RIFLE RANGE BOY

Solaris ( Солярис,  Russian; 1972) Director: Andrei Tarkovsky Even though it is supposed to be a sci-fi space drama, the story is not your usual fare for exploring new frontiers and fighting alien civilisations. It is a philosophical discourse about life and its intricacies. It is said to be one of the best sci-fi films ever produced, earning the coveted Cannes Jury Prize. Personally, I felt that watching this flick was like an exercise in endurance training for a marathon. It was painstakingly slow moving, and discussion was extremely dry. Even at a time when human civilisation is supposed to have reached its zenith and space travel is a non-event, man is still grappling trying to understand the meaning of life and human emotions. We are just through a moment in time with many external factors determining our actions. Likewise, our thinking also has a reciprocal influence on our environment. Is our desire to find love or yearn for the lost love slowing or hampering us dow...

Neelagiri Express (நீலகிரி எக்ஸ்ப்ரெஸ், Tamil; 1968) The moviemakers decided to venture into a newer genre. They tried their hand into something along the line of 'Murder on the Orient Express' by Agatha Christie. Unfortunately, it did not turn out as they wanted, a thriller. Instead, it showed the excellent comic ala-Mr. Bean role in Cho Ramaswamy. It became an almost full scale comedy with Cho hitting all the thought provoking tongue-in-the-cheek clean jokes. It is not wonder that he wrote the story! The suspense component did not excite. Neither did the musical score by T.K. Ramamoorthy. None of the songs belted in the movie stood the test of time or were vaguely familiar! The background score proved different with the usage of electronic guitars. Many of the shots were outdoor shots and I can hardly remember anyone with saree. All female characters seem to be wearing spandex pants and striped body hugging tops, probably that was the latest fashion then. The modus o...

Nineteen Eighty Four (1956) It is eerie that whatever George Orwell predicated in his 1949 fiction of a bleak future has manifested in many forms in modern society. He predicted a dystopian society where life is literally a living hell. The world is at war, divided along three ideological / racial lines - Ocenia (UK and US mainly), Eurasia (Russia, Central Asia and allies) and Eastasia (East And South East Asia). Society in Airstrip One (a war ravaged 1984 London) comprise Inner Party (2% elite), (Outer Party (13% middle class) and Plebs (the remaining 85% uneducated). The region is ruled by Big Brother, the supreme leader who watches and listens to your every move. To assists him he has ordinary citizens and even kids to pose as state spies. TV screens are placed at every nook and corner to transmit party propaganda, over glorify success and give a sense of euphoria to a country in shambles devastated  by effects of war. Language is changed to suit the times. Even history is w...

True Detectives (2013) This TV detective show has been quite a hit the world over. Its story paints a bleak outlook on humanity. Its dialogue is so profound and tears up the fabric of the type of society that man immemorial have tried to develop over the generations. Its nihilistic message is uttered week over week as the detectives go on to detect a series of ritualistic murders involving young children. Whilst they were at it, they also took a jibe at the evangelical Christians who have ulterior motives behind the supposed spreading of God words. The word white thrash repeatedly rings in this show, which uses the backdrop of the eerie countryside of Louisiana in its setting. The story is told in two timeframes (1995 and 2012, also 2002 when they split) as Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson) and Rustin Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) investigate some gruesome murders as cops initially and later as private investigators. Woody Harrelson whom most of us came to know the bartender in...

The Racketeer by John Grisham (2012) I remember a time in the early 80s when I was helping out in a relative's place. It was in an isolated part of town and I was in isolation all by myself in an empty house. The only form of entertainment there was a box of books. The TV antenna was not fixed and there was no radio for company. Rummaging through the contents of the box only revealed volumes of law journal and a few paperbacks. Unfortunately the readable books were not my cup of tea at that time. The only 'readable' book was 'The Jungle is Neutral' by F.C. Chapman which was not much to my liking - too much circumlocution and dry. And why I was wondering why people read non-fictions! How times have changed. The history of storytelling is the story of mankind. Messages imparted in condescending or instructive manner are rarely remembered for a long time. Tell it in a story form, spice it up with emotions, suspense and drama, you got your audience hooked. The bes...

