Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010)

Language: Tamil

Actors: Silambarasan, Trisha Krishnan

Director: Gautam Vasudev Menon

The plot is nothing new, we have heard the singsong Shanti Mantra from the Vedas followed by a harmony played together with the Church organ enough. We hear this combination more than once every year, clichéd if you want to clichédly describe it. I started watching the movie cynically, nearly two years after the movie was released.

There are a few things that make this movie watchable, Silambarasan aka Simbu is probably one of the most talented and misunderstood actors in the Tamil movie scene. More than his acting skills, the way he snaps his fingers and the prefix he puts before his name on the title is more talked about. And not to forget his “Made to order” father who comes to our mind every time we think or talk about Silambarasan.

Add to this the lovely Trisha Krishnan, who does fantastically well and the bunch of talented actors backed up by the storytelling skills of Gautam Vasudev Menon, pleasing visuals thanks to Manoj Paramahamsa and some lovely music by A R Rahman make this a movie to watch.

The only thing unpredictable (the WOW moment) is the end, thanks to the film background of the protagonist Karthik the director affords to end the movie differently. Not like the ones we have seen in those clichéd Veda + Church organ movies we have seen till date.

If one wanted me to list the items I liked about this movie…

1. Taking a clichéd subject and surprising you in the end
2. Lovely visuals
3. Superb background music
4. Dialogues one can relate to (Mathematics is easier compared to becoming successful in movies)
5. Actors who don’t act but bring the visuals to life

This is one movie where the songs weren’t intrusive but their picturisation is like any other Tamil movie. But still you can sit through them with a smile on your lips thanks to Rajeevan’s art direction and Nalini Sriram’s costume designing skills.

Originally I would have wanted to affix a good movie tag to this one, but it deserves a bit more. For, it has I believe pushed the envelope a bit further.

Super Watch !!

The legend of 1900 (1998)

Country: Italy / USA

Language: English

Actors: Tim Roth, Puritt Taylor Vince & Peter Vaughan

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

Music: Ennio Morricone, Amedeo Tommasi

Tornatore’s first English movie, a story told as a series of flashbacks. This technique of using a series of flashbacks is called “Medias in ras” (Latin) or “In the middle of things”. This film is an adaptation of Alessandro Baricco’s theatre monologue Novecento.

This movie is about a musician Danny Boodman T D Lemon 1900 or 1900, a piano prodigy who has never set foot on land. 1900 is abandoned as infant in the ship SS Virginian to be found and taken care of by a coalman. 1900 keeps travelling back and forth the Atlantic and becomes the pianist in the ship’s orchestra.

The movie is the recollection of Max Rooney, a trumpet player and 1900’s friend & band mate. He talks about the exploits of 1900. Needless to say, because the protagonist is a piano player we get to hear some fantastic music. As any other Tornatore movie, this one too is a visual treat.

Tom Roth as 1900 does really well. Another important player in this movie is Puritt Taylor Vince who plays Max Rooney, the guy who tells us the story of 1900. But the hero of the movie is definitely Lajos Koltai’s cinematography and Ennio Morricone’s music.

Like Max Rooney says, “A good story is worth more than an old trumpet”. This one is surely worth much more, highly recommended.

El ultimo verano de La Boyita / Last summer of La Boyita (2009)

Country: Argentina

Language: Spanish

Actors: Guadalupe Alonso, Gabo Correa, María Clara Merendino, Mirella Pascual & Guillermo Pfening

Director: Julia Solomonoff

This one shook me, it caught me completely off guard. The first 50 minutes was just another movie chronicling adolescence. It was about this little girl who suddenly loses the attention of her big sister, and is extremely upset about it. She knows her sister has become a big girl, being a doctor's inquisitive daughter she understands the process.

In the absence of her sisters company she decides to go with her dad for a ranch / farm vacation, just her dad, dog and herself. There she meets Mario, the boy who would prove his manhood in a matter of days. The son of the caretaker of the farm, who has discontinued his studies to assist his father in running the farm and as well as horse racing.

Things change from a movie about adolescence to something more sensitive when she & Mario go for a ride (together) on a horse and she finds blood on the saddle, on the riders side when Mario is at the helm.

This is the moment the film changes its colour. The typical “Application form” loving people we are we can’t relate to certain dictates of the reality. There also can be situations that still have not become part of an application form. And that is natural, the unfortunate the reality is that we all know it but never acknowledge.

This is one film which is not about stereotypes. About the adolescent boys trying to fell mangoes from a tree in one frame and trying to fantasize the girl next door or their teacher the next. This one is a serious film, about adolescence and the many realities of it. Some tick the boxes of the form and some search for a place in the form. The world calls them names, those who search for the boxes. They have a name but still depend on the public sentiment to reveal their real name.

This one is a fabulous movie, not everyone would like. The music, of a guitar that is heard in the background is amazing. It captures the pulse of the movie amazingly.

Overall, this is a must watch for those of us for whom sex is exotic and sexuality is a couple of boxes in forms.

Amazing movie, And lovely treatment of the script by the director which translates to a SuperWatch, if you are sensitive about things

Red Cliff 1 (2008)

Language: Mandarin

Actors: Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen, Hu Jun, Lin Chi-ling & Zhao Wei

Director: John Woo

Any war based movie costs, the costs are even higher especially if that is a period subject. This one is a Period War Movie, it is based on the epic Battle Of Red Cliffs (208 – 209 AD). It chronicles the Han dynasty towards the end of their reign.

Amazing movie in terms of the production value, this is one the most expensive films made in Asia. And this movie grossed more than Titanic in mainland China. Which means the costs didn’t sink.

Due to the length of the story this movie was made in two parts, the second part was released in 2009. The movie has a very talented cast, one of the actors being the most talented Tony Leung. An amazingly multi-talented actor comparable to the best in business – yesterday, today and hopefully tomorrow. And he doesn’t disappoint you.

Overall this is a very good movie, with great background music, superb visuals thanks to the mindboggling production value and to top it all has a greatly talented ensemble cast.

Great watch, the moment I finished Part 1 the reflex wanted Part 2 to start. Such is the interest this movie creates.

I love it.

PS: The reason why I chose to watch this movie is thanks to G V Prakash Kumar and his plagiarized credit title tune from this movie for the rooster fight of Aadukalam.

Well done G V Prakash and Vetri Maaran, I wish you had at least doctored a bar or two of the original track to make this look / sound an original. May be you were short of time !!

8 1/2 (1963)

Italian Oscar winner by Fredrico Fellini.

Nina Rota's work has strains what to come in 1972

Kikujiro (1999)

This inspired Nandalala touted as one of the best #Tamil films in the recent past