scott’s hyper kinetic direction (though a decent director, he has always had to live under the shadows of his celebrated older brother – Ridley Scott) is greatly aided by Tarantino’s taut screenplay and charismatic influence, as he guides you through the labyrinthine maze filled with twists galore, and alternating between bitter fun, quirky/offbeat romance and bizarre violence.








Director: Tony Scott
Genre: Crime Thriller/Black Comedy/Romance/Action/Road Movie/Ensemble Film
Language: English
Country: US

Ameros Perros [2000]

Love and dogs play literal, as well as, figurative roles (aptly titled, Ameres Perros means “Love’s a Bitch”), in the extremely talented Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s explosive debut feature. Set in the Mexican milieu, three parallel points-of-view (connected by a tragic car accident), aided by a brilliant narrative, compelling plot developments and incisive dialogues, present the urban alienation and futile attempts at redemption of the protagonists - a young man in love with his elder brother's fiance, a super model who has met with a tragic accident, and a former guerrilla fighter-cum-revolutionary. Stellar performances by a cast of superb character actors have added to the director’s terrific control over the medium in providing supreme exhilaration in viewing this utterly watchable and immensely engaging flick. Even though each central character exists in an environ distinct to him, they are ultimately governed by the same strings of hope, love, broken dreams and despair, and their connection with, well, dogs. The age old stories of love and its lack thereof are presented in a marvelous and unique package in this truly fascinating and innovative urban drama.

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Genre: Drama/Urban Drama/Ensemble Film
Language: Spanish

Country: Mexico

In A Lonely Place [1950]

Renowned American filmmaker Nicholas Ray’s best movie, and one of the most definitive films in the distinctly American genre of film noir, this gritty psychological drama is as bleak and grim as a windy night in the deserts of Siberia. The stark black and white cinematography even more emphasizes the fatalism and man’s inherent distrust espoused by this classic. The philosophy that society judges a man by how he acts rather than what he actually is, in fact, in many ways borrowed from and a tribute to the existentialist French author Albert Camus’ most celebrated work – The Outsider (in both cases the society judges the respective protagonist a criminal because he hasn’t shown remorse or grief at an incident which is supposed to induce sorrow and tears). Even at the risk of earning the wrath of film viewers, I would say that this is undoubtedly Humphrey Bogart’s greatest work. The suppressed violence, rage, unpredictability and cynicism is unmatched even by Bogart’s lofty standards. Getting through this incredible movie would assure that words like happiness would vaporize out of one’s vocabulary for quite some time. Watching this film gave me a tremendous high nonetheless.








Director: Nicholas Ray
Genre: Film Noir/Psychological Drama
Language: English
Country: US

The Taste of Cherry [1997]

Directed by the renowned Iranian New Wave auteur Abbas Kiarostami, Taste of Cherry is a deeply philosophical treatise which dispassionately chronicles a world-weary man’s journey in and around Tehran in his car trying to find a person who would agree to bury his body (in return for good money) below a cherry tree where he would attempt to commit suicide. In the process he encounters people, from various walks of life, who decline to do the job for reasons ranging from morality to religion. At the end, the guy who would most likely be to decline takes the offer for the simple reason that he needs money. Chiefly a slow, somber, dialogue-driven movie, the moments of silence and the lazy, dusty environ of the city, too, play pivotal roles in this slice of life observation on topics ranging from the mundane (hypocrisies, prejudices, money) to the surreal (ideologies, love, friendship) to the abstruse (existence, life, death). In essence this remains a deeply esoteric effort, which viewers not initiated to complex stream-of-consciousness psycho-analytical faux-documentary works of art, would find very difficult to comprehend, leave alone appreciate. 

p.s. This is an earlier review. The review from my latest revisit can be found here.