Economics was easy when I understood that you have to save and you cannot waste. My Form 1 teacher, however, confused things for me. In an essay about the pros and cons of space expeditions, he disagreed that it was a waste of money. As a matter of fact, he said, nothing is a waste of money. Money does not go anywhere out of the world to be wasted. It merely changes hands. The money at the side of the transaction could still be used for 'meaningful' reasons. My nimble mind was never the same again. Money was no longer just income and expenditure. For that matter, everything had the other side, which is not necessarily the wrong one. Money and wealth are not going anywhere, just changing owners. So, the recipient of the funds is still able to put it to 'good' use. Only then may their priorities be different. They may like to keep it in assets which may be useful for the next generation. However, the building and running or maintaining the well-being of the assets wil...

Stray Dog (野良犬 Nora Inu, Japanese; 1949) Story & Director: Akira Kurosawa Unlike some police forces which take their loss of weapons lightly, like writing them off as lost in the toilet bowl or lost at sea, Murakami, a rookie homicide detective, gets all uptight when he got his police gun pickpocketed whilst travelling on a crowded train. He feels so guilty and is determined to get back his gun before it goes into a bad use. It is postwar Japan with modernisation showing its appearance in every walk of life. It looks like even though the Japanese were severely wounded by the Americans, instead of sulking and harakiri themselves or going ballistic against their aggressors, they decide to embrace the culture of the victors. Throughout the movie, most men are dressed in suit and hat. Ladies have shed their kimonos for modern dresses. Even the children are singing nursery rhymes to the tune of English ones. And their attraction of the week is a baseball game. In a way, this ...

So, there I was having a tête-à-tête with a friend who use to hail from the land of Karmasutra where the people could take you for a spin in more ways than you can shake your head. As I thought that the results of the recently concluded Indian elections would excite her, I started asking about the results at her home state. In Tamil Nadu, in spite of the bad publicity that Amma had many elections ago with the extravagant wedding of her adopted son, she literally swept the state this time around. Her nemesis failed to win a single seat. Over at the national level, the feared Hindu nationalist party won by a landslide. To be fair, Modi was cleared of wrongdoings by the court and the buoyant economic progress in his home state is the catalytic factor for his win. Many tragedies involving high level corruption, high profile national shames and stagnant economy of late had people going for a change. So, my friend, when asked on Amma's victory, she nonchalantly asserted that the feel g...

Diary of a Country Priest ( Journal d'un curé de campagne, French; 1951) Director: Robert Bresson It is one of the most depressing movies I ever saw. No one character in the whole presentation actually smiles, perhaps once. It is a highly philosophical one questioning life and God through the eyes of a young but sick parish priest posted in a village. It is not the best of times for the Man of God. Your boyish look is a ridicule point for the young girls in his class to play pranks. The clergyman is not welcomed by the villagers who have given up on the church probably due to poor produce from the fields. The winter and his tummy upset is helping either. Attendance at the service is dismal. The only attendee, a governess with a countess seem to be in sorrow but the priest cannot seem to get across to her. The countess' daughter, Chantal, is a young girl so full of anger. She curses the governess for having an affair with her father, the Count. She is naturally angry wit...

Son of God (2014) It is only human nature to be inquisitive. The human mind always tries to explore the unknown and try to go beyond the boundaries made by Man. Hence, when it was mentioned in our newspapers that the above film was banned by the local film council, the only natural reaction was try to watch it and that was a piece of cake. After watching the whole 2h44m presentation, which is more of a docudrama, you come to realise that it was no big deal. It did not appear to be controversial or powerful enough for its viewers to be born again. In fact, it was like an Easter performance for a Sunday school students. Maybe some the depiction of cruelty of man to each other may be too much for young hearts to stomach. It runs through Jesus' life story concentrating mainly from the time he enters Jerusalem during Passover. Looking at it from the outside, the situation of people in that era is similar what people are going through all the time. Tyranny rules, people in power d...

First, it was simple. Everybody did their predetermined duties in society. It started with the noblest of intentions, to relieve the suffering of mankind from the elements of nature. The exact pathogenesis remained elusive, putting a lot of mysticism, astute observation and trial-and-error into it. The bewilderment of the ability of the healing man earned him a place high up on a pedestal. It soon became the only humanly thing to do - not to deny the science and wizardry of the healers to the sick and downtrodden. As not aliments were amenable to the advancement of medical sciences, many saw it as an outlet to serve mankind. The frustrated, the forlorn, the individuals who have given up conjugal wishes and the jilted saw it as avenue to be a servant of Almighty to do His work on Earth to serve the outcasts of society. A doctrine was drafted for practitioners to hold dearly to their heart, an oath to serve humanity and first not to do harm. The pleasure of serving humanity was consid...

