Gandhi (1982)

Director : Richard Attenborough.
Genere : Biography / Drama / History.
Cast : Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, Candice Bergen, John Gielgud.
Rating : Master piece

Albert Einstein said(on Mahatma Gandhi): "Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth!". This might be the greatest challenge that Richard Attenborough might have faced while directing “Gandhi”; to transform an extraordinary epic of a simple man, who lived an unbelievable life to become a legend, into a moving picture format. Even “My Experiments with Truth” won’t be enough to understand the Mahatma. In this film, one of the most complex and well said biographical movies of all time, over 50 years of his biography has been drafted.

The movie starts while Gandhi was in South Africa where he was dragged out of a train. This was the incident that gave young Gandhi the fire or motivation to fight against apartheid. It was in South Africa he experiments his various methods of Satyagraha. And latter he returns to India to continue his activities there. The movie ends with the assassination of Gandhi by an extremist Hindu radical.

“Gandhi” deals mainly with wide perspectives and mostly with Gandhi’s contribution to the Indian Independence, than concentrating the person-Gandhi. In this manner Attenborough was able to focus more on the movie and could retell the epic in a fast phase. The Art department and Cinematography have played a crucial and fantastic role in recreating the time and places for the story. And the most outstanding thing about this movie is Ben Kingsley’s Oscar winning transformation as Gandhi.

The Chess Players (1977)

Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977)

Director : Satyajit Ray.
Genere : Comedy / Drama / History.
Cast : Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Amjad Khan, Richard Attenborough.
Rating : Master piece

Chess is said to be the king of games and the game of the kings. The objective of the chess is to defeat the opponent’s King with tactical moves. It’s almost like a strategic diplomacy. In this movie “The Chess Players”, set in the mid 1850’s, Satyajit Ray shows two such games in parallel, one is a chess game played between Mirza Sajjad Ali (Sanjeev Kumar) and Mir Roshan Ali (Saeed Jaffrey) and the other between The King of Oudh and The East India Company.

Oudh a wealthy country is ruled by a cultured and aesthetic king, the Wajid Ali Shah (Amjad Khan), but the colonial aspirations of British Empire was not ready to accept him. They were only eager in annexing the wealthy Oudh. While this story progress, a parallel story shows two chess-obsessed nobleman who does nothing but play chess all day. They are not interested in anything else, what they need is just a peaceful place to retire from everyday life and play chess undisturbed. The King of Oudh also exhibits a similar character; he is not interested in defending the British or his throne. He devotes his life towards art and poetry.

This is a movie that is to be read between the lines. Ray uses chess as a metaphor to showcase various characteristic of human nature and the situations exists in India. “The Chess Players” can be classified as a multidimensional political satire. The Indian style chess played by Mirza and Mir can be said as a representation of the then Indian rulers while the British used a more aggressive and fast game for easy ending. In the end The King decides to give up his throne and crown to General Outram (Richard Attenborough) to avoid bloodshed. In the mean time Mirza and Mir fights over a chess game. But, when every game reaches its climax a new game starts and every one will forget about the old ones. By hearing the takeover by the British Empire Mirza and Mir decides to change their chess play from the Indian style to the English style.

“The Chess Players” is one of a kind film by the great Master Directior Satyajit Ray. Since the subject of this movie is historic and allegoric in nature, an understanding of the region and time is recommended for full digestion.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

El Laberinto del fauno(2006)

Director : Guillermo del Toro.
Genere : Drama / Fantasy / Mystery .
Cast : Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú.
Rating : Master piece

OK, we have seen children with AK-47 in the face of war. But do they really belong there? Could they be interested in bloodshed or killing each other? Some times when the world around you becomes so much miserable and uninteresting the mind may look for alternatives to amuse itself. Fairytales always tells stories of a better world and gives nothing but hope. Pan's Labyrinth can be said as a modern day fairytale. It’s a seamless mix of reality and fantasy. The movie is set in Spain during the civil war and is about a girl and her wonderland.

The story is told through the eyes of Ofelia (played by Ivana Baquero), who along with her now pregnant mother has to move into the house of her stepfather Captain Vidal (played by Sergi López) in the middle of a dense forest. He is always busy fighting the rebels and cares only about the expecting new bone child of him. The new environment drives her to a world of her own where she is a princess who lost her kingdom and has to fight back. She has to complete three tasks to claim back her kingdom. As the movie progresses the tension on both worlds began to increase and finally they collides over an unforgettable beautiful climax.