 

 

 

 

 

 Director: Abbas Kiarostami 

Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Road Movie/Slice of Life 

Language: Persian

Country: Iran

Chalo, Lets Go [2008]

The latest offering from songwriter-turned-director Anjan Dutt is a clear indication of his fast growing maturity behind the camera. Though not as personal an effort as Bow Barracks Forever, this delightfully refreshing road movie is certainly far more polished vis-à-vis Bong Connection. Four Calcutta youths, who are bound by their friendship and love for music, but otherwise each completely distinct in their rights – a brash but inwardly sentimental leader of the gang, a fiercely independent short-tempered guy, a sentimental soft-natured person, and an idealistic intellectual who also happens to be the narrator (the name of the characters provide a subtle homage to the Ray classic Days and Nights in the Forest), along with a motley of colourful, nicely delineated Bengali characters, taking a bus trip forms the general outline of the story. The fun, the self-explorations, the hypocrisies, the generosities, love at unexpected quarters, etc. abound in this engaging travel diary to North Bengal, that turns out to be a life-altering experience for the characters. Not a great piece of art in any sense (the acting is good only in parts, the experimentation in narrative is decent at best); yet the movie is humorous, satirical, poignant and entertaining all rolled into one. And as for the music, its really good - no wonder considering Anjan Dutt was a terrific singer/songwriter before he turned filmmaker.









Director: Anjan Dutt
Genre: Comedy Drama/Road Movie/Satire/Buddy Film
Language: Bengali
Country: India

The Tracey Fragments [2007]

This one has got to be right up there with the most disturbing, obsessive, phantasmagorical and deeply unsettling movies that I have seen. A movie rooted in urban paranoia, social hypocrisies and human loneliness, it chronicles a 15-year old girl’s physical as well as spiritual journey through the twisted prism of her thoughts, fantasies, anguish and attempts at love. The non-linear narrative and split screens play important roles in delineating the severely fractured vacuum that she lives in, as well as her parallel existence where she has a rockstar boyfriend and is a well developed female and not a flat-chested tomboy. Ellen Page (of Juno fame) has delivered a bravura, tour de force performance as the fragile, emotionally lost, rebellious, misunderstood loner suffering from identity crisis and wild mood swings. The movie has been referred to as a 21^st century variation of The Catcher in the Rye – and that is a wonderful epithet to confer on this brilliant experimental effort. J.D. Salinger might just be smiling in appreciation.








Director: Bruce McDonald
Genre: Psychological Drama/Road Movie/Experimental
Language: English
Country: Canada

The Lives of Others (Das Leben Der Anderen) [2006]

The fact that this German film managed to defeat the mind-blowing Mexican movie Pan’s Labyrinth to the Best Foreign Film statuette at the most popular film awards ceremony was reason enough to compel me to watch this movie. It is another matter that I found The Lives of Others a film worthy of standing on its own even in a jungle of great movies. This is a very effective political thriller and an empathetic human drama that traces the controversial history of East Germany from its iron curtain heydays to the demise of Communism and after. The movie follows the activities of Stasi, the East-German secret police, through Captain Wiesler who is given the responsibility of spying on the life of a celebrated dramatist who is believed to be anything but a party loyalist, and his beautiful actress-wife. The events that follow have profound impact on the lives of the protagonists. A quiet but powerful work of art, the movie shows that humanity lies beyond the confines of narrow ideologies, and eloquently expresses that the most fundamental basis for human survival lies in man’s freedom of thought and expression.









Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Genre: Drama/Political Thriller/Psychological Drama
Language: German
Country: Germany

A History of Violelnce [2005]

David Cronenberg has attained cult following among “artistic” B-film lovers for his gore-filled slasher movies. But a movie like A History of Violence, inspite of being, comparatively, a mainstream movie with restricted blood and violence, has far more horror and spine-chilling moments embedded in it than all the blood-soaked zombie movies combined. Minimalist in composition and realist in tone, the movie hits like a hand grenade even to people aware of Cronenberg’s ability to create shock-and-awe effect among his viewers. The movie is a near-poetic tale of a seemingly mundane, unassuming, uninteresting, easy-going, working-class family man (played to perfection by Viggo Mortensen), whose carefully wrapped violent past catches up with him, in spectacular fashion, thanks in large parts to a heroic act of generosity. Mario Bello is equally effective as the loving wife suffering from severe moral ambiguities regarding her husband’s dark past. The final scene is especially symbolic – will the close-knit but dangerously fractured family survive opening of the Pandora’s Box or will it go to pieces? The question is subtle and the answer is open to the discerning viewers. This is a very well made movie of high artistic importance; but people fed on a daily diet of mushy romantic comedies will find it difficult to absorb the unflinching and brutal realism portrayed herein.








