RIFLE RANGE BOY

Ninotchka (1939) At one look, it appears like a movie from the genre of, what we would call 'romcom' (romantic comedy). Look deeper, it is a parody of communism and poking fun at the lifestyle of Bolsheviks who oust their bourgeois to distribute the wealth of the nation to the working class people. Look deeper still, you will find the unanswerable question of life. Is the purpose of life is to enjoy the moment, here and now or is it a journey of self-discovery, self-discipline, following of a preset path for a mission to be attained at the end of it all? This preWW2 film was banned in the Soviet Union and its controlled countries as it painted a lifeless, caricatured and an automaton-like picture of Soviet people and its officers. In the film, life in Russia is portrayed as pathetic. Living in cramped quarters with privacy being an alien word and eating omelette is a luxurious cuisine. It is the post-Bolshevik Russia and three Soviet officers are sent to Paris to auction...

Goodbye Again (Aimez-vous Brahms?, 1961) A movie made in Paris, as someone described it as typical of a French movie starring the restaurants and automobiles, involving Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Perkins (yes! Mr Norman Bates himself). It is a romantic drama which showcases the dilemma of a love of a cougar and its prey! It exposed Perkins' acting ability to earn him the Best Actor's award in Cannes in 1961. Somehow, you cannot help but visualise him as an eccentric young man here too! Paula (Bergman) is a 40 year old interior decorator who feels that her biological clock ticking away as her partner of 5 years continue life as a swinging bachelor jumping from bed to bed. Like a good partner, Paula turns a blind eye to his philandering ways as he continues with his 'business' trips and returns to her as he feels like it. Paula gets an offer to decorate an American lady's apartment in Paris. Her son is a lazy spoilt brad who is in Paris for a short stint to learn ...