I Saw The Sun/Gunesi Gordum : Review

What does the phrase "I Saw the Sun" mean? Does it mean that one literally sees the Sun, experiences reality, just realizes the truth or is it something much more intricate?
I Saw the Sun is a Turkish film which tries to answer the questions posed above. Set in the times of the Civil War of Turkey it explores the struggles a lone village family has to face while coming to terms with the vagaries of the war. The Altun family is large with many sons and their siblings. One of their sons, Ramazan or Ramo is urging Allah to give him a son as he has had 5 daughters. Finally when he is blessed with one he decides to offer the Gods an offering for the next 7 years. The family is living on the border which is constantly the playground for anti-insurgency operations by the Turkish Army against the guerrillas who are labeled as the terrorists. The army has been urging the family to evacuate the village but they are adamant on not doing so. When Davut Bey loses one of his sons, Serhat, who is a guerrilla in the army operations he is totally shaken and finally decides to abandon the village. Part of the family moves to the comforts of Istanbul while Davut Bey and his immediate family migrate to Norway illegally.
In Istanbul the family faces new troubles as a result of their ignorance of the modern lifestyle. Ramo's wife Havar suffers from gynaecological problems, Mamo's younger brother finds himself to be a homosexual when none in the family are ready to accept him like that and Ramo loses his only son to an accident.This plunges the family deeper into troubled waters and finally, when they can't take it anymore, they decide to return to their village. In Norway meanwhile Davut Bey settles down after some hassles with the immigration office and starts leading a comfortable life.
The story delves deep into the human conscience, between choices and chances, between love and hatred and between war and peace. The director leaves it to the audience to interpret the title of the film as the dawn of realisation or as a concept of the berfin as spoken of by Kadri, the homosexual. Many of the scenes will leave you on the verge of tears and some will actually make you cry. The depiction of the consequences of unnecessary war is not new but the portrayal is ingenious. When Mamo realises that Kadri's fate is not in his hands, when Ramo loses his only son, when Davut Bey finds solace in Norway and when Kadri says that how he wished he would have been a woman; all roads lead to one truth, I Saw the Sun. One may interpret it in ones own ways but the way I did, I just loved it.
I was not particularly impressed with the cinematography though. The scenes were very machinistic. They did not blend smoothly with each other and to that end the movie falls short of the expectations. The music was good but was not properly faded in and out of the frames. I think the editing too needed some polishing.
Nonetheless, the concept and the story was awesome and it is definitely worth a watch. I would give it a 4 on 5.

Sherlock Holmes : Review

Sometimes you go for a movie with a presumption that it won't come down to your expectations especially when you know that the movie is based on a classic. That too the legendary Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And to your surprise the movie turns out to be a winner. This is one such film.
Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr. as the legendary detective from Baker's Street and Jude Law as his companion Dr. Watson is a commendable effort by Guy Ritchie, known to make films with really absurd storylines (Remember Rock n Rolla?). The story centers around the mysterious Lord Blackwood, the movie's main villain who is supposed to possess supernatural dark magic powers whose plan is to take over the world by killing his remaining adversaries from the secret society. The evil Blackwood in the process kills many innocent women and his society members and obviously our Sherlock is called in to investigate the matter. What is revealed is a devious plan to unsettle the government in Britain and subsequently to control the world. Will that happen?
Our Sherlock Holmes here is as razor sharp an observer as Sir Arthur penned him in his books, maybe even better. Some of the analyses will have you clapping! In addition to that he is blessed with superior fighting skills. The flashback slow motion sequences where he smothers his opponents with sheer knowledge of the human anatomy are brilliant. There is ample humour in the film right down to the last frame and thus the movie gives a refreshing mix of action, suspense, humour and special effects. Dr. Watson on the other hand is not that flimsy a character as the Sherlock Holmes books and has a considerable part in the film. Some ardent Sherlock fans may be disappointed with Guy Ritchie's unorthodox approach to the character but I will pardon him for that.
The movie doesn't lag behind at any point and the camera work is excellent. The viewers are almost led to believe that the supernatural powers Blackwood possesses are for real but then are they? And as I finally closed my eyes after the last frame rolled in, I knew I would be in again for a sequel. Well damn! I am game for it! I give it a 3.5 on 5!