Director: David Cronenberg
Genre: Drama/Family Drama/Psychological Thriller/Crime Thriller
Language: English
Country: England/Canada

Nayak (The Hero) [1966]

One of the very few movies to accurately and incisively bring forth the part of a movie superstar that remains in the dark vis-à-vis the viewers’ perception of the star, Nayak (literally The Hero) also happens to be one of the finest as also one of the most psychologically stimulating of Ray’s efforts. The movie follows a movie superstar’s journey from Calcutta to Delhi, by train, to collect a prestigious award. But that’s only the short of it. The complex mindset of the “hero”, with all his insecurities, cockiness, male bravado, guilt (for having dumped his mentor and his love for theatre for money and fame in the sinful tinsel-town), and all the excess baggage that come with stardom, along with the age old conflict between theatre and cinema, is presented as well as only Ray could. Uttam Kumar, who knew a thing or two about superstardom, put in arguably the best performance of his illustrious career, as the multi-layered, complex movie hero – Arindam Mukherjee. Sharmila Tagore, too, shone wonderfully as the enigmatic and beautiful journalist and Arindam's reluctant co-passenger, Aditi, who detests the star, respects the actor and gets to even like and empathise with the person forever hidden from the masses behind his dark sunglasses.


Note: My recent review of Nayak can be found here.

 




Director: Satyajit Ray
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Road Movie/Romantic Drama/Showbiz Drama
Language: Bengali
Country: India

Pulp Fiction [1994]

Quentin Tarantino entered the pantheon of master directors – the Ivy League – with this wild, quirky, whacky, outrageously violent and epic tale of American eccentricities, crime, non-conformity and machismo. The fractured, non-linear structure, the ultra-cool dialogues, the kinetic direction, and superlative performances from its ensemble of fantastic character actors like the brilliant Samuel L. Jackson and Harvey Keitel, and hugely underrated stars like Bruce Willis and John Travolta, the ebullient pop music sound track, the effervescent travel through a concoction of film genres ranging from gangster, noir, crime drama, to musical, gentle satire and comedy – these all combined to ensure that Pulp Fiction would forever be recognized as the single most important film of the 90s. After watching this supremely entertaining and engaging flick I realized that only a former video store clerk, someone who is in love with the language of cinema, could have conceived a movie like this. Tarantino’s iconoclasm and idiosyncrasies, especially in Pulp Fiction, are perhaps the sum total of the off-the-cuff cerebral content of the Coen brothers and the magnetic visual style of Wong Kar-Wai.









Director: Quentin Tarantino
Genre: Crime Thriller/Comedy Drama/Ensemble Film/Gangster Film/Satire/Avant-Garde
Language: English
Country: US

Goodbye, Lenin! [2003]

Goodbye, Lenin! is a poignant fable on the timeless and universal themes of values, love, hope and dreams. Made by the German director Wolfgang Becker, the movie covers a funny, bitter sweet tale of a young guy’s novel effort to cushion his ill pro-Socialist mother (via recreation of an alternate society where East Germany is preserved despite the German unification and influx of all the America is while East Germany wasn’t) from the enormous political and social reversals in the aftermath of the collapse of the Berlin wall. The movie is so marvelously presented that the utterly unbelievable means add to its beauty instead of acting as a hindrance. Subtle political overtones, courtesy the clever juxtaposition of socialist ideologues with capitalist free-wheeling, act as an essential catalyst even though the movie is strongly apolitical. This delightful farcical comedy is a witty, irresistible and evocative ride, laced with pathos, absurdism, political commentary and soulful beauty.








