Frozen River (2008)

Ray: I didn't know any other way to keep us together.....I mean he is a good dad...when he is not gambling
T.J.: Yeah...awesome Dad...robs us and takes off a week before Christmas.

So you want that last time to make some quick cash and promise to straighten up after that? Chances are Murphy's laws will catch up with you. Frozen River is a sad tale about two women's struggles set in the Mohawk reservation, an area in upstate New York and partly in Canada from where illegal aliens are smuggled into the territory.

When Ray Eddy's (Melissa Leo) husband disappears leaving her with her two kids, she finds herself strapped for cash to pay off her bills and keep her home. The promotion at the Yankee Dollar Store that has been due since two years also isn't going to happen. She doesn't want her 15 year old elder son to give up his studies and help in earning some income and so it's all left to her to find a way. When she meets Lila (Misty Upham), a native Indian who helps in smuggling people across the border, they partner up to get themselves out of their miseries.  The police wouldn't question Ray "since she is white" and they can carry people in the trunk of Ray's car. The relations between the native Indians and the whites become evident as Ray and Lila start off with mutual mistrust and slowly get to help each other out of their desperation. Even though Ray has her own opinions about the Chinese and the Pakistanis trying to smuggle across the border, she is just another embittered woman hardened by her struggles and poverty.

Courtney Hunt's movie on the lives of two women works brilliantly to show us many facets of the lives of people after the crisis and she is helped by some excellent performances from the two lead actors and the rest of the cast too. The weathered face, the creases on her forehead yet the resilience that doesn't want to give a hint of self-pity makes Ray's character as real as the people you'll find in the United States whose lives have been destroyed in recent times. A must-watch.

Rating: 7.5/10

Dorian Gray (2009)

Henry: See, I envy you. Everything's possible for you because you've the only two things worth having - Youth and beauty.....The moment's lost.
Dorian: That was probably her husband.
Henry: Yes, very sensible. People die of common sense, Dorian, one lost moment at a time. Life is a moment. There is no hereafter. So make it burn always with the hardest flame.

If you could trade your youth for your soul, would you? Don't even bother answering that 'cause we all know what we say. What we do when no-one's looking is who we really are. Dorian Gray is based on Oscar Wilde's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. I remember having been quite influenced with those words when I read it during my undergrad years. Though I really don't remember much from the novel since it was ten years back. I only remember discussing with a friend who should play Dorian Gray if it's ever made into a movie. Leonardo DiCaprio is what we had agreed on since there were no other boyish faces around who could also act. Only yesterday I came to know it was indeed made into a movie. Although the choice for Henry Wotton's character can't be disputed, I'm not too sure about Dorian Gray's.  Well, any good actor could fit into Henry Wotton's role, but Colin Firth with his English accent definitely has an advantage while delivering witticisms after another  and corrupting the mind of his young companion, Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes). It's like watching the great Oscar Wilde himself in action.

Dorian Gray comes back to London and is introduced into the world of the upper echelons of society by his friend, Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin). Basil warns Dorian about the company of the "charming" Henry while saying, "You shouldn't believe every word he says. He doesn't". Until it's too late. When Basil paints the portrait of Dorian, Dorian is awestruck on seeing his own beauty and hypothetically mentions to Henry that he would trade his soul to keep his youth. As he is introduced into the world of "pleasure", Dorian unknowingly pushes his one and only love, Sybil Vane (Rachel Hurd-Wood), to suicide. Perhaps broken after the incident, he is drawn into hedonistic tendencies and the corruption of his soul. As he commits crime after crime, we see his wish has been granted - the portrait ages while he gets to keep his youth.

This is one of the most brilliant tales on the corruption of a young soul and given my interest in such topics, I was under a spell when I had read the novel. And considering the time when this book was published, I can only understand the opposition the author might have faced from society. There goes the famous quote of Oscar Wilde -"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all." I can't remember the details and hence comment if the movie has been faithful to the book, but it is definitely entertaining. Ben Barnes, at times, lacks the ability to play such a dark character while keeping his facial innocence. But to be fair to him, I can't think of a single name among the current lot who could have been a good substitute ( though I can't help thinking a Aamir Khan with an English accent could be the answer. After all, remember the look on his face in the last scene of Earth - 1947? ) Anyway, the only thing on my mind right now is to get hold of the novel and start again. I was too young then to really understand the meaning of "corruption of a soul".

Rating: 7/10

5 X 2 (2004)

Gilles: Are you with anyone? Don't you miss it?
Marion: No. Actually it feels good to be alone.......This is hard for me, too.
Gilles: You seem to be holding up pretty well.
Marion: I'm just happy it's over with......What's the matter?
Gilles: I'm just saying you're strong......You get undressed, you get laid, and you're happy. Go get fucked by someone else.
Marion[ screaming]: Shut up!
Gilles: You won.
Marion: I didn't win or lose. It's just over.
Gilles: You're right, as always. It's over. Nothing left to say.........Marion?.....Do you want to try again?