Vihir/The Well: Review

Vihir or The Well is a Marathi film directed by Umesh Kulkarni. It's the first Marathi film I have seen when ironically I should have seen many by now being a Marathi, thanks to living in a different state for years!
The movie tells the story of two brothers, Sameer or Samya and Nachiket or Nacha Dada the latter being the elder one. The brothers are deeply attached to each other emotionally. Sameer lives in Pune while Nachiket stays with his family in rural Maharashtra. Sameer however is least concerned with the spiritual aspects of life whereas Nachiket is a thinker and talks about the flow of energy through all living things and the possibility of becoming invisible. Sameer always laughs his brothers ideas off.
The film at many points centers on the game of Hide and Seek and I thought instead of Vihir being the title of the film, hide and seek should have got the attention. The trouble starts when Nachiket speaks of his plans to run away from home as he feels his freedom is restricted. Sameer gets anxious with his brother's plans and actually one day when Sameer is away Nachiket disappears. Their family attributes it to him drowning in the well and even Sameer starts accepting this fact.
However once he returns to the city, Nachiket's thoughts preoccupy him and he sets off on a journey of self illumination and realizes that reality is in front of us and it's only that we never realise it.
The movie sends forth an interesting message which the director has so simply put forth. The cinematography is excellent and it is heartening to see regional films at par with global cinema. The landscapes are beautiful and the performances decent. The only weakness is the somewhat slightly dragged second half of the film but it doesn't get on your nerves.
A nice film to watch especially if you are a Marathi as you will enjoy the humour much better! I will give it a 3.5 on 5!

Landscape No:2 : Review

Landscape No.2 is a slick thriller based on the theft of a painting called Landscape No. 2 and some documents which trigger a long concealed Post World War massacre in Slovenia.
The movie is well paced with liberal doses of violence and sex. The picturization is excellent and the plot novel. The climax is totally unexpected and it leaves the viewer wondering. However on second thoughts it was totally apt. The role of the ruthless assassin is played beautifully however the lead role played by Marko Mandic may have been better with some fine tuning.
Overall a good thriller! I give it a 3.5 on 5!

clear rating

The Candidate/Kandidaten: Review

Thrillers are fun to watch but difficult to review. The problem is that after watching so many well made thrillers it's really difficult to rate them. The Candidate is one such thriller which sent me into a dilemma.
The Danish movie is well paced with really good camera work and a decent background score but what it doesn't score on is the ordinary plot. The story is about a lawyer, Jonas Bechmann played by Nikolaj Lie Kaas who is set up by an unknown adversary in a murder he did not commit which is also linked to his father's murder few years ago. He takes matters in his own hands to search for the criminals while also tackling his troubled marriage.
The movie moves at a good pace with a decent performance by the actors. At no point does the movie slacken however you can guess who the real culprit is. That is it's weakness. Thrillers are a genre which should leave the audience guessing till the end. The Candidate doesn't satisfy to that end.
However, the decent pace, the performances, the background score and the cinematography tie it all together to give one a presentable flick. It is definitely watchable once however for a person who has seen thrillers like Saw, Seven, Usual Suspects etc this one will come down the line.
I give it a 3 on 5 rating.

