Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)

This is not exactly a review. Watched a late night show of Gangs of Wasseypur yesterday and came out really disappointed. Don't get me wrong - I loved the movie, specially the dialogues. You can only expect such humor in an otherwise grim and violent movie from Anurag Kashyap. However, I went in looking for a tale of revenge, and I needed instant gratification. "To be continued..." wasn't good enough for me. And frankly, even Rakht Charitra was more violent than this.....

A Very Long Engagement (2004)

If you can't cry, try talking. If you can't talk, say nothing. But sometimes, talking can bring on the tears. Tears say what you can't say, if you get my drift?

A Very Long Engagement, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is a tale of one woman's unrelenting search for her fiance in the face of adversity. Mathilde (Audrey Tatou) has been affected by polio since childhood and has been brought up by her uncle & aunt after the death of her parents. Since the age of 9, she and Manech have been close friends, which turns into love and subsequent engagement by the time she's 20.

When Manech sets off to join the French Army in 1917, we learn he's one of the five soldiers accused of self-mutilation, an act to escape the war. In the subsequent turn of events, the audience is shown flashbacks from the war and first-hand accounts of different survivors who might have known what happened to those five soldiers. As different accounts tell us that Manech might have been killed while wandering off into the no-man's land, Mathilde still believes in her heart that he is alive somewhere. Unyielding in her belief, Mathilde, at times, creates superstitious scenarios to console herself...If I reach the bend before the car, Manech will come alive!....

The movie switches between the gruesome war scenes and the beautiful landscapes of France in the 1920s. The camera work is simply amazing, however ( Disclaimer: I'm no film connoisseur) the director should have stuck to the depiction of a tragic tale, rather than fill it with intermittent scenes of humor. Somehow those scenes do not help the audience in staying focused. Having said that, the acting was excellent by the entire cast. Overall, A Very Long Engagement is only at times gripping, though a very long tale indeed.

Rating: 6.5/10

Bullhead (2011)

Sometimes things happen in life that turn everybody silent. So silent that nobody dares to talk about it anymore. To no one. Not even themselves. Not in their own head, not aloud, not a fucking word. Because everything has been lingering. Deep in those woods, year after year. But out of the blue, it is all back. Just like that, from one day to another.....Whatever you do, whatever you think, one thing you can be sure of: You're always fucked. 

Michael Roskam's Bullhead (Rundskop) tells the tragic tale of Jacky Vanmarsenille (Matthias Schoenaerts), a young cattle farmer with a troubled past for whom there is no redemption. He deals in illegal hormones through mafia connections to raise cattle in his farm. However, one shady deal that he enters into opens up a can of worms and things start falling apart. Again.

 The rage, the pain, the sadness, all simmering underneath the stoic face of Jacky is a treat to watch. As a love interest from his childhood resurfaces, his emotions and obsessions play out silently, yet intensely. The movie is a great character study where we are shown the current state of a man and flashes from his childhood that'd explain his current state.


All my life known nothing else than beasts. I've always felt like those bulls. I never knew what it was to protect someone.......I don't have what should have been my nature. 

Great performances overall by all the actors, though the closing scenes could have been better handled with a darker twist to the tale. But again, great piece of work for a first timer.

Rating - 7/10

The Intouchables (2011)

Driss: Listen to this...where can you find a quadriplegic?
Philippe: I don't know...where can you?
Driss: Where you left him

And never shall the twain meet? Philippe (Francois Cluzet), a rich quadriplegic and Driss (Omar Sy), a hustler who's been in and out of prison, had nothing in common. At least on surface. Yet when Driss applies for the job of a caretaker along with a lot of other qualified candidates, Philippe instantly likes him as Driss shows no sympathy and doesn't care. In fact, Driss is only there to get his papers signed to show he hasn't been able to find a job. His only motivation in life is to avail government benefits and to live on welfare. (Though Philippe's assistant, Magalie (Audrey Fleurot), definitely provides him another sort of motivation).

After being hired, Driss shows resistance as he won't wipe another man's ass "on principle". He also ends up disciplining Philippe's daughter. However, the two set off on a friendship in no time. Through this friendship, the directors, Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, are able to show to the audience there's more to life than wealth, race and class. The relationship is based on mutual respect, understanding and acceptance. Of course, once the movie sets off, it's a little predictable in the way that Driss will help Philippe find love and change his outlook on life. Yet unlike most other somber movies that deal with such topics, this one's filled with some really funny, though politically incorrect, jokes that'd make you laugh out loud.

There's a Hollywood remake in the offing, though I'm not sure about the level of censorship that would be forced on the script to please the politically correct American ears. You have to watch this version to believe it. It's French humor at its best!

Rating - 8/10

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Set against the backdrop of World War II, Pan's Labyrinth is a brilliant work of imagination from Guillermo del Toro. Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is a young girl who lives in the world of books on fairies and mythical creatures. Upon arrival at a war camp where her stepfather is waiting for her pregnant mother (Ariadna Gil), she chances upon a labyrinth where she meets a faun. The faun recognizes her as Princess Moanna, the daughter of the king of the underworld. "You were not born of man. It was the moon that bore you". But in order to ensure she has not turned into a mortal, she must complete three tasks "before the moon is full". The faun hands her the Book of Crossroads that will show her the future and what must be done.

As she sets off on completing each of her tasks, we also get a glimpse into the horrors of war in the real world. As her mother's weakness grows, she finds strength and support in Mercedes (Maribel Verdu). As she comes towards the completion of her 3rd task, we get to know the parallel fantasy world of fauns and fairies is just a figment of Ofelia's imagination, created in order to find an escape from the harsh realities around her. For her final task, she is asked by the faun for the blood of an innocent - her little brother. She chooses to sacrifice her right over immortality to protect her brother.

In the last scene we see Mercedes sitting by her dead body singing her a lullaby, while Ofelia is united with her father in the underworld and appreciated for having chosen well. The heartbreaking ending of the movie beautifully manages to depict the ways in which humans deal with and process the pain and agony around them.

Rating - 8.5/10