Movie 1: American GangsterLanguage: English
Watched on: HBO
Date: April 24, 2009
It started on a Friday night. I switched on my television and rushed to a channel that sported the HBO logo. On the left hand side flashed the seconds which announced that the movie ‘American Gangster’ would begin in 0.00.02 time. Having put aside every thing that could have bothered me, I got hooked to the screen. I was both excited and curious to watch the movie which starred two of my favourite Hollywood stars – Russell Crowe and Denzil Washington. Based on the real life story of once famed gangster Frank Lucas, the movie began subtly on a premise that transported the viewer to an era of realising the American Dream. Lucas is shown walking the streets of America with his boss, mentor and friend. His boss points up to a structure and asks Lucas, “You know what that is? They have planned to call it the McDonald’s”. He suffers a heart attack and the scene shifts to his funeral. Lucas is a silent witness to the people who attend the funeral and crack jokes. Frank Lucas swears that his boss’s death won’t go waste. He hatches a plan to rule the underworld and get bigger than the biggest players. He not only smuggles 100 kgs of heroin into America but feeds the poor, serves them drug and gives them money. He buys a mansion, gets married to the most beautiful woman and manages to take his mother to attend a Sunday mass in the church. The bigger he gets, the more enemies he ends up making. These foes are also from the police fraternity who threaten to expose him if they are not being paid their bribe. Frank Lucas bribes them and also threatens them with dire consequences. Lucas also gets his family into the business. His brothers, cousins, nephews every one becomes a part of his business that in particular deals with drugs. The problem begins when Detective Richie Roberts sets on a trail to nab the drug lords smuggling every thing that is threatening the American future. Performed skilfully by Russell Crowe, Richie Roberts is an every day man going through a divorce, bedding innumerable women, missing his son and yet meeting the twain meet. He carefully creates a team of assault officers who are handpicked by him from clubs, corners and cabarets. They start hunting for the real man who is behind all the drugs smuggled in all the way from Bangkok. The heroin when tested emerges to be of finest quality. The missing link only is the player. Most magnificently in this movie the characters never come face to face until the climax scene is arrives on the screen. The visual encounter happens only after a lot of cat & mouse type chases and guerrilla investigations. In the final scene when Lucas is sure of facing an arrest, there is no exchange of dialogues. And neither is their any bloodbath. Lucas being aware of the crime surrenders; pleads guilty in the court and then he meets up with Detective Richie Roberts in his cell. The picture that Frank Lucas presents to Roberts is not only interesting but is quite a revelation. He ends up exposing the misdeeds of cops, the greasing of hands, the exchange of money and the aftermaths. As a result, tarnished cops are arrested, sent to jail and Lucas too serves a sentence. The movie ends saying how Detective Roberts goes to become an attorney to represent his first client Frank Lucas.
If not masterpiece, this movie is an institution in itself. Directed by Ridley Scott who has in the past offered the Oscar winning Gladiator, the soul stirring Black Hawk Down, the emotionally stronger A Good Year and the riveting Kingdom of Heaven narrates a story which very few are aware about. The movie invited mixed reviews. Many wrote it off following the first show while some stayed with it and even declared it to be Oscar material. As a movie buff, as a creative writer and being a die hard fan of Ridley Scott movies; I loved it to the core. I agree Ridley Scott might have not been able to do justice to the script with some loopholes some visionaries might have pointed it. I enjoyed the movie and so did my mom who rarely stays up with wide open eyes to see something so English. Definitely Detective Richie Roberts character could have been strongly developed. But that is not a deal. As far as a movie entertains you and keeps you glued to the edge of your seat, it is a good movie. I pity those who don’t appreciate a story told so well on the silver screen. The only Indian movie that has managed to come close to a movie of such genre is Ram Gopal Verma’s Company based on the life of real gangster rivalry between Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan. All said and done, American Gangster is a good movie and thoroughly enjoyable by those who love to be told a story at its own pace.
Repeated Views: Recommended Strongly.
