mithil293

In my most recent pursuit to catch a foreign film, I found myself sitting with a latte at a public screening watching 2011 Russian movie 'Elena' directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. The latte made me late by 2-3 minutes but fortunately I didn't miss much of it.

If you have already seen the movie then please read the trivia section of this movie on IMDb. It gives the movie whole lot more meaning and opens up the movie for a different thought process on a new level. The movie on the other hand doesn't drop such hints and instead gives an impeccable narration. That may be the best thing about the movie. The poignancy is also a major factor all through the movie, there are moments when the camera pans in and out or stays rigid and let life around it grow and express. Although for a first timer this type of situations may seem confusing, but having an open mind might make you see things differently. Speaking about ambiguity, reminds me of this scenes that shone the light on such beautiful direction. So Elena wants money for her grandson education and she request Vladimir to help him since her son is unable to do so. Vladimir refuses giving reasons like her son should be responsible enough to provide for his son if he had planned to bring him in this world. In other scene where Vladimir over an animated conversation tells his single daughter to go and have kids, it will make her more responsible. You can see the incoherency in the conversation as Vladimir has irrational love towards his daughter. The director does drop such small subtle hints without actually shoving the message to our faces. The movie is also beautifully captured from the lush apartment in the city to the small apartment in suburbs. The transition is beautiful and am told after reading some reviews that it displays the social divide between the rich and poor. The end is pretty unconventional. Nadezhda Markina puts such fantastic performance as the aggrieved mother. She gets to the screen of the character and we find our self recognizing with this person. The there is Andrey Smirnov as Vladimir the rich, arrogant person played to such finesse. That conversation with her daughter was symbolic of his contribution. Others do play important parts and deserve equal accolades but these two are the performers in this movie. The music is very apt with the situation, in the darker moments it rises to a crescendo giving 'impending doom' feel. The director Andrey Zvyagintsev deserves a hat tip for such impressive work (I am told he has done better). Elena for me is a kind of window into the future, where there will be rich and poor and the term humanity will be modified accordingly. It also shows the parents indefinite and undying love towards their children and the will to do anything to make them happy. I will surely ask you people to give it a watch.

Both Pakhi and Varun babu are sitting near the lake making conversations. Suddenly they start talking in hushed tones albeit with a hint of coyness, both looking in each other's eyes. They stop and the change of expression on Varun's face and his eyes is evident. He holds back himself out of compulsion and in that scene of 30 sec silence triumphs over words. Their eyes let us hear and their words although far few and soft make us feel. This in fact is the 'USP' of the movie.

Lootera is the movie that i enjoyed by the minute, it's the small instances in the scenes that light up the cinematic wonderland. The movie is quaint at times and surreal in some others. The love story set in mid 1950 took me in right at the centre of everything that's unspoken but understood. Awed by it's jaw dropping choreography (some lighting) to it's incredible art direction to it's crisp editing. It was pretty evident that this movie came from the same house that featured 'Udaan'.

If I could just walk you through some scenes that really made me admire the makers of this movie. When Varun says OK to the idea of teaching Pakhi painting without him even having the elementary knowledge of the art in the first place and you could see both of them trying to get away since the permission has been granted but Pakhi's father who was sharing tea with Varun says 'abhi nahi'(Not now). The director plays this scene so subtly that you see yourself grin. Another scene is when Pakhi tells Varun how her father died and then there is that singular unfazed moment of tension until the next scene unfolds. Another is when Pakhi is pouring her heart out and Varun goes numb to her feelings but his eyes don't deceive. Lootera mostly unfolds in the eyes of their characters.

F

Although I don't have much experience of the era, the costumes and the treatment of the movie is eye catching. Also we have to admire the kind of voice modulation actors had to go through to give the movie a periodic look. Also picturesque Dalhousie is +1.

While I would love to talk about the stars who acted so brilliantly but Vikramaditya Motwane(Director and screen writer) is at the centre of this movie. Like the new crop of movie makers making their presence felt he is invading the waters that divide mainstream and commercial with a touch of his eccentric filmmaking. Like his work which steals the heart of so many of his followers the director is the true Lootera. Second most important person that really made and impact on me was Ranveer Singh as Varun. He carried a persona that was very unlike his other two movies. In a shackled mode he let his ever moving eyes tell the tale of his heart. I think he does brilliantly in the climax. Sonakshi Sinha as Pakhi is no less when competing with her colleague. She's conditioned to be moody, stoic and unapologetic. In the second half she really comes into her own and gives a powerful performance. Actors like Adil Hussain, Vikrant Massey are used to the extent the story limited them but they played brilliantly. Shirin Guha as Sonakshi's father also caught my eye. Also a word of appreciation to screen writers Bhavani Iyer and Anurag Kashyap.

Yes you will get crowd who will laugh at those serene moments and pass comments but that's natural. Lootera should be watched if not for the love of it then at least for the sake of your grandfathers who were so polite and humble. So unlike us.

People are in awe of Ben Affleck these days with his astronomical rise to another level of stardom and his charming ways of capturing those momentous images on camera. Frankly speaking I don't get the hoopla around 'Argo', I didn't see much into it and my dubiousness is not because of the pro American sentiments obvious in the movie. I will talk more about it when I write about that movie, another day. I enjoyed watching The Town because of it's spunkiness. But the movie that triumphs over these newly featured ones is his directorial debut 'Gone Baby Gone'.

I do like to make confession that I have made an attempt to see this before but I couldn't, I found it slow pace and Casey Affleck that to be replica of James Franco in that Oscar ceremony. But what a imbecile I was to ignore such work of pure awe. The movie starts with a beautiful voice over by Casey Affleck then moves over to the main story. It's has Boston city named all over it, in it's wide shots, in it's short glimpses and in it's people. As the detectives makes conversation with characters played by Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman, there is a Tarantino- ish feel to it albeit not with the devilish music background. Casey Affleck character is developed with the morals and chauvinism of a do- gooder. He rarely shows fear in his eyes and his persona is very enigmatic.

I found a lot scenes in this movie that were worth remembering but I won't mention those because I might have to sound spoiler alert. There are moments of disgust not because there is blood or violence(hardly) but the kind of people shown and how they live their life. As the secrets box keeps opening, there are things that come to fore, characters get more intense, they develop backstory and this whole whirlpool of characters and their stories boils down to questionable climax. I know some people might be left unsatisfied with the ending, but what could he do. He made a decision that nobody agreed on, he made it by himself he lost everything and there is no chance he could go back on it. It's against him. By the way you get a ominous feeling at the start when Angie asks Patrick if their is a good life and if this case can change anything worse about it.

Performance wise everybody is top notch, Casey Affleck holds that grip and control over his character that I have seen rarely. Michelle Monaghan is little subdued and I thought like the makers wanted her to have more but it didn't permit. Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris with their ferocious performance are like fuel to this movie. Every now then the sparks fly when they staple those dialogues. Titus Welliver, Amy Ryan and others were superb throughout their acts. A pat on the back of Ben Affleck, rightfully his best movie for me. Back ground music keeps up with the pace of the story.

A must watch for those who like the movies with mind inducing thoughts and questioning morals. A must watch for everyone.

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