Revanche (2008)

Alex: Why are you doing this? Are you bored with your cop already?
Susanne: No. He's my husband. I just wanted to.
Alex: What does your God have to say?
Susanne: He understands.
Alex: A very understanding God.
Susanne: What is it? Can't you just be friendly? Will you lose face acting like a normal person? What happened to you?
Alex: I'll be going.
Susanne: Why are you this way? What did anyone do to you?
Alex: Be glad you don't know everything.

Alex (Johannes Krisch) and his girlfriend, Tamara, are burdened with debt and hatch a plan to escape their misery. But as is most common about life, things don't go as planned. Tamara is accidentally shot by the police officer, Robert (Andreas Lust), while they try to flee from the crime scene. Alex, while trying to maintain a low profile, returns to his grandfather's place where he strikes up a friendship with Susanne (Ursula Strauss), Robert's wife. In this 2008 tragic drama from Gotz Spielmann, two men cling on to the death of the same woman - one for revenge and another with guilt. The final scene where the two men cross paths is brilliant. While Robert is made to confront with the consequences of his action, Alex is faced with a question before he could justify his search for justice. Revenge - it's complicated.

Rating - 7.5/10

Warrior (2011)

Brendan: Man, I don't understand this...You won't forgive me but you forgave Pop?
Tommy: He is just some old vet that I train with...he means nothing to me..what I do means nothing to you either...you got balls talking about forgiveness
Brendan: I forgave Pop...just like I forgave you and Mom
Tommy: You forgave us??...I'm not surprised you made the tournament...you got some stones man...

Rocky meets The Wrestler. And what we get is a product better than the two. Gavin O'Connor's Warrior is a drama on the relationship between two estranged brothers and their sad, drunken father. While one is trying to save his family from financial debt and the other fighting to provide for a friend's widow, they find themselves pitted against each other in a mixed martial arts tournament. Although there's nothing new in the story, great performances by all the three main characters and some authentic fight sequences combined with great editing make this movie a reveling watch.

Nick Nolte plays the role of the father with perfection. Having wronged his family a long time back, he keeps taking the insults and sarcastic remarks of Tommy quietly. The best one from Tommy comes in the lines, "So you found God, huh? That's awesome. See, Mom kept calling out for him but he wasn't around. I guess Jesus was down at the mill forgiving all the drunks. Who knew?"  

Although some might find the last scene a bit melodramatic, I absolutely loved it. Behind all the toughness of Tommy's exterior was a just a man who needed to hear the words from his brother, "It's okay. I love you." To top it up, starts the best song of 2011, About Today by The National, which has made it to all my playlists.

The only sad part is the marketing for this movie. Whoever was in that team, he simply sucked at his job. Otherwise it'd have been easily one of the highest grossing movies of the year.....

Rating: 8/10

A Prophet (2009)

Luciano: No longer scared of me? If you can walk around this place, it's because I had you made porter. If you eat...it's thanks to me. If you dream, think, live...it's thanks to me. You have no guards? Dumb shit! The name Luciani is branded on your face! You live off me, Djebena! People look at you and see me.

Malik el Djebena (Tahar Rahim) is a 19 year old delinquent serving a six year prison sentence who doesn't take any side, either with the Corsicans or with the Muslims. But all that is about to change. He is asked by the prison kingpin, Cesar Luciani (Neils Arestrup), to get Reyeb killed in exchange for protection till he serves his time.

Malik realizes soon that the only way to survive in the prison is to work for Luciani. He runs small errands for Luciani and with his help and some good behavior in the prison, he manages to get a day off every week. Luciani, of course, uses these "leaves" to make him carry out more errands.When Malik gets into trouble with another Egyptian dealer, he suggests to his friend outside to make the Egyptian a partner and go on to rule the market and settle scores later when the time is right. Malik is no Michael Corleone for whom revenge means everything. He is a realist, unsure, unassuming and the innocence is never lost. A fast learner who knows when to keep his head down and when to stand up.

This is the second movie from Jacques Audiard (Of The Beat that my Heart Skipped fame) I've seen. He's brilliant in building the characters and the movie, at two and a half hours length, is gripping and never makes you feel bored. Both Tahar Rahim and Niels Arestrup play their respective roles to perfection. And even though the movie is not really fast-paced, it's one of the best crime dramas I've seen in a long time.

Rating - 8/10 

Wuthering Heights (2009)

Among the classics, Wuthering Heights has always been one of my favorites. I was contemplating reading it again on my Kindle, however, later I thought it'd be best to download a movie adaptation. Among so many adaptations of the novel, there were two that caught my interest - one starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche (1992) and a newer version starring Tom Hardy as Heathcliff. I settled for the 2009 version as I've become a recent fan of this actor. And he didn't disappoint in the role.

He is an orphan. I found him on the streets of Liverpool where he'd have died with his mother. He'll not tell me his name, so I'm going to name him myself....Cathy, Hindley, this is Heathcliff.

One of the best characters ever created, an antihero driven by vengeance, Heathcliff has been well portrayed  by Tom Hardy, specially after he returns a rich man. Though some of the other characters do not really fit as per the novel, if my memory serves me right. Charlotte Riley also does well to bring out the flaws in Catherine's original character. Her jealousy after seeing Heathcliff return, while she's married to Edgar (Andrew Lincoln), has been played really well, which makes Isabella (Rosalind Halstead) remark upon her as a dog in the manger. There definitely is that element of tension all the time in the movie, just as it was in the novel.

