Following the flow...

Devi (Goddess, Bengali,1960)
Director:Sathyajit Ray
The film starts with the worship of Goddess Kali, fireworks and Diwali.
Uma (Soumitra Chatterjee) and wife Daya (a young Sharmila Tagore) lives with his
osteoarthritic and staunch Kali worshipper father. The father is rich with many servants at his disposal. He also houses Uma's brother, wife and child Khokha in their home.
Uma leaves for Calcutta to sit for his B.A. exams. During his absence, the father dreams that Daya is actually the reincarnation of Goddess Kali herself! He rushes to Daya's room to prostrate in front of her, joined by others in the household.
Pretty soon Daya is placed on a dais and daily prayers done upon her with aarti, bells and all. Daya, the docile occupant of the patriachial home follows suit without giving a fight.
Meanwhile, Daya is trapped in a lonely world. Her chirpy world comes tumbling down. Her demure smiles vanish, her regular play with Khokha ends abruptly.
On Uma's return, a shocked Uma cannot accept that the whole fiasco is based on just a dream. Just at that time, a poor man's child is miraculously healed from a near death condition and the father thinks that was sufficient proof for his assumption.
Even though unable to stomach the whole fracas, he is incapable of disagreeing his father's thought due to, I think, the environment the intellectuals grow in - the respect for the elders, the desire not to rock the boat and to question the age old tradition and religion.
Uma confronts his wife about the things around her. She basically tells him that she was following the elders' guidance. When he suggests to run away from all that to Calcutta, she declines. She actually thinks that she just may be Kali's reincarnation and her going away may harm him (the husband) in some way. Uma leaves for Calcutta alone.
A friend there tells him about how he had expressed himself and exert his conviction when he converted religion.
During his absence, Khokha falls seriously ill. Again, Daya is given the sole responsibility to cure him. As expected Khokha dies.

Sharmila Tagore

Uma returns home to find a distraught father blaming Goddess Kali for letting him down. A showdown ensues. Uma emphasizes that the real 'killer' was himself for failing to seek proper medical treatment. By then Daya had lost all trace of sanity and had become a raving lunatic!
The End.
This movie stirred the hornet's nest of the predominantly Hindu population during its release in 1960 for poking fun at some of India's old beliefs. The message in the film may be shared by many of the newer generation of the educated Indians who are living in a patriarchal (or matriarchal) family. The dilemma of maintaining the status quo whilst not agreeing to seemingly nonsensical beliefs after being exposed to the various sciences and scientific cum psychological exposures which explained various apparently divine happenings must be hard on them. Instead they must be looking at supposedly religious rituals as symbolisms and not at the physical aspect of things.
And also rocking the equilibrium is not going to taken lightly lying down by traditional practitioners. This is going to be many a disheartened relationship, crying hearts and familial or marital disharmony. And there is a thin line between extreme piety and lunacy? Ignorance is bliss.
Happy Navarathri- the worship of the 9 forms of the Goddess in 9 days.

All for a life and the element of doubt!

12 Angry Men, 1957
This is one of those films whose story started as a radio drama to make it to become a stage drama and later  into films in many languages from English to German to Russian to Hindi to Kannada and the story had been featured in many TV Serials including 'Happy Days' where Fonz did his jury duty.

The movie starts with the judge instructing the 12 juries to be ushered to a room for deliberations before deciding on the guilt of a 18 year old Hispanic boy from a broken home who have allegedly stabbed his father to death.
At first look, it looks like a open and shut case to most jury members. The crime and the chronology of events is only made available to us as we listen to the discussion that goes on in the hot and stuffy room.
The 12 members are all Caucasian males of different professions. No names are made available to us, only their professions (car salesman, architect, ad man, architect, watch maker, painter, man who grew up in slum). The heat in the room also took the toll on the mood of the jury. Most of them are eager to finish off their tour of duty as soon as possible and continue the usual lives. So, when the architect (Henry Fonda) suggests that he would like to discuss the case before deciding in the fate of the young man, they naturally get annoyed. They put their decision to a vote. The initially outcome was 11 to 1 for a guilty charge. As the decision was not unanimous, they started talking. They all agreed that the defence counsel, probably working pro bono, did not put his mind and soul to defend such a case as it was not rewarding and the boy was a delinquent anyway.
They also realised that there were pitfalls in the witness' story. An eye witness alleged saw the act from a moving train and another, a hemiplegic neighbour supposed to have dashed at a quick pace to witness the event.
As the discussion goes on, they put the verdict to a vote. As time goes on more and more people started having second thoughts on passing a guilty charge.
More and more people get into each other's nerve.
The story goes on with finally with the vote goes on 11-1 in favour of a not guilty charge when somebody realised that the lady witness could be wearing glasses, hence it was not possible for her to identify the assailant as she was lying in bed and people do not generally wear glasses when they are going to sleep.
The last man standing soon realized that he was recalcitrant because of unresolved issues with his son with whom he was not in speaking terms. He finally gave a not-guilty charge making it an unanimous decision.
This film is very cerebral in nature with all scenes happening in a room with no action, swashbuckling scenes or special effects. And on top of it, there is not a single female in the cast of actors. It gives good lessons in the art of persuasion and reasoning. Jack Klugman (Quincy M.E.) and Jack Warden are the familiar faces in the movie together with Henry Fonda.
The interesting thing about this story is that they stereotype class, not ethnicity. One has to remember it was made before the era of the Black Liberty and gender equality movements. Hence, there were no African Americans and women in the panel of jury. Only a nationalised European (probably Swiss) was there.
Just a thought... I am sure that in the Bollywood version, the producers must have included some dance sequences and some masala as well! If not, it would have brought in any returns at all.

