RIFLE RANGE BOY

The Virgin Spring (Swedish: Jungfrukällan) 1960 Director: Ingmar Bergman Yet another movie questioning the silence of God on the happenings of daily life in the Ingmar Bergman fashion. This time it is set in medieval Sweden. I suppose it was the time when the people there are just exposed to the modern religion of Christianity and slowly trying to learn the mysterious ways that He works and trying to understand why. It is at a time when they are some, usually the underprivileged and the powerless with less clout in society, who are still hoping for their pagan Norse deity Odin to release them from their miseries. In essence, the Christian God seems to be the possession of the bourgeois! A rich Christian man's maiden daughter, Karin, is assigned to send candles to a church on horseback with her pagan maid. Along the way, they go separate ways. Karin continues the journey alone. Along the way, she bumps into three goatherd brothers. The kindhearted Ka...

Dam 999 (2011) In spite of having a band of renowned award winning film makers in the crew and many accolades to boast, the producers actually lost money making this movie. Before even hitting the silver screen, the movie industry fraternity gave threat their choice of actors and even a court injunction was out to ban its screening. Even though the movie is supposed to highlight the danger of dams and was dedicated to the 1/4 million people who perished in China dam mishap in 1975, the governments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala thought that it would ignite the age old water squabble between the two states. The 999 in the title refers to the 9th September 2009 and it was supposed to depict nine types of human emotions. Vimala Raman - a sight for sore eye Unfortunately, I failed to appreciate these 9 emotions in this film. Perhaps it was the language in which I was watching, Tamil. This film actually comes in four languages, the original Malayalam, th...

There have been some talk of late on the inhumane treatment of stray dogs by the city pounds. Then I heard of an NGO who is advocating counselling for children of refugees/illegal immigrants, that they should not be placed in the same place of incarceration as adults for fear of traumatizing these gentle souls for life. But then, I thought of most of the immigration population all around the world had done well for themselves and for the country that accepted them as guests. In fact, history has shown those who roam the streets of relatively stable societies with affluence, structured social structure and without a care in the world may end up as raving lunatics. Then there are those on the other end who are out to squeeze out the last drop of blood and sweat of their foreign workers. Even though, they give their life and soul to the development of the country, these workers are considered lesser human beings by many. They were not born here, they say. I was here earlier, say othe...

My Side of History (@Chin Peng; 2003) A few years ago when Chin Peng's application to return to Malaysia appeared in the local newspapers, I remember discussing with a close friend about the subject. Being a learnt chap who was fair and aged as he was, I was taken aback by his reaction. Hailing from the district of Tanjung Malim, an area listed as a red light for communists activities, he was quite emotional that Chin Peng should not be allowed back at any cost. He had first hand experience of experiencing the violence and atrocities at the hands of people who looked at communism as the saviour of our nation to escape colonisation of their European masters. Now, the question is whether CP was a liberator or a CT (communist terrorist). The question is who decides which, is it the victors of ideology or the historians. The fall of communism just convinced the victors that they were right all along. As in all human endeavours, the fallen would always be suppressed by the strong an...

The Window (1949) Another obscure film noir from the past. This time, it involves a child, a precocious child actor, Bobby Driscoll, who grew too big for his shoes too fast that he subsequently died a nobody by the street at the age of 31. Normally, I do not really fancy child actors who are too smart alecs as it is reminded me of how Amma used to admonish us for not being assertive on our speech. This film tells of a tween boy who is always full of tall stories that when he tells his parents that their seemingly nice neighbours actually killed a man, none of them believes this boy who cried wolf. Of course, it is all true. Even the killers did not realise that their nefarious act had a witness. This blabber mouth boys acts of informing the police just made him a target for the killers to seal his fate. On a fateful night when the father is out on night shift and mother is out of town to visit an ailing uncle, the killers have their chance. The boy's endeavour in dodging his ...