Antichrist: Review

This is one film I am not going to forget. For all who plan to watch it, this is not for the faint hearted. Be prepared for some grisly mutilation scenes which will have you squirming in your seats. Now, coming to the review.
Lars Von Trier's film is a take on the evil of nature and its relationship to man. The plot is of a married couple who suffer the death of their only child while making love in one of the most poetic love making scenes I have ever seen. The wife played by Charlotte Gainsbourg referred as "She" goes into profound grief and her husband, Willem Dafoe referred as "He", a therapist tries to help her by confronting her fears in a place called Eden deep in the woods.
The movie is divided into 5 chapters including a prologue and an epilogue. The woman goes through periods of severe depression and panic attacks which she tries to overcome with sex. The movie goes on with the husband discovering that his wife's greatest fear was herself and that she considered women to be bringers of evil in this world as evidenced by her opinion on medieval period gynocides. The wife keeps spiralling down the path of insanity and it is shown in the climax of the film that she watched her child jump out of the window while reaching an orgasm in the film's opening sex scene. She mutilates her husband's genitals while also mutilating her own and the movie ends with the husband murdering her wife.
Antichrist is a horrifying display of the evil of nature and its inextricable link to man. The reference to the "three beggars" and their significance to the movie is deep. The movie's title has nothing to do with "anti Christianity" but is a reference to the evil around us and the implication that nature is evil. The woman punishes herself for the death of her child and for being the reason.
The film is brutal, horrifying and truly one that will last on your memory palette forever. I won't advise this for those who are shaken by blood and violence. The cinematography is excellent and the dream like atmosphere tantalizing. The slow motion sequences are especially good. I give it a 4 on 5 rating!

Times of Peace (Tempos de Paz) : Review

Tempos de Paz is a Brazilian film set in the time of the Second World War. The story is about the interrogation of a Polish ex-theater actor who finds himself mistaken for a Nazi by a violence loving Customs official at the Immigrations office in Brazil.
The customs officer, an ex-torturer for the political police, makes a deal with the actor that if he could make him cry within the ten minutes remaining for his ship to leave, then he would grant him the Brazilian Visa.
The Polish actor starts off by narrating his experiences of the War but soon realizes that violence is the very thing that thrills the Customs officer. But in the heart of hearts he too is a man full of sorrow for what he has done.
So the actor narrates to him a verse from a play by a Spanish author and makes him cry, finally.
The movie is moving. You feel that even you can't cry but it fills up your eyes with tears. The vagaries of violence and the lost freedom of the human soul hits one hard. The performances by Tony Ramos as the customs officer and Dan Stulbach as the wacky actor are superb. The last narration of the play is a tearjerker.
Watch it for its clear message about the inner conscience of the human mind. I give it a 4 on 5 rating!

Avatar: Review

When someone has waited 15 years to make a dream come true then one can assume that this dream would be a spectacle. Avatar is James Cameron's epic adventure, almost ten years after his last blockbuster, Titanic. This man has a knack of churning out blockbusters even with a modest storyline and Avatar is no less different.
A completely fictional and fantastic new world is created by Cameron using advanced technology filming with Imax cameras and animated figures. The background is just superimposed on the animations. But what a spectacle! The landscapes of Pandora, the distant moon where the story is set will just take your senses to a new level. The Na' vi tribe, extraordinary beasts, the plants, not to mention the dragon like creatures and the Hallelujah mountains are simply mindblowing.
Add to it the superb performances of a modest cast including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and the evil Colonel played by Stephen Lang bring across the fact that Cameron doesn't just want to thrill us with his visual eye poppers.
The story is pretty straight forward but then Cameron is not known for twisting and turning plots. But inspite of that the director brings forth every possible kind of emotion be it love, anger, spirituality, greed and power with panache. It is hard to stem the sadness which fills you while watching the innocent aliens perish under the raw greed of human ambitions. The message sent out by Cameron against war and greed rings loud and clear.
Finally, the last one hour focuses on the battle between the Na' vi and the humans which I had expected to be the best part of the film. But that is the director's magic that the awesome beauty of nature shown in the film just fills your senses unwilling to be riddled with bullets and missiles.
James Horner's score is brilliant as always and falls completely in sync with the mood of the film which was all evident in its trailer itself. The picturisation and the SFX are needless to say fantabulous!
Avatar is a wonderful dream which has been realized. And it is my urge for all those who can watch it to go and watch it in 3D for that's how its supposed to be. I went and saw it in Imax! I give it a 5 on 5 and if I had my way then I would have given it even higher! Truly, Pandora is heaven!