A memorable quote,(Still relevant after 50 over years!)

Juror #3: It's these kids - the way they are nowadays. When I was a kid I used to call my father, 'Sir'. That's right... 'Sir'. You ever hear a kid call his father that anymore?
Juror #8: Fathers don't seem to think it's important anymore.
Juror #3: You got any kids?
Juror #8: Three.
Juror #3: I got one. Twenty-two years old.
[takes photo from his wallet and shows it to Juror #8]
Juror #3: Aah. When he was nine years old he ran away from a fight. I saw it; I was so embarrassed I almost threw up. I said, "I'm gonna make a man outa you if I have to break you in two tryin'". And I made a man out of him. When he was sixteen we had a fight. Hit me in the jaw - a big kid. Haven't seen him for two years. Kids... work your heart out...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Twelve_Angry_Men_Trailer.theora.ogv

A serial killer pastor!

The Night of the Hunter, 1955
Just like John Garfield, Robert Mitchum is considered one of the kings of film noir with its dark themed subject. Even in life, Mitchum and Garfield got had a brush with the law - Garfield for links with the Communist movement during the McCarthy era which cost him his livelihood and probably premature death fro m ischaemic heart disease; Mitchum with charge of assault for which he was incarcerated.
Robert Mitchum has that God given good looks at the same time looking mean with a dark past! Here, he acts as a preacher, Harry Powell, with a deviant understanding of the religion who doubles as a serial killer and goes after rich widows.
After his last duty from God (of killing yet another widow - he lost count), he is arrested for possession of a stolen car. He is found guilty and is jaiiled.
Ben Harper (Peter Graves, of Mission Impossible fame) is his cell mate. He is a condemned prisoner who had murdered two men and had hidden his stash of cash under the vowed silence of his kids in his daughter's rag doll. He kept his silence until the electric chair.
Harry earlier overheard Ben mumbling in his sleep something about his loot. Sensing that Ben's son John knows about the whereabouts of the money, Harry courts his widow Willa (Shelly Winters) after his release. They marry and Willa falls prey to his religious mumbo-jumbo.
Harry tries various ways to find out the hiding place of the money from Willa and the kids.
One day Willa overheard Harry beating her daughter to get the truth. Both children, however, stay steadfast to the promise they made with their biological father.

Harry kills Wilma and dumps her body to the river bed. The two kids escape from their stepfather by boat. Harry, of course goes after them, on horseback. The children find shelter in a kind lady who takes in homeless kids. Harry tries in vain to wrestle his step children away and gets shot and is apprehended.
Quite a gripping movie with excellent acting from Mitchum as a bad dude. Somehow, he was more menacing  as Max Cady in the 1962 Cape Fear.
Even though many of the shots were done in studio, they were many outdoor shoots along the River Ohio. The speech is quite different referring to the way it must be spoken along the Bible Belt states. There are a lot of Biblical references spoken in a sing song way like these...

Reverend Harry Powell, travelling to a new town, talking to himself...

' "Well, now. What’s it to be, Lord, another widow? How many’s it been, six? Twelve? I disremember. Lord, I am tired. Sometimes I wonder if You really understand. Not that You mind the killings.'
"But then the evil shows through, building in a speech which ends on a note of lip-curling, disgusted viciousness:
 ‘But there are things You do hate, Lord: perfume-smelling things - lacy things - things with curly hair.’ "

Harry, on his wedding night, refusing to consummate with his sexually deprived bride..

' "What do you see, girl? You see the body of a woman. The temple of creation and motherhood. You see the flesh of Eve that Man since Adam has profaned. That body was meant for begetting children. It was not meant for the lust of men.’ "

Sometimes it is kind to be unkind

Someone told me the other day of what happened in a small constituency in Singapore. The Prime Minister and his ruling party members were having a 'meet the people' session. 

The audience was predominantly young. When the speaker asked for suggestions on things that should be carried out in their area for their benefit, one of them got up to say, "That is what we, the taxpayers elected you for!".

I do not think this is what the nationalistic part of LKY had in mind when he and his party members set out to develop their trawler parked backwater state after leaving the coalition in 1965 with no natural resources to rely on but only their mental acuity to fall upon to the present first world status.
He must have thought the subjects would be subservient and put him up on a pedestal and forever immortalize him in the journals of Singapore history.

But no!

