Control (2007)

Ian: Existence. Well, what does it matter? I exist on the best terms I can. The past is now part of my future. The present is well out of hand.

Would Ian Curtis really stand a chance to be counted among the likes of Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain? After all, he killed himself at 23 when the other two lasted four years longer. Do these movies create a myth about people who probably weren't that great when they were alive? When I first watched this biopic on Ian Curtis, I must admit I could understand a little of what he was going through and how it feels to be not able to relate to anyone. 'Trapped' is the word that would best describe it.

Initially we see Ian as a lean, tall teenager who doesn't quite mix with the other kids in his neighborhood. He dabbles in poetry and quotes Wordsworth while having an affair with his friend's girlfriend, Debbie (Samantha Morton). After they get married and are about to have a baby, Ian doesn't find any spark in the relationship. It's not much of a fault of Debbie, but rather Ian's own problems in expressing himself. His songs are his only release. Until, of course, the enigmatic Annik (Alexandra Lara) comes along. While Debbie raises their daughter, Ian starts an affair with Annik, with whom he feels much at ease. Even though Ian loves Debbie, she will never be able to get into his head, the way Annik does. When Ian is confronted by Debbie about his affair, his guilt would also set off a reaction that would soon go on to consume Ian inside out. The conversations between Ian and Annik and Ian's monologues give this movie a deeper and darker feeling.

Over the years, I have forced myself to listen to Joy Division but couldn't get myself to really like them. Some of the songs like Isolation, She's Lost Control, Transmission, Love Will Tear Us Apart, Closer are quite good though. The band definitely had a lot of promise, before being cut short by Ian's suicide. Director Anton Corbijn manages to portray Ian's character with great understanding and builds the movie without going much into Ian's past or dramatizing his epileptic condition that played a role in the deterioration of his health.  Based on Deborah Curtis' memoirs, the movie focuses on the inner conflicts of Ian, his songs and his love for both Annik and Debbie. In the end, it was love that tore him apart.

Sam Riley (as Ian Curtis) probably has played the best role of his life and it'll be hard for him to surpass himself. And when he plays Transmission on screen, you'll forget for a moment what the original song sounded like. From whatever video footage I have seen of Ian Curtis and his live performances, Sam Riley makes it look even more real than Ian Curtis. Sam Riley is Ian Curtis. Samantha Morton deserves the accolades for playing the role of Debbie, a simple lass with an almost-famous husband. Toby Kebbell also plays a brilliant role as Rob Gretton, Joy Division's kick-ass manager. For people who love biopics, this is a must-watch, even if you are not much into Joy Division's music.

Rating: 7.5/10

Once (2006)

Guy: Where are you going? I wanted to give these CDs that I made for you....
Girl: [no response]
Guy: I'm just lonely...and you're gorgeous...I fucked up. ...there's not much to say....Sorry, it won't happen again

Once, a musical directed by John Carney, is as simple as it can get. Boy meets Girl. The guy (Glen Hansard -who quite resembles Hugh Laurie) works as a vacuum-cleaner repairman and also plays songs on the street to earn some extra income. The girl (Marketa Irglova), who also happens to be a talented pianist, is a Czech immigrant selling flowers during the day to make ends meet.

When the girl hears him sing a song of his own during the evening time, she is quite taken with his talent and she strikes up a conversation. When she learns he can fix vacuum cleaners too, she gets her own for repair in exchange for playing him the piano. As they become friends and learn about each other's pain in their respective relationships, they also form a pair when it comes to their music. They record an album together that would lead them on to their respective paths.

Their own stories are told through their songs that are written by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova themselves.  And I find it extremely difficult to decide which one among those songs is my favorite. I'd go for When Your Mind's Made up, Falling Slowly, Lies, Leave in no particular order. The lyrics are brilliant and alluring as they will cast a spell on you for quite some time after you have watched it. A must-watch.

Rating: 8/10

Amores Perros (Love's A Bitch) (2000)

Susanna (to Octavio): You and your plans. You know what my grandmother used to say? If you want to make God laugh... tell Him your plans.

Three lives are connected to a car crash in Mexico- which means the end of dreams for two of them, while a fresh start for the third. The movie is set in three acts: Octavio & Susanna; Daniel & Valeria; El Chivo & Maru.

The first act is about Octavio (Gael Garcia Bernal), who lives with his brother, Ramiro, and sister-in-law, Susanna. Octavio falls in love with Susanna and on witnessing the abusive treatment of Susanna in the hands of his brother, he plans to run away with Susanna. He uses his dog, Cofi, in underground dog fights and wins big, and lets Susanna keep all his money safely away from Ramiro. When another street thug loses all his fights to Octavio's dog, he shoots Cofi, and violence breaks out between the two. While Octavio is chased by those gang men in a car, Cofi lies bleeding in his car, just before the accident.

Daniel and Valeria (Goya Toledo) are about to get married soon after Daniel divorces his wife. They have already taken a beautiful apartment that overlooks the big ad banner on the street picturing Valeria at her sexiest. When Valeria leaves the apartment, she becomes the other party involved in the accident. She gets temporarily crippled in the accident, but a day of neglect makes her condition worse and her leg is amputated. As she looks out of the window consumed with self-pity, she sees the ad has been removed, only to confirm the transient nature of her beauty.