I'm not too sure of the ending though and why would they want to tweak the story. As I remember the novel, Heathcliff dies after hallucinating about the ghost of Catherine and not by committing suicide, like the movie makes us believe. And that's what I confirmed from the web too. I guess, after all, I'll have to read it again!

Rating - 7/10

2046 (2004)

Whenever someone asked me why I left 2046, I gave them vague answers.....I once fell in love with someone. After a while she wasn't there. I went to 2046. I thought she might be waiting for me there. But I couldn't find her. I can't stop wondering if she loved me or not. But I never found out....All memories are traces of tears.

2046 is not in the same class as In the Mood for Love or Chung King Express. This story casts Tony Leung in the role of Chow, a womanizer who, after a failed affair in Singapore, leaves and falls in love with the Hong Kong way of life and one-night stands. Apparently, it seems to be the same Mr. Chow from In the Mood for Love as he mentions, "I was in love with a Su-Lizhen once and never dreamt I'll meet another Su Lizhen here" (Su Lizhen is the character opposite Chow in that movie). We see him with three different women on the Christmas eve of three consecutive years. Even though he loses touch with the women around him, they keep appearing in stories he writes about a place in time, 2046. Every passenger who goes to 2046 has the same intention - to capture the lost memories. Nothing supposedly changes in 2046. Though no one knows if it's true as no one has ever come back.

More than the story line, this movie should be watched for the color themes and recurring images combined with an awesome background music. Good acting by most of the cast, and Zhang Ziyi's performance deserves a special mention. However, the movie keeps running in circles and the length can be a little tiring. Worth a watch if you are a strict Wong Kar Wai fan.

P.S. - Although Norwegian Wood has been made into a movie, for some reason I kept thinking, while watching this one, it'd be great if Wong Kar Wai adapts the book.

Rating - 6.5/10

The Barbarian Invasions (2003)

Remy: All my life I went to bed with the world's most gorgeous women. Then one morning I awoke realizing I'd fallen asleep dreaming of the Carribean. I'd grown old. Women had deserted my dreams....We can't decipher the past, how can we know the future? No one ever knows what'll happen to them. Except me, now. I know.


Nathalie: Are you scared?


Remy: Sure am. I don't want to stop living. I loved life so much.


Nathalie: What was it you loved?


Remy: Everything. Wine, books, music, women. Above all women.


Nathalie: Were there many of them?


Remy: Yes


Nathalie: Don't they begin to seem the same?


Remy: A bit, yes.


Nathalie: The trips you dreamed of, did you make them? 


Remy: Nowadays there are tourists everywhere.


Nathalie: It's not your present you cling on. It's your past life. That life is already dead.


Remy: Perhaps.

Remy (Remy Girard) is a 50-something professor who is on his deathbed and succumbing to cancer. This brings him together with his estranged family and old time friends. Sebastien (Stephane Rousseau) is very unlike his father and works in capitalistic London. Looking at his son, Remy remarks, "The barbarians everywhere, tomorrow...their Prince approaches". Though they had never seen eye to eye, Sebastien makes sure all his father's wishes are granted.

This movie explores a man's lust for life who refuses to come to terms with his impending death. He's been searching a meaning for his life and "feels as helpless as the day he was born".  In the end, the father and son resolve the tension between them as Remy says that he'd want for his son to have a son as fine as him. 


Denys Arcand manages to blend the humor, the sadness and the nostalgia all so well, it'll leave you with an experience that you can't explain, almost like an emptiness after it's over. 


Rating: 8.5/10

A Separation (2011)

He doesn't even ask me to stay. He doesn't even refuse to divorce. After having lived together for 14 years....

Simin (Leila Hatami) describes Nader (Peyman Moadi) as a "good, decent person". Yet she wants a divorce as she wants to leave her home country and settle down abroad. While that's not a choice for Nader, who has to look after his father who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Asghar Farhadi's A Separation is a drama that's set in contemporary Iran and takes a look at how two perfectly nice people can end up not wanting to stay together anymore.

As the magistrate denies the divorce due to lack of sufficient grounds, Simin goes off to her mother's place for two weeks, while their 11 year old daughter would stay with Nader. Nader arranges for a caretaker, Razieh, who'd look after his father while he is away during the day. Razieh is a pregnant woman who has to commute a long distance for the job. She comes along with her little daughter, Somayeh (Kimia Hosseini) as she tries to support the family while her husband (played by Shahab Hosseini) is unemployed.

While this would be true of any ordinary family, a sequence of events follow that spiral into an absolute mess.    As a conflict arises between the two families following Nader's accusation of Razieh for stealing, we also get to witness a class war amongst other not-so-trivial matters. While all the characters have good intentions, being completely honest is not such an easy choice they are faced with. To lie or not to lie...

As the events unfold, we again see the couple faced with the possibility of divorce. Only the roles have reversed and there's more misunderstanding. One person's offer of help can be a question of honor for another. Overall, A Separation is a brilliant portrayal of how often miscommunication and ordinary interpersonal conflicts can spiral completely out of proportion while destroying trust and relationships. Easily, my movie of the year!

Rating - 9/10