Director: Wolfgang Becker
Genre: Political Satire/Social Satire/Comedy/Drama
Language: German
Country: Germany

The Gold Rush [1925]

Gold Rush was the movie that Charlie Chaplin wanted to be remembered by. And, considering that Chaplin was perhaps the greatest filmmaker to have walked on this planet, you realize that you are on to something very special even before you actually begin watching this movie. Based on the gold hunt in 1898 Alaska, the movie is arguably the greatest adventure of the iconic Little Tramp. Filled with acid humour, slapstick, gut-wrenching pathos, burning social satire and searing human drama, gold rush presents loneliness, desperation, heart break and even madness in a bitter-sweet sugar coated pill. The movie comprises of some of the greatest sequences in cinematic history – shoe-lace feast, bread roll dance et al. Brilliant performances by the inimitable Chaplin as the Lone Prospector, along with a motley of superb characters like Big Jim and Georgia, mesmeric narrative flow, brilliant set pieces – these have ensured that of all the amazing movies that Chaplin made in his prolific career, this would bloody well remain the movie that every moviegoer worth his salt will always remember this little man, albeit a huge genius, by. Incidentally, this was also the favourite Chaplin movie of Satyajit Ray, who too was a huge admirer of cinema's greatest screen comedian.









Director: Charlie Chaplin
Genre: Social Satire/Slapstick/Black Comedy/Adventure
Language: Silent
Country: US

Fight Club [1999]

A dark, visceral, hyperkinetic and violent psychological drama/thriller about the duality of human nature and the seedy underbelly lurking beneath an otherwise placid and manicured society, Fight Club was undoubtedly the best work of David Fincher – an important director to emerge in the tinseltown in the 90’s. The serio-comic tone of the brilliantly stylized movie is unmistakable, as is the apocalyptic stance of the characters. The fact that people hit each other in an underground fight club just to feel good, to purge the soul of stress, frustration, wrath, hopelessness, boredom and inactivity, feels like a thousand ton brick crashing on one’s head. Edward Norton, as the bored and mild natured man of the society, is in his elements as usual. However the show is dominated by Brad Pitt who has delivered the most defining role of his fine career as Norton's psychotic, domineering and cocky alter ego, who takes to violence as a vampire takes to blood. The climax of the movie was shocking enough to give a hard kick at the butt of even an ardent cinephile like me.









Director: David Fincher
Genre: Psychological Thriller/Urban Drama/Black Comedy
Language: English
Country: US

Sunset Boulevard [1950]

Sunset Blvd. wasn’t just the greatest creation of the majestic quintessential American director Billy Wilder; it is also arguably the best movie ever made on Hollywood as well as the cruel, self-obsessed world of movie stars. Billy Wilder launched a vicious assault on the hollow, amoral, narcissistic movie industry in this acerbic, sarcastic, and brilliantly twisted thesis on the dream factory – where more dreams are shattered than made. This is the tale of a down and out screenwriter for B-movies who gets a golden opportunity to reap rewards in the form of a forgotten former screen idol. The movie becomes all the more engaging due to stellar performances by the lead actors - William Holden, as a cynical, ambitious out-of-luck writer, who recognizes an opportunity when he sees one; Gloria Swanson, as a faded film goddess trapped in a cruel time warp; and Erich Von Stroheim, as a former silent movie director who has had a drastic change of profession (movie lovers wouldn’t miss the irony). Watching this movie one can realize what dizzying heights can be achieved by a genius at the peak of his prowess. Bleak pitch black humour, fascinating black-and-white photography, riveting narrative laced with dollops of unsettling insights, cold cynicism and fatalist nihilism, a fantastic curtain-raiser that immediately hooks by revealing the impending doom, and an unforgettable climax – Sunset Blvd. is a masterpiece of the very highest order.








Director: Billy Wilder
Genre: Drama/Satire/Black Comedy/Film Noir/Showbiz Drama
Language: English
Country: US

Stranger than Paradise [1984]

Directed by Jim Jarmusch, instantly recognizable thanks to his wild white hairdo, Stranger than Paradise is an offbeat low-budget indie classic that attained cult status among the art house aficionados, and has influenced a generation of new-age underground filmmakers. Shot in static grainy black-and-whites, the movie evokes the sentiments propounded by the Beat Generation, and ends up being a terrific road movie. The character-driven movie chronicles the experiences of a Hungarian immigrant who has embraced the American dream, his New York buddy, and his cousin sister who has come to Uncle Sam from Budapest, and who too is ready to go the American way. The cool detachment of the characters, the stark documentary like depiction of the travel from the Big Apple to Florida via Cleveland, the deadpan humour, the boredom, the poker games, the minimalist treatment, and the understated chemistry between the leads, have combined to make it, which begun as a short and emerged as feature (courtesy some old stock provided by Wim Wenders), one of the most influential New Wave movies of the 80’s.