El Chivo (Emilio Echeverria) is a hit-man who also works as a trash picker while staying among stray dogs in a mess. Separated from his wife and daughter a long time ago, he spies on his grown-up daughter, Maru, but never gathers the courage to walk up to her to reveal his identity. Long time back when he was a guerilla, he had left his family to "set the world right", but wound up in jail and has now accepted his fate.  On the day of the accident, he is at the site to carry out a hit. Amidst the confusion at the scene, he manages to collect all of Octavio's money and also takes away Cofi. After straightening a few things out, he leaves all the money to Maru and leaves her a message on her answering machine, and finally finds closure.

Debutant director Alexandro Gonzalez makes all these characters real. There is a constant theme underlying the three stories where a dog (Spanish: perros) plays a central role in each and they are all longing for a love that is elusive. The brutality of life is symbolically portrayed in the dog fights, which also in a way suggests it's really no one's fault the way some things turn out. Everybody plays his/her roles while hoping for the best and having no control on external factors. The scenes are raw and intriguing, and the two and a half hour's length is well justified in the end.

Rating: 7.5/10

Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries) (2010)

Yasmin: Look Imran, Marine Drive....People throng this place everyday to eat bhel puri, pav bhaji...I think people come here more for fresh air...which is in short supply. The sea air is so different, it smells of people's desires....

After a drinking session with friends at a pub, the conversation more often than not veers towards movies. As I was telling my friend about my 3rd unsuccessful attempt at watching Ranjhaana (and his assurance that I need to reach till the point where the characters start showing darker shades), for some reason I was reminded of Dhobi Ghat - not your typical Bollywood love story. And I had to come home and watch it again, for the third time.

Dhobi Ghat is the story of a city with four different lives and their aspirations and subsequent disappointments. Shai (Monica Dogra) is an investment banker from NY who is on a sabbatical in Mumbai and has combined her research project with her hobby in photography to get a new perspective. While attending an art exhibition of painter Arun (Aamir Khan), they meet and strike a chord. After a few drinks that night, the inevitable happens and Arun is not quite sure the next morning if he really wanted it. As he makes it clear to Shai about he being a loner and not really a relationship kind of a guy, they drift apart for a while. Shai meets Munna (Prateek), the dhobi, and again starts feeling excited at knowing that Munna is a common point of contact between her and Arun. As they become friends, Shai unknowingly leads Munna on to believing that they could be a pair while all she really wants is to get closer to Arun through him.

Meanwhile Arun moves to a new place where he finds a few videotapes that belonged to the previous tenant, Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra). When curiosity gets the better of him, Arun slowly starts delving more and more into Yasmin's life through those tapes which are in the form of letters to her brother. Shai yearns for Arun's attention while going on with her life; Yasmin longs for her brother as her marriage seems to be heading into trouble; Munna dreams of a life with Shai, which he knows is not even a distant possibility; Arun finally gets to experience the ending of her mystery woman from the tapes. Disappointment awaits everyone.

Writer and director Kiran Rao makes a great debut with a beautiful story on unrequited love. Within the slow pace of the story, the details about social status in Indian society are beautifully woven in every scene. And quite ironically, the slow pace depicts the ordinary lives of people in a supposedly extraordinary fast-paced city. While not much needs to be written about Aamir Khan's performance, the other three characters are quite a surprise. Monica Dogra is the girl-next-door that you'd fall in love with, while Kriti Malhotra plays the role of a shy, repressed woman with ease. Prateek has a charming innocence about him that quite fits the role of the naive dhobi he is playing. This is a movie I'd strongly recommend to anyone who says Bollywood lacks originality.

Rating: 7.5/10

Rust and Bone (2012)

Ali: Did you have a lot of guys?
Stephanie: Before? I was with Simon.
Ali: Is that all?
Stephanie: No, there were others. But not many. I was....I liked it when men looked at me. I liked to feel seductive. That I excited them. Later it bored me, actually. 
Ali: And now?
Stephanie: Nothing. I forgot what it looks like.

Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) works different jobs to make ends meet, and he has just arrived from Belgium at his sister's place in France when he is entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of his five year-old son. He takes up a job as a bouncer at a night club, The Annexe, where he meets Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) and helps her out of a scuffle with a guy.

Stephanie is a Orca trainer at the Sea World and she also lives with her boyfriend, Simon. After the incident at the night club, Ali drives her home safe and invites himself to her place with the pretext of needing ice for his hands after the scuffle. As Simon is not too amused, Ali leaves his number with Stephanie for anytime she might need him in the future. A few months pass, and Stephanie meets with a tragic accident which leaves her crippled and alone. As she fights to get out of her depression and thoughts of suicide, she finally gives Ali a call. In the meantime, Ali has moved from his job at the night club to security at a supermarket and also helps a friend in fitting illegal surveillance cameras in the supermarkets than can provide the managers a reason to fire people.

When they meet again, Ali takes her out back into the world and helps her come to terms with her condition. When Stephanie confides in him about her unfulfilled sexual desires, Ali makes himself available on the condition of being "OP" or operational, without having any emotional attachments. While Stephanie is slowly feeling attracted to Ali, Ali seems completely oblivious to it and he couldn't care less about who he sleeps with. Ali also takes up underground fights for money and seems to be doing pretty well at it while Stephanie follows him around for his fights. For a woman, she seems very understanding towards his vocation. When things start to look steady between them, a few events follow that would test their relationship.

Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, The Beat that my Heart Skipped) delivers another brilliant story in the form of a romance and as usual, builds the characters with great detail. Schoenaert portrays the bull-headed Ali pretty well that will actually make you feel like wanting to put a little bit of sense in Ali's head. Marion Cotillard also gives an award-winning performance. Though, like always with Audiard's movies, you'll need a little patience with the pace, which is well worth it.

Rating: 7.5/10