5X2 takes us through the five stages of a couple's marriage and its disintegration in reverse chronological order. The final proceedings of Marion's (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) and Gilles' (Stephane Freiss) divorce are just done with in the opening scene of the movie and we are taken through the stages of their lives together to see how they got there.

The first scene is followed by a dinner party with Gilles' gay brother and his partner where we see the cracks starting to show. As they discuss about fidelity in a relationship, Gilles narrates in front of his guests about the only time he had cheated on Marion. The whole time his eyes are fixated on her, watching her every move as if to intentionally make her uncomfortable. The third stage is about the time when Marion is in labor due to complications in her delivery, and Gilles, suddenly confused about the arrival of a new member in the family, is nowhere to be seen. We see him sitting inside his car in the rain and finally calling her (after ignoring her mom's messages) when everything is over. The fourth scene takes us to the day of their marriage with all the merry-making and the happiness of two families coming together when two people seem very sure about each other when they say their "I do". And what sadly follows is Gilles falling fast asleep by the time Marion comes over to their bed. "Are you already bored with me?", she asks and takes a walk alone in the night down by the lake where she is almost tempted into adultery. We  don't know whether she goes for it or not, but for sure she seems relieved in the morning when she professes her love for Gilles. The final scene or the first stage of their relationship takes us through how they met at a resort where Gilles is slowly losing interest in his hard-to-impress girlfriend and Marion is spending some alone-time after her break-up four months back with her former Sicilian boyfriend.

The director, Francois Ozon, doesn't pin the blame on anyone for the failure of the relationship, but lets the viewers judge. As it seems, both played their parts, though Gilles would come across as the more self-serving type who can be prone to playing mind games. While Marion is just another ordinary girl who got into a relationship at the wrong time. At times she comes across as strong, but there's always that vulnerability that can break her. She is definitely not someone who can win a psychological game and all she wants is for things to fall into place on their own. We never get to see the fights that are so often imagined as the reason for a relationship's break-down. We also don't see what exactly is it about Marion that has turned Gilles so cold in the marriage. The movie makes a point by showing us a very ordinary couple and how they move from one stage to another with no hint as to what exactly drove them apart. Maybe, in a way, it tells us love and relationships are highly over-rated to start with?

Rating: 7.5/10

The Secret In Their Eyes (2009)

Benjamin: Was it worth it?
Morales: Forget about it. Forget it! Who cares? My wife is dead! Your friend is dead too! Gomez is dead! They're all dead! Stop dwelling on it! You'll start wondering if you could have stopped it. You'll have a thousand pasts and no future! Forget about it, trust me. You'll end up with only memories.

Benjamin Esposito (Ricardo Darin) is assigned a case in which a beautiful young woman has been brutally badgered to death. When Benjamin sees the naked body of the woman, he takes it personally and it's something that'll stay with him for the rest of his life. And then there's the young assistant to the judge, Irene (Soledad Villamil), to whom he reports. When two scapegoats are convicted to close the case, Benjamin requests Irene to reopen the case as he isn't convinced they had the right guy. As they work together on the case, Benjamin starts developing feelings for her even though she is about to get married. Even though Irene is his superior and much well paid than him, yet younger in age, she also keeps sending mixed signals to Benjamin.

25 years later they meet again - Benjamin is older, wiser, yet hasn't recovered from what hit them in that old case and although he has survived a broken marriage, he still hasn't managed to let go of neither the case nor Irene. Irene is mature too, happy with kids - though still living in an empty marriage.  25 years back when they had caught the real killer, Gomez (Javier Godino), he escaped the trial since he seemed to be some kind of a protected informant for the state police. Benjamin's partner and friend, Sandoval (Guillermo Francella) ends up brutally killed just hours after Gomez's release. When Benjamin makes sure Irene is sent away from the place to stay safe from the killer, he still isn't sure what kept the killer from getting back at him ever. Benjamin starts writing a memoir and revisits the case to make sense of what might have happened and also his short romance with Irene. As he is still searching for an ending for his book, there's one piece of the puzzle missing until then.

The director, Juan Jose Campanella, intentionally hasn't led the movie in a single direction to make it a tense thriller. By adding scenes of the lost love between Benjamin and Irene, it makes the story more real. As both Benjamin and Irene rue over the things that were left unsaid (Irene less visibly so), it shows us those wasted years as we can see Benjamin's cards turning from "temo" to "te amo". Overall a great movie and I'm not sure what all the fuss was about when it won the 2010 Academy award for best foreign film category. I can only watch The White Ribbon and then comment.

Rating: 7.5/10

Mystic River (2003)

Sean: So Jimmy, when was the last time you saw Dave?
Jimmy: Dave Boyle...
Sean: Yeah Jimmy, Dave Boyle.
Jimmy: That was twenty-five years ago, going up this street, in the back of that car.
.....
Sean: Sometimes I think all three of us got in that car......Reality is we're just 11-year old boys still locked in that car imagining what life would have been if we'd escaped.
Jimmy: Maybe you're right. Who the fuck knows?

Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins) is the dead man walking and he has never explained to anyone what happened to him in the cell when he was captured by two guys who were posing as cops. He comes back home, but he is just "damaged goods" and things are going to be very different. 25 years later, when Katie (Emmy Rossum) turns up dead in the woods, the three lost boys - Dave, Sean and Jimmy - are reunited again in very different circumstances that'd not make them call each other "friends" anymore. Jimmy (Sean Penn) is the father of the victim, Sean (Kevin Bacon) is the detective investigating the case and Dave is one of the guys who saw Katie last in a bar, and hence a suspect.

When Jimmy's thug friends start an investigation by themselves, even they sense something's not quite right about Dave. Who better to turn out as a pedophile or the killer of a 19-year old girl than a guy who has himself been a victim of child abuse and has so many secrets that his "mind doesn't work right anymore". Even though Sean can see it too, he doesn't want to believe it could be Dave and seems bent on redirecting the investigation towards Brendan (Tom Guiry), Katie's boyfriend. Somewhere in the mind of Sean lies the guilt of what he thinks he could have probably stopped from happening 25 years back. If only....

Clint Eastwood's Mystic River is as much a crime thriller as it is a drama centered on the lives of three kids from the same neighborhood brooding over lost innocence. While Dave relates to the werewolves and the vampires that he watches on TV to find meaning for what stirs inside him, we only get to know in the end what exactly he was trying to say all the time and never found anyone who'd understand. If only....

Rating: 8/10

Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

Carl [to Hachi]: Look, you don't have to wait anymore. He's not coming back.

Long time back when I was a kid, I had read a story in  the Around The World section of Times of India about a dog who never moved from the place where his master had left him even after 8 years. I immediately thought if this was the story. However, the incident on which this story is based actually happened in the late 1920s.

Parker Wilson (Richard Gere) is a Music professor who finds an abandoned puppy at the station when he is on his way back home. As there are no takers and he doesn't feel comfortable leaving him all alone, Parker takes him home temporarily until the rightful owners reach out to him. As days pass, no one comes to take Hachi back. As Parker's wife, Cate (Joan Allen), seems hesitant in adopting the dog, she also realizes the bond formed between her husband and Hachi  is unbreakable and she doesn't want to play spoilsport. As Hachi grows older, he follows Parker to work and then keeps waiting at the same place at the Bedridge Station to take him back home. Until one day when tragedy strikes.....

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, Hachi is a heartbreaking story of a dog's devotion towards his master. It's a must-watch for all dog-lovers, and also for the ones who seem to prefer the company of cats. 'Cause the latter would never be able to come up with such a true story. It's a beautiful tribute to undying love and friendship. Be sure to have a few tissues around while you watch this.

Rating: 8/10

Caché (2005)

Georges: Know what, you're sick. You're sick like your father. I don't know what dumb obsessions he fed you. But I can tell you this...you'll never give me a bad conscience because your father's life was sad or a failure. I'm not to blame. Do you get that? If you ever try to hurt me or my family, you'll regret it. I can guarantee that.
Majid's son: Ah, yes. Threats...you're very good at those.
Georges: Do you expect me to apologize?
Majid's son: To whom? Me?
Georges: So what more do you want?
Majid's son: Nothing anymore. I wondered how it feels, a man's life on your conscience. That's all. Now I know.

Georges Laurent (Daniel Auteuil) is a TV book show host who has a successful and a happily married life. Anne Laurent (Juliette Binoche) is his equally successful wife and they have a teenager kid, Pierrot (Lester Makedonsky). What could be the story of the perfect family is interrupted after the couple start receiving video tapes to let them know they are being watched. As we move further and the plot thickens, we see those are not just surveillance tapes but they are also linked to Georges' childhood.

When Georges takes a trip back to his childhood days, he feels haunted by the thoughts of how he had wronged Majid, the adopted son of his parents. Having initially kept that part of his childhood from his wife, Georges is confronted by Anne when another tape arrives that has recorded the conversation between him and Majid (Maurice Benichou). Even though Georges is convinced Majid is out to take revenge, a look at the tapes and the behavior of Majid suggests nothing along those lines. When Anne isn't so sure about Majid's involvement and feels that Georges must have done something to rob Majid of his childhood, cracks appear in their marriage and also in their relationship with their son.

The movie's ending is highly debatable and the million dollar question remains who sent those tapes. Although just viewing it as a story on domestic trouble wouldn't give one enough reasons to sing praises of it, there are quite a few interesting explanations that only the French would know in more detail. One such explanation being that it talks about the history of the French-Arab relations in the country and how the wrongs once committed by the French are now coming back to haunt the country. Chickens coming home to roost? Well, I'm not sure if the chicken scene is itself a form of symbolism, but this explanation definitely sounds plausible. And as explained by one comment, the last scene showing a crowd of people is symbolically asking the viewers to look through the "noise" and concentrate on the details. And when you do, you get the message - Trust no one. The last part being just my interpretation and I'd love to discuss/argue my point on this.

Depending on what actually was the intention of the director, Michael Haneke, this could be pure genius....or not.

Rating - 7.5/10