Director: Jim Jarmusch
Genre: Drama/Road Movie/Buddy Film/Comedy/Avant-Garde
Language: English
Country: US

Rounders [1998]

An engrossing and highly entertaining film, Rounders takes a close look at high stakes underground poker games. What director John Dahl brings to the movie is lots of cool moments and well delineated array of events. Matt Damon delivers a smooth performance as a man stuck to a profession that’s just not him. He is studying law, has a drop-dead beautiful and loving girlfriend (Gretchen Mol), sympathetic professors, and a promising career ahead of him. Unfortunately for a guy trying to live a conventional life, his interest lies elsewhere. He is a genius in poker games, and supports his interest with logic and ambition. Edward Norton plays a memorable second fiddle. He too is a poker enthusiast, but is everything that Damon is not. He is brash, street smart, and a cheat. John Malkovich is the perfect villain as ‘KGB’ – he owns the poker joint, is ruthless in his dealings, and speaks with English with such heavy Russian accent that it is almost comic in its impact. Go for Rounders if you are looking for two hours of non-stop unbridled entertainment.








Director: John Dahl
Genre: Urban Drama/Thriller
Language: English
Country: US

Chungking Express [1994]

Chungking Express is the most celebrated movie made by the master New Wave Hong Kong director Wong-Kar-Wai. The stylized, visceral, eccentric, and irresistible off-beat drama, laced with a pinching dose of black satirical humour, might just be the cinematic rendition of The Beatles’ legendary song Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Urban alienation, loneliness, and the wish to come to terms with them are explored by the hypnotic, super kinetic depiction of two separate stories of lovelorn cops and their chance to redeem themselves – with a mysterious femme fatale in the first, and a cute, estranged young lady in the second. The movie is presented in a blaze of blinding, garish neon lights (courtesy in large parts to the visually stunning cinematography of Christopher Doyle), and catchy pop track (Mammas and Pappas’ California Dreamin’ has been superbly used in the second story) which marvelously juxtapose the exuberance without and the hollowness within, thus managing to capture the fascinating character of the city of Hong Kong. In fact, the fascinating city of Hong Kong is almost a fifth character in this absolutely terrific piece of work, which, as a critic aptly stated, is a near perfect fusion of form and style. This movie also provided a great platform for the charisma and acting of Tony Leung.








Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Genre: Urban Drama/Existential Drama/Avant-Garde/Experimental
Language: Chinese (Cantonese/Mandarin)
Country: China (Hong Kong)

Chinatown [1974]

Chinatown wasn’t just the finest work of the iconoclastic Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski, it has also established itself as one of the best film noirs ever made (a fantastic achievement considering the stupendous movies made in this genre) – even though it should more accurately be referred to as a neo-noir, and one of the most talked about movies of its era. It is a complex, hard boiled tale of human corruption, deceit, betrayal and murder, and culminates in one of the most fascinating climaxes ever composed for the silver screen. Jack Nicholson, as the edgy, cynical private eye Jack Gittes, delivered an absolutely terrific performance with ease, panache, wicked charm and the kind of volcanic energy only he's capable of displaying. Faye Dunaway, as Gittes’ love interest and the vulnerable damsel in distress harbouring a very dark secret, was also memorable. Despite, or perhaps because of, the Byzantine plot, cold portrayal of a sordid world, and dark nihilism, it is impossible to escape being awed and mesmerized by this iconic one-of-its-kind crime-drama.










Director: Roman Polanski
Genre: Film Noir/Post-Noir/Crime Drama/Private Eye Film/Mystery
Language: English
Country: US