Ivana Baquero and Sergi López are both perfect and have shown full justice towards their characters. Director cum Sreenwritter Guillermo del Toro have done a fantastic job by handling fantasy and reality with such indelibility. Javier Navarrete with his exceptional scores adds mystery to this beautiful fable. Pan's Labyrinth is an outstanding craft about fantasy, reality, beauty, hope and love; above all it’s a child’s prayer for a peace full world, where she can play safely and carelessly with her little brother, as in her wonderland.

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Director : Clint Eastwood.
Genere : History / War / Drama.
Cast : Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase.
Rating : Classic
War always is one sided, and so is any war movie. It is usual for a war movie to show enemies as demonic characters who is willing to do any inhuman things to kill the good or specifically the side where the camera is placed. So Clint Eastwood used two movies “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima” to show both sides. “Letters from Iwo Jima” stands by the Japanese side and their struggle to survive. The movie tells the story of Japanese soldiers fought on Iwo Jima through the letters unearthed from a Japanese Second World War tunnel in Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima is nothing but a volcanic island with no fresh water or food but strategically importance of Iwo Jima is vital for this war. Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi was send not to win the war but to hold Iwo Jima as long as he could. He knows well that they are outnumbered and is in a no win situation. So he develops a strategy to make victory difficult for the enemy.

Unlike a usual Hollywood movie here the enemies are the Americans, the greatest encroachers of all time. The movie is told through the stories of Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), Baron Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), Shimizu (Ryo Kase), Lieutenant Ito (Shidou Nakamura) and Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) which they performed to their finest. Iris Yamashita the screen writer has done a wonderful job and Eastwood was bold enough to use the Japanese language rather than making the Japanese soldiers speak English. “Letters from Iwo Jima” shows us the sacrifice and hardship of Japanese soldiers during the war and lets us think that even enemies are men and have life and reasons just like the others. Also recommends its counterpart “Flags of Our Fathers”.

Rear Window (1954)

Director : Alfred Hitchcock.
Genere : Thriller / Drama / Crime.
Cast : James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr.
Rating : Master piece
Voyeurism is in human nature, people likes sneak each other’s life whenever they get the opportunity, whether it’s in the form of a novel, a movie or even through your window- it’s the same. It is this very nature that makes “Rear Window” remarkable. L. B. Jefferies played by James Stewart is an adventurous photographer who can’t simply shut his curious eyes and sleep, just because his one leg is broke and trapped in his little apartment on a wheel chair. He becomes obsessed in watching his neighbors through their open windows and raised blinds. It is almost like watching a television with multiple channels. Soon he becomes suspicious that one of his neighbors might have killed his wife and disposed her of in pieces. He tries to find it out.

This is a well crafted movie with a little bit of everything for a perfect entertainer a suspense to discover which keep the thrill, a conflicting and “too perfect” romance, timely humor, and a cold blooded murder(without showing even a single drop of blood). Above all what makes “Rear window really fantastic is both the audience and the lead character is stuck to a chair and helpless. They can only sit and watch what is happening before their eyes. The camera never leaves Jefferies and most of the time it’s in his apartment so it only sees or hears what he sees or hears. With perfect script, brilliant acting and a fantastic cinematography, “Rear Window” is arguably a masterpiece from the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock.

Death Note (2006)

Desu nôto (2006)

Director : Shusuke Kaneko.
Genere : Adventure / Crime / Mystery.
Cast : Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Asaka Seto.
Rating : Regular

Based on a popular Manga series, Japanese animated comic book, Death Note is a Live action thriller movie characterizing two exceptionally intelligent minds, namely L and Light. Light got possession of a book from the other world, the death-note, which is capable of killing people by writing their name on it. He began to use it for killing criminals with a dream of creating a crime free world. Owing to the increased rate of death the government was forced to start an investigation. L, a famous detective comes to help out. And the real battle begins.
Death Note altogether gives the feel of a graphic book, a bold experiment in direction by Shusuke Kaneko. With its vivid colors and cinematography the movie looks more like a peeled out page from a graphic novel. The script is self contained and has almost all ingredients to entertain a general audience. The movie manages to maintain a psychological tempo throughout and finishes with a suspenseful twist. Death Note is not merely a thriller; it questions the authority of power and shows how power manipulates by its own. Also recommends its sequel “Death Note: The Last Name”.

