RIFLE RANGE BOY

May December (2023) Director: Todd Haynes A May-December marriage is between two people with a wide age gap. May refers to the proverbial spring (of life), while December refers to late autumn or winter. The story is based on the 1997 infamous case of Mary Kay Letourneau, an elementary school teacher in Washington, aged 34, who had sexual relations with her 12-year-old student, Villi Fualaau. She was charged with rape. She delivered a love child during the trials. She was later imprisoned for breaking a plea agreement. After her release, the teacher and student married in 2005 and went on to have a set of twins. Mary already had four children when she was teaching Villi. She was having troubles in her marriage and was diagnosed as having bipolar disease. Both Villi and Mary justified their actions as acts of love. This film revisits the Mary Kay-Fualaau family in 2015. The timeline is out here. The couple has three kids, including a pair of twins. An actress, Elizabeth (Natalie Portman...

Sansho the Bailiff ( 山椒大夫, Japanese; 1954) Director: Kenji Mizoguchi At the outset, we are told the story occurred in "an era when mankind had not yet awakened as human beings." I pictured that time can any time in Man's history. We just have yet to awaken. We can scream all we want that all Men are created equal in the image of God and whatnot, but the fact is that people always try to dominate each other. Humans always try to be one up against their neighbour and, if possible, push him down an imaginary hierarchy. Even before the mass transatlantic migration of slaves from Africa to the New World, slavery was already very much alive in every civilisation. There was a penchant for white slaves as brown people (read Arabic) prospered. The Vikings and Barbers were famous for the trade of white slaves. Some were captured crew members of small ship-jacked vessels. Others were bundled up when pirates landed on shores to snap up unassuming bystanders. There are stories of pira...

Ma Ka Doodh (Mother's Milk) Written, Produced and Directed: Dr Harsha Atmapuri One of the important reasons for choosing breast milk over formula milk, which is formulated on cow's milk, is that cow's milk is for calves. Just like humans should be fed breast milk. Calves drink milk when they are young. After a certain age, they start eating adult cow feed. And the mothers stop producing milk soon afterwards. Like calves, humans do not have to drink milk throughout their lives. But, no. We have been advised to include milk in our daily diet to ensure adequate calcium and other vitamins. This documentary tries to convince us that the reality is far from this. The maker, a doctor turned animal activist, is trying to investigate the milk cattle industry around India on how it is run and how the cows are treated. There is a concerted effort to criminally increase milk production manifold, much more than cows are actually able to produce in physiological situations. Profit is of ...

Fundamentally Happy (Singapore; 2015) Director: Yuan Bin Lei & Bee Thiam Tan Writers: Haresh Sharma &Alvin Tan I would have not given this film a second look if not for the fact that somebody mentioned that this Singapore film got the boot from the Film Censorship Board (LPF). It was initially done as a play and was staged in Kuala Lumpur without much fanfare, but as a film, a no-no. So, when someone mentioned that it was screened on  Mubi , I grabbed the chance. The censors gave for prohibiting screening because the film contains "elements that may be sensitive to the feelings of Malaysian Malays and may be interpreted by Malaysian Malays as an attempt to reflect the community's attitude towards those who abuse the weak to fulfil their desires". This ridiculous statement given by the powers given the cloud what the general public can be exposed is as absurd as what a retired Malaysian judge had said in a public address, that a particular Muslim cannot be charged ...