3 Idiots - Review

Aamir Khan always delivers a bomb at the year end, and so he does this year too. An extremely well made movie which runs impressively till the last 30mins. After which the movie lets you down. In trying to connect with the Indian mass and putting through sentimental scenes what Hirani forgets is the big loopholes he creates. The child's delivery scene was a big big letdown. The ingenious engineer and "Aal is well" could have been put forward in a much more presentable and palatable way. Performing a complicated delivery like the one shown in the film is least to say kiddish. After that scene the movie picks up again only to reveal that aamir himself is Mr. Funsukh Wangru. Who on earth earns that kind of money within 10yrs of graduation? Chatur on the other hand is so rich within 10yrs that he owns a Lamborghini!! A bit unpalatable will you say? In trying to squeeze in lot of pleasant surprises by these means Hirani brings down a 5 star movie to a 4 star one. Ofcourse overall the film was brilliant and the performances great. But then you expect even better from Hirani and Aamir. Go and watch this as it is refreshing and may help you form some fundas of life. But definitely "Aal is well" won't help you in turning a baby alive needless to say that it won't start the kind of mass awakening as Munnabhai aur RDB did. That is the Achilles heel of the film. But enough of criticism if I had watched this 5 years ago I would have given it a four and a half. Thanks to watching critically acclaimed English films that I give this a three and a half on five!! But go..go and watch 3 idiots!!

Saw-6: Review

I saw Saw-6 on the preceding knowledge that it was much better than Saw-5. And so it was. That is the magic of the whole series that despite the same old gore and the number of sequels the series still kicks ass.
The story begins with the scale trap where two people have to donate flesh to tip the scale in their favour. It was an intensely gory screen that had me wincing. As I had expected the story centered around the contents of the box left to Jill by Jigsaw. The box has 6 envelopes and Jill gives five of these to Hoffman to set up the game. The game's main protagonist is William Easton who is a health insurance company executive. He is being tested for his indirect way of taking peoples' lives when they are suffering from disease. This concept is extremely good and the story woven around it is interesting. Jigsaw himself was denied coverage by Easton's company and he warns Easton that he will be judged the same way some day. This leads to series of dangerous traps and the six lessons easton has to learn. The traps involve people associated with William's work.
Meanwhile the FBI is closing in on the Jigsaw accomplice and Hoffman as a tensed out character plays it well. The Agent Perez surprise was great. Hoffman however manages to squeeze out of the situation by killing Erickson and Perez after his double identity is compromised.
The movies moves towards the climax with Easton discovering that his own life is in the hands of the family of a patient he refused cover. This was a great twist as all the time the audience is led to believe that the family is Easton's family. Easton dies brutally after being injected with hydrofluoric acid and his journalist sister watches him die.
The 6th envelope turns out to be for Hoffman himself and he is trapped in the reverse bear trap by Jill for his insensitivity towards the human body and Jigsaw's assessment whether he has what it takes to survive. We knew in Saw-4 that he would be tested at some point and this is it. However Hoffman manages to partly break free from the trap by smashing his hand and preventing the trap to open fully by pushing his head in a window. The movie ends here with the familiar Charlie Clouser score.
Saw-6 answers many of the questions left unanswered. Especially Amanda's story and how she was set up by Hoffman. That was a good one. It also reveals Jigsaw's grand plan for the health insurance companies and the reasons for it.
Kevin Greutert lifts the standard by many folds from the dismal Saw-5. The visuals are great and though the traditional score at the end is a bit modified it still fits the bill.
The stage however is all set for a seventh film as Hoffman has survived and there's a scene where Jill delivers a thick envelope from the box Jigsaw left her to an address which is not shown in the film. I give it a three and a half on five. The Game has again, just begun!