Dasavatharam (2008)

Director : K.S. Ravikumar.
Genere : Drama / Sci-Fi.
Cast : Kamal Hassan, Asin, Mallika Sherawat.
Rating : Regular
Dasavatharam is a term from Hindu mythology for describing the ten principal Avatars of Lord Vishnu. In this film actor Kamal Hassan has done 9+1 character including the hero and the villain. Almost all important characters in this film are portrayed by him with the help of makeup and technology. The movie took parts in two different chronologies. The main story line is set in a recent past where he plays his 9 characters and a bonus track which is set in the early 12th century for his +1 character.
The main story line is based on a biological weapon that gets loose into public and happens to reach India. The hero and the villain chaises to get hold of it, meeting other characters all played by the same actor, on their quest and ends up in 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami which neutralizes the virus and thus saving the earth from a mass devastation.
This is probably the first time an actor is handling 9+1 character for a single movie. All 9+1 characters follow different slang and body language apart from their physical appearances. Despite the actors effort all other departments fails to keep up to the mark. Although the cinematography and CG are miserable, and in some places the script is so much manipulated, Dasavatharam can be said as a modest experimentation from an ambitious actor.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Director : Ron Howard.
Genere : Biography / Drama.
Cast : Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris.
Rating : Classic

Solving an equation often involves many manipulations like assumption, derivations, integration, neglection, formulation etc. “A Beautiful Mind” is a well formulated, sure/safe shot, semi-fictional tale about a genius mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr, who won the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economics, whose brilliance was in a constant battle with schizophrenia. His mind wont satisfies anything less for an ordinary but for an original idea.

The story starts with Russell Crowe as John Nash at Princeton in pursuit of an original idea to make his name in History. It’s here where he develops his work on game theory which contradicts exiting theories. Soon he began to work at MIT which involves confidential code breaking for the Government. There he happens to meet a beautiful and brilliant student Alicia, played by Jennifer Connelly, whom he latter marries. Soon their life becomes a struggle and John gets diagnosed with schizophrenia.

The movie is a thin line between an extraordinary mind and a self-destructive mental disease, and his struggle to overcome it with the help of his wife. It’s a conflict between mind and heart, a story about true love and passion. Director Ron Howard has utilized Akiva Goldsman to maximum for creating a highly contrasting and unpredictable character for Russell Crowe, which Crowe exploited very well and delivers a fantastic performance which makes us feel John Nash had just lived before our eyes. Especially notable is Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris as supporting characters who did their finest. The film ends with John Nash getting standing ovation at the cinematic version of the Nobel Prize ceremony, it is not only John Nash but also all the crew members of this movie who deserve a standing ovation.

No Man's Land (2001)

Director : Danis Tanovic.
Genere : Drama / Comedy.
Cast : Branko Djuric, Rene Bitorajac, Filip Sovagovic.
Rating : Master piece
How well do you know your enemy? Is he something really different like another species or an alien? Is he someone just like you or your brother? Can anybody give the actual reason or the one who is responsible? Is it really possible to love your enemy? “No Man's Land” is all about these questions and more.

Two enemy soldiers one a Serb and the other a Bosnian happens to be caught in a trench that lies between their line, the no man’s land, along with another wounded Bosnian soldiers lying on a bouncing mine. They are in the middle of a war and they knew they can’t be friends. They have to help each other for their escape. Owing to a television report UN comes in to the scenario for helping them out. But is it possible for two enemy soldiers to behave just like two men who are in need of help, could someone be literally neutral in the phase of a war or will they have their own reasons.

Danis Tanovic ‘s superb script and direction balances humor, emotion, drama, and some insights without loosing the originality. The cinematography and background music are combined wonderfully to create some powerful images that will last in your memory for days. “No Man's Land” is not a war movie but it is all about war.

The Prestige (2006)

Director : Christopher Nolan.
Genere : Drama / Mystery.
Cast : Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johansson.
Rating : Must Watch
Magic tricks consists of three parts “The Pledge”, “The Turn” and “The Prestige”. This movie is about two rival magicians who try to become the greatest magicians. They try to sabotage each other’s “Prestige” to upstage the other. But when Borden comes up with his ultimate trick “The Transported Man”, Angiers was dumbfounded and becomes obsessed to find the secret behind the trick.

The trick is told when the trick is sold. The movie is a thrilling race between the two to expose the “Prestige” of each other’s ultimate trick. The movie explores through the world of magic and magicians. An ultimate sacrifice is necessary to perform the ultimate trick.

Christopher Nolans’s dramatic story telling itself makes Prestige more magical. A movie is much like a magic performance; both are meant to make belief. Like magic a movie can also be divided into three parts, The introduction, The cause and The climax. Magic can never be explained but to be experienced and so is the movie.