Movie 2: The Brave One
Language: English
Watched on: HBO
Date: April 25, 2009
Jodie Foster is a radio presenter who is in love with an Asian doctor played by Naveen Andrews. Most specifically she is in love with a half Muslim half Chirstian guy. Both have spent beautiful times together. Time spent on the bed has been equally memorable. They have a lovely life. David Kirmani (Naveen Andrews) and Erica Brian (Jodie Foster) are about to get married. One evening the duo accompanied their dog go for a stroll at the Central Park. Suddenly they are attacked by some miscreants who have been busy drinking beer and cracking vulgar jokes. David is killed while Erica lands up in the hospital bed. Her entire career is shattered by one event. She loses her confidence and tries hard to bounce back to life. Her producer is apprehensive as to whether Erica would regain her status of being an unparalleled radio producer. Erica fails and then she decides to avenge every thing she had lost. She buys herself a gun and starts wandering the streets of New York in the dead of night. This is a city post the 9/11 incident. The city which was once supposed to be safe, secure and soothing is no more the same. Females can no more walk safely. They are molested, raped and killed. Erica’s insecurity provokes her to fire a shoplifter. Next she kills a bunch of goons in the lonely train she takes from her studio to her apartment. She rescues a girl who has been kidnapped from Las Vegas by a drunkard. Erica goes on a killing spree only to meet up with her fate in the form of a kind hearted Detective Mercer played by the seasoned actor Terrence Howard. Mercer reaches every scene of Erica’s deed an hour later. He sees her at the places the bludgeoning events take place and is yet confused to understand the possibilities of her presence & involvement. In Mercer, Erica finds her alter ego. Mercer too is frustrated. He has gone through a divorce, is amused by the outcome of a system that pardons a criminal and yet compelled to be a part of it. Mercer discovers Erica’s intentions and deeds only when she kills a criminal he had once really thought of killing. They both draw closer and one-by-one, Erica kills the people who had stolen David away from her.
The movie is no brilliant piece of cinema. But the depiction is no less than brilliant. Post 9/11, Americans have gone through the toughest phases of betrayal, deception and lawlessness. The Brave One represents their insecurities in a fictionalised way. Neil Jordan is no phenomenal director I had ever heard about. But the way he has made this movie is thought provoking. The moral of the story is if one commoner makes up his or her mind to bring a change in the society, it is possible. Two such movies in India had succeeded in depicting these quite well. A Wednesday starring Naseeruddin Shah represented the frustration of a common man while Ek Hasina Thi starring Urmila Matondkar revealed the insecurities of a single girl trying to make the twain meet in a distrusted society. Though I don’t recommend a repeated viewing but one time viewing won’t be of big harm.
Movie 3: Khela (The Game)
Language: Bengali
Watched on: Home DVD
Date: April 26, 2009
Rituparna Ghosh is a seasoned director of Bengali cinema. His stories are told authentically. His movies are full of characters which are close to real life people. In the past his masterpieces include Uneeshe April, Dahan, Utsab, Dosar, Chokher Bali, Titli, Antar Mahal and the much acclaimed Raincoat in Hindi. Teaming up once again with Prosenjit Chatterjee this time he ropes in Manisha Koirala to play his wife. Raima Sen plays a fashion designer. The story revolves around a director, his estranged wife, a child artist and a fashion designer. Excepting his usual way of story telling which basically take place indoors, Rituparna chooses to go outdoors. He enlivens the beauty of North Bengal without once flooding them with props. Captured beautifully on celluloid Khela follows a brilliant plot. Prosenjit plays Raja a film director in quest of an innocent looking child to play a young Buddhist monk. One day he spots one gulping delicious phoockas at a roadside vendor. He immediately approaches the child and presents him with the presentation. The child artist whose character is named Abhirup suggests that the director seek the permission of his parents as he is not supposed to speak to strangers. Raja follows suit but the child’s parents make their apprehension up, loud and clear. In no way is Raja willing to make the movie without Abhirup. Raja’s producer friend suggests making a choice from the innumerable photographs they have been receiving ever since the announcement of the movie. A major twist in the story is the brilliance of Abhirup who secretly calls up Raja and expresses his wish to act. The child hatches a plan to get self kidnapped. Leaving behind a letter to his parents, Abirup and Raja escape to North Bengal. The shooting begins. In the midst of every thing during interactions with Abhirup, Raja realises through flashbacks how indifferent he has been to his wife. The fashion designer cannot confine her romantic feelings for Raja to herself. The show stealer is of course the child artist who plays Abhirup. He is bright, brilliant and benevolent.
The bond that he develops with Raja is that of a father and child, a teacher and student, a saint and his follower. High on emotions, the movie is bright with colours. Not a single scene of the movie drags itself. In stead what Rituparna serves on his platter full of award winning movies, Khela departs from his past stories. Raima Sen is a discovery. Manish Koirala satisfies. Prosenjit Chatterjee as Raja is phenomenal. The thick stubble on his face, long hair and low paced dialogues make him seem like a director whose character is very much based on Rituparna himself. The only loophole in the movie is it ends too soon. I was really anxious to see how the parents react after meeting their son Abhirup who was supposed to have been kidnapped but is also the writer of his own story. Abhirup not only ends up shooting for Raja but also reunites him with his estranged wife. Raja confesses to his wife that while directing Abhirup, he realised how unfair he has been to his life partner. Rituparna Ghosh is the kind of director whose films are going on improving. He is the next director to be taken note of after the stalwarts like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Gautam Ghosh, Aparna Sen, Buddhadeb Das Gupta, Tapan Sinha and Ritwik Ghatak. He is the only one to make Bengali film lovers like me survive and end up asking for more. I recommend Khela to be watched again and again for the sake of the master genius – Rituparna Ghosh.
- vociferous
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