Rumble Fish (1983) Director: Francis Ford Cappola You can see many familiar faces in this 1983 film set in noir black and white setting. There is a theatrical feel to the movie that you feel like you are watching 'Westside Story' all over again, but of course, this is not a musical. Matt Dillon acts a troubled teenager, Mickey Rouke is a famed gangster and his brother. Others in the cast include the ever broody Nicholas Cage (also broody here) and Diane Lane. Even though the theme of this flick is gangs and troubled teenagers, it also dwells into the subject of broken family, drunken father and brush with the law. Rusty James (Matt Dillon) is high school delinquent who does everything but study. He fancies a school girl but is not strong enough to be faithful to her. And there is the drinking binge and the fights... One day, he gets involved a gang fight only to be saved by his long lost brother, Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke), one who is getting a particular cop hot und...

The Devil's Eye (Djävulens öga, Swedish; 1960) Director: Ingmar Bergman Another one of  Ingmar Bergman's dry comedy where the audience is not expected to laugh his belly out. It is again a jibe at religion, his favorite topic, this time at Heaven and particularly Hell. It is presented in a play format with three acts and an epilogue. Satan has a stye on his right eye and it could only be one thing. The vicar's daughter is to marry as a virgin.So Satan sends Don Juan, the master fornicator on a mission to seduce the 20 year old girl. In return, Don Juan's term in Hell would be reduced by 300 years! Don has 24 hours to complete his mission and arrives on Earth with his faithful butler, Pablo. After gaining entry to the Vicar's household after building a rapport after a staged car breakdown. Pablo, deprived by the pleasures of the flesh for so many years falls head over heels over the ailing and sexually neglected Vicar's wife. The Vicar's daughter, Mari...

So it is yet another run, my personal competitive run #35 since I took the plunge into my first run in 2009. This time around it is the Adidas King of the Road 16.8km run, third time running. As  I was running along the mammoth monolithic man-made structures amidst the mixed affluent and the not so affluent part of the suburbia, I realized that nothing about the race had changed. The wannabe runners with their ' gaya muthusamy ' way of branded dressing and gizmos filled to the brim, heart monitors, sweat head band, logo flashing florescent compression suits, Gel Kinsei (the Bentley of the running shoes) etcetera, etcetera. Even the loud mouthed hooligans with nonsensical hurls and catcalls at the the 15km mark were there this time around. Only this time around, they had gotten their stereophonic bass beating high trebled high fidelity systems to complement their rowdy act! Also in saree So there was nothing new, it was just same old, same old... And as I was running...

In the Malay lingo, the phrase 'ajak-ajak ayam' refers to an insincere invitation. Of course, many of us invite for courtesy's sake, but then the invitee may think that the invitation is for real! How does anyone know? Inviters and invitees must be smart enough to take the cue that one party may have gatecrashed with ulterior motives, or the other may not want him to join in the first place! Easily twenty years ago, my family was invited to a toddler's birthday party. As my children were toddlers, too, we were requested to come early so that my kids could run around and play in their big compound. And that the host said she would arrange a series of games for them to enjoy. So there we were in the early evening at a house that resembled very little of one immersed in joy and celebration. Instead, we were greeted by a house devoid of activities and no guests. The host was still out shopping her last-minute list, and her helper was knee-deep in her preparations to ...

I heard an advertisement over the radio the other day enticing its listeners to visit their medical centre which they boast of being a forerunner in the field of preventive medicine. The ad cajoled further by by highlighting the fact that prevention is better than cure. Yeah, sounds quite novel and logical but why am I not convinced? You want to prevent lung cancer and other respiratory ailments, refrain from inhaling those noxious tobacco and industrial fumes. Afraid of looking like Sivaji in 'Vasantha Maaligai' , jaundiced and all, drink modestly to keep liver diseases at bay. Avert life style diseases, embrace healthy styles! Sound easy and logical enough. But why is it that I am not convinced when a business person tells me that? Why do I feel that you just want to make a sick person out of me to tell me that I have this and that? I will be more worried of a disease that I may have a condition which may not bring me down and may earn me a label. Thanks to your zillion sc...