The Past (Le passé, French; 2013) Director and Story: Asghar Farhadi  Life in the modern world is complicated. And this film aptly illustrates the matter to the fact. Probably that is why our forefathers cast in stone some of the dos and don'ts in life. It may not solve all the problems but it may help it to make it less complicated, perhaps at the expense of personal gratification. More people, however, would be happier. Unfortunately, modern life is not such. The intricacies of individualism and unabated self expression have turned our already complicated life into a difficult Rubik cube puzzle. It is not that the individual is innately evil or vindictive, situations happen. Asghar Farhadi is a famous Iranian filmmaker with a string of hits behind his name. This offering is quite an intense one set in Paris with a melting pot of cultures. In this movie, you have a Persian, an Arab and Caucasians who are quite comfortable with the French culture. The superior nature of this ...

Memento (2000) Director: Christopher Nolan If you are fed up with watching movies with the usual introduction, crises, climax and resolution, then you should give a look at this film. It does not have your conventional storytelling. The story is told in both forward and backward almost simultaneously. The forward story is in black and white whilst the backward story is in colour and it moves concurrently. Of course it is all too confusing but it falls into place in the end. This movie is where Kollywood and later Bollywood got their idea for their violent superhit 'Ghajini'. Memento tells a story of a man who has anterograde amnesia and goes on to avenge his wife's killer. In his life, there is a man who could be a cop, a drug dealer or a conman. Then, there is a lady who is supposedly in his same predicament. He is so confused. With the help of tattoos on his body and polaroid pictures, he is trying to the piece the jigsaw puzzle together. Along the way, he remember...

If there were a God, I think it very unlikely that he would have such an uneasy vanity  as to be offended by those who doubt  his existence. And He would not like to be apple polished all the time! Imagine your children singing praises of you every time they think of you. Annoying, right? "The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." -Bertrand Russell That is the trouble, is it not? People are so cocksure that certain things must done in a certain way and insists that others follow suit or malady may befall upon them. And the naysayers do not have the courage to support themselves steady on their vertebrae to oppose such views as they themselves are not cocksure about their convictions or is it because they are wiser but do not want to offend? At the end of the day, the louder, the mightier and the vocally gifted would rule the world. The real truth would lay dormant, pacifying the feeble into submi...

Nootrukku Nooru (நூற்றுக்கு நூறு, 100/100, Tamil; 1971) Story and Direction: K. Balachander For a duration about a little more than 5 years, Jaishankar was the newest best thing in Tamil. He was always placed a notch lower than the doyens like MGR and Sivaji, nevertheless this suave humble law school dropout had his own string of hits and diehard fans. He gained fame from his roles as an undercover cop ala-James Bond, CID Shankar. In this movie, he assumes the role of a dedicated college professor protecting his lovestruck female students who conveniently put all their internal problems on him. This, however, jeopardises his career, reputation and casts doubt on his soon to be wife. A young Mathematics Professor Prakash is a reputable tutor who climbed the ladder of promotion promptly is loved by his students. One day, his whole squeaky clean image is marred by an accusation of sexual molest by one of his students, Manjula (Sri Vidya). As her parents complained to the principa...

Parineeta (2005) May be the Indians are very sentimental people. They like to reenact events of the past and reminisce it again and again. This, is quite evident in this film. More of these later. This love story was penned by a contemporary of Ravindranath Tagore, Bengal's another favourite son, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1914. It made its entry into the Indian silver screen in 1953 through its namesake acted out by Ashok Kumar and Meena Kumari. It boasts of being a classic with memorable dialogues. Like in most romantic dramas, especially an Indian one, it revolves around what appears like a love triangle but within the confines of Indians' one man one woman tradition! A woman or a man who have accepted the other as life partner stays like that till death do them apart, may be in not so dramatic way. It is a story of a the main characters Sekhar (Saif Ali Khan) and Lalita (Vidya Balan, debutant) growing together as neighbours and close friends. Lalita's name here...