The product of his transformation feels that his patriarchal interventions are only to be laughed at. Suddenly, the country which groomed them (the product) is not good enough anymore. They cannot wait to fly away from their backyard, which they feel is only fit to be lived by a new wave of new immigrants. They think their freedom is stifled. They fly away to supposedly developed nations which are themselves luring qualified candidates as their own candidates (mostly unqualified ones) were either too intoxicated in the good life to move their sorry bodies to work or are busy serving the underprivileged souls in some underdeveloped despot ruled basket case banana republics after being disillusioned by their own social system!

Isn't it a full circle again?

More than meet the eyes!

The River (1951)
The film made in technicolor was shot totally in Bengal and was the launchpad of Satyajit Ray's career. At a glance it looks like a young girl's coming-of-age film about love and growing up but if we were to analyse, they are a lot of things buried in its story. Sometimes, it also sound like a documentary with many shots of  River Ganges, peasants at work, in their natural habitat and celebrations (Diwali and Holi) with the recurrent voice overs.
The story revolves around Harriet, a young teenage girl, who grows up with 4 other younger sisters and a much younger brother in a well to do Caucasian family living by the Ganges with the help of servants and nanny.
Her neighbour, Mr John, has an American visitor, a dashing young serviceman (Capt. John) with one leg. Harriet and her slightly elder friend, Valerie are both infatuated with him. Mr John is now a widower (his Hindu Indian wife deceased) with a daughter, Melanie, who has a serious identity crisis - whether he is Western or Eastern.
Capt John is rather depressed after losing his leg in war and try to come in terms with it.
Harriet is trying to grow too fast for her own good, trying to woo the Captain. She is devastated when she caught Valerie kissing him.
In the meantime, Harriet's brother, the boisterous outdoors boy succumbs to cobra bite. Harriet feels guilty for not taking care of her brother. She runs away from home but is saved by the friendly boatmen.
Captain John return to America to his life and life by the Ganges slowly returns to normal. The loss is slowly forgotten with the arrival of Harriet youngest sister.
Another point highlighted in the movie is how the visitors (British) easily accepted the Hindu culture and beliefs into their life and no qualms of practising their own religion in this land where animistic practices (some will say appreciating nature) were part of daily living.

A Bengali folklore!

The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha (Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne), Bengali, 1969. B/W
Can you imagine someone making a film for his son because of dearth of local children story, made on a story written by his grandfather? Well, that someone is Satyajit Ray, the legendary film maker who was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Oscar by his favourite actress, Audrey Hepburn at his death bed in 1992 in his home in Calcutta! Even though with technical advances of the swinging 70s, this film was made in black and white due to financial constraints. There was a financial offer to make in colour but Ray decided against it as it would casting a certain someone from Bollywood!
A village idiot, Gopi, flaunts the tempura (a musical instrument like a veena) and is ridiculed by the village elders. They play a prank on him. They coax him to croak in front of a village head's abode, rudely awakening him from his morning sleep, causing his wrath. Gopi is humiliated and banished from the village.
In the jungle, he meets up with Bagha another bumpkin who was chased from his own village. Together they managed to dodge a wandering tiger. Happy with their feat, they sing and dance with Bagha playing the drums. Somehow this pleased the spirits of the jungle. The King Ghost manifests to grant them wishes of clothes, food, slippers to aid travel and that their music be liked by everyone.Sure enough, the following day Gopee has a melodious voice and Bagha can play the drums well. Food arrives with the clap of the hand.

The friends hear from a moving foot convoy of music contest in Shindi. After making some bumbling mistakes with venue, they finally reached their destination with their magic slippers.
At the contest, they managed to mesmerize the Maharajah and even the competitors. In the meantime, the King of Halla declares war on Shindi. Devoid of horses and camel, the Maharajah is certain of failure. Gopee and Bagha promise to help. They were thinking of using their magic. If they were to avert war, the maharajah promised the hand of marriage of his only daughter to one of them.
They infiltrate into the enemy's kingdom and gain secrets of their strategy. They discover that the Prime Minister of Halla is a conniving thorn in the flesh. He puts the King of Halla under a magic spell to fight the kingdom of Shundi even though both kings are brothers. On the way back to alert their Maharajah, the friends got caught and are imprisoned. They, however, manage to escape by enticing the guards with mouth watering food, thanks to their magical skills.
Goopy and Bagha manage to halt the invading cavalry through their music. The soldiers go running to collect ladoo falling from the sky rather than fighting their war, again through magic.
Both kings are united, the spell is broken and the boys get their life long wish to marry a princess. Each king had a daughter each.
This film showcases of Bengali rich tradition of dance and music. It was a commercial success locally but not really famous world wide. There is no marvel cinematography to shout about, however. The field of special effects was still at its infancy. The scene where the spirits of the jungle seem to be dancing was obviously taken over a waving white sheet with dancers and lighting behind it.

Atrocity in the name of nationalism

Men Behind the Sun (1988)

Saw a rather disturbing movie the other day. Disturbing, because of the gruesome cinematography and because of the subject matter. It was a historical film directed by a Chinese director named T.F Mou and relives the atrocities carried out by the Japanese Imperial Army (Manchuko Unit 731) on its