Kaurismaki’s first film in five years, Le Havre was a delectable paean to the
working class and the dispossessed. Instead of the black humour that permeated
most of his famed works, this had an instantly warm and endearing tone, even in
its decidedly leftist leaning and expression of apathy towards rabid
nationalism. The aptly named Marcel Marx (Andre Wilms) – who had previously appeared
in his La Vie de Bohème – is a former
poet who now earns his living through polishing shoes in the eponymous port
town, and lives with his doting wife (Kati Outinen). When his wife falls sick
and is hospitalized, Marcel befriends a young African refugee boy who had been
on his way to London in a container. Through his natural sense of compassion,
he doesn’t just provide shelter to the homeless boy, he also starts finding ways
of arranging for his transit to London where his mother lives. Meanwhile,
Inspector Monet (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), who has been entrusted with the
responsibility of unearthing the kid, starts becoming suspicious of Marcel, but
his task become tough on account of the support of his working class
neighbours. Kaurismaki filled the film with his characteristic deadpan humour,
quirky characters and idiosyncratic developments while painting a picture of a world
filled with marginalized communities and where the authorities are increasingly
intolerant of outsiders. Wonderfully enacted by all, including the supporting
cast, vibrantly shot and excellently scored, it comprised of particularly memorable dynamics
between Marx and Monet (no puns intended)
– with the finale being highly reminiscent of the beloved classic Casablanca. Jean-Pierre Léaud made a
cameo appearance as a xenophobic man.
Director: Aki Kaurismaki
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Social Satire
Language: French
Country: Finland/France
Jolly LLB is
an interesting mainstream film. Except for the gritty opening sequence, the
director never made any bones about the fact that this was anything but an
escapist film intended to appease its viewers – particularly the urban educated
kind. Yet, for all its “feel good” nature and commercial aspirations, it was
based on a rather grim subject and was also a mild satire on the Indian legal system.
The titular Jolly (Arshad Warshi) is a mediocre small-time lawyer who moves to
Delhi to try his luck. There, while it starts as a move to gain quick
popularity, he ends up becoming embroiled in a hit-and-run case where a rich
young lad has crushed poor pavement dwellers to death while speeding under the
influence of alcohol. To make matters worse for him, he is up against a
high-profile advocate (Boman Irani) for whom ends justifies the means, and has
enough money to fortify his case. It was clearly discernible as to who the good
and who the bad guys were – there were hardly any gray areas in the film.
Further, it was also obvious how the story would end, and that justice would be
served, even if, in a cheeky display of wit, only for a day or two. But, that
said, the director did use the canvas to provide some commentary on the matter –
even if they were undeniably simplistic, and injected the script with humour and
tongue-in-cheek fun. However, it was also peppered with gaping holes, and was unapologetically
cinematic in its rendition of justice. The acting was good, with Saurabh Shukla brilliant as the unconventional judge presiding over the case.
Amrita Rao looked cute as Jolly’s peppy fiancée.
Director: Subhash Kapoor
Genre: Comedy/Social Satire
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Though his debut directorial venture Shadows earned John Cassavetes
considerable acclaim, Faces was quite
easily the breakthrough film in his career as an independent filmmaker; in
fact, it was a seminal work in the Indie movement in America. Shot in cinéma vérité style in grainy B/W on
16-mm camera, made on an ultra-low budget and in a highly improvisational
manner, and set over the course of a single day and night, the film focused on
the disintegration of the marriage of an upscale middle-aged couple. Richard
Forst (John Marley), a wealthy corporate honcho, and his lovely wife
Maria (Lynn Carlin) are in a state of marital ennui while in the fourteenth
year of their marriage, despite being, on the surface, cordial and even
friendly to each other. Their emotional disenchantment becomes further stark
when he has a casual fling with an attractive escort (Gena Rowlands) while she
has a near fatal tryst with a goofy gigolo (Seymour Cassel) – upon Richard
shocking her with his want for a divorce, over the course of the same night.
Though Richard returns the following morning to her, his male pride is severely
hurt when he finds his wife with the younger guy; this doesn’t just provide the
death knell for their marriage which was anyway fragile, it also brilliantly
depicted the ingrained societal hypocrisy towards matters of fidelity of a man
vis-à-vis a woman. The rambling narrative, non-scripted approach, lack of conventional
plot cohesion, rough texture and use of extreme close-ups as an aesthetic
choice, however, ensured that it wasn't easy viewing even if it’s
here and now feel was unavoidable.
Director: John Cassavetes
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Marriage Drama
Language: English
Country: US
Woman in the Dunes, the highly celebrated
and influential Japanese New Wave work, was a compelling
exploration of such themes as identity, sexuality, freedom, and the dichotomy of traditionalism and modernism, particularly from the
perspective of post-War Japanese society. Based on a novel by Kobo Abe, this
subtly formalist and surrealistic exercise was also a visual and stylistic tour de force, and a fascinating peek
into psychological terror. The allegorical and Kafkaesque story began on a
simple note - Junpei Niki (Eiji Okada), a Tokyo based entomologist, on becoming
stranded in the middle of a desert during an expedition to collect insect
specimens, is offered accommodation by a group of local villagers in a house
located at the bottom of a dune and resided by a widow (Kyoko Kishida).
However, he eventually realizes that he is trapped in the pit, and is at the
mercy of the villagers for food and water supplies for which he must live with
the lady and perform certain daily chores. Thus begins an incredible account of
the gamut of emotions that the protagonist goes through – anger, frustration,
desperation, calm and peace. The scorching relationship that he also
gets embroiled in with his demure companion, despite never really loving or
even liking her, also made this a highly sensuous film. The fine performances
by the leads were well accompanied by their sizzling dynamics. The haunting narrative, nightmarish tone, brooding atmosphere, and disconcerting content, were marvelously emphasized by the mesmerizing photography and the ominous score, making this an unnerving yet gratifying experience.
Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Avant-Garde
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan
Scorsese wanted to follow Raging Bull up with The Last
Temptation of Christ. But, since De Niro was interested in a comedy, he
made The King of Comedy instead – a
pungent satire on vapid celebrity culture, blind consumerism, and the extents
to which a starry-eyed nobody would go to earn his 10 seconds of fame. Rupert
Pupkin (in one of De Niro’s most underrated performances) is a wannabe stand-up
comedian who aspires to emulate his idol Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), the
immensely popular talk show host famous for his witty quips and rejoinders. He
spends hours in his fantasy world where he is as famous as his idol, but in the
real world he is anything but. Upon a serendipitous encounter with the
patronizing Jerry he becomes so convinced of his comic genius and so completely
enmeshed in his outlandish fantasies that he ends up hatching a crazy plan, with
the help of another near-lunatic fan (Sandra Bernherd), to achieve his pipe-dream.
Though nowhere near Marty’s best works, it still managed to be enjoyable, even
if it was more goofy than darkly funny, and seemed tad overlong and overdone.
The kidnap sequence, in fact, seemed too over-the-top vis-à-vis the quiet
humanism of what had transpired till then. The finale, thankfully, was quite
satisfactory – the final sequence, in fact, is still a matter of debates as to
whether or not it was a figment of Rupert’s imagination. The film was
reminiscent of two other films made on similar subjects, viz. Network and Quiz Show. It
also managed to be the perfect springboard for another pitch black comedy that
he followed it up with, viz. the brilliant After Hours.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Genre: Comedy/Black Comedy/Social Satire/Showbiz Comedy
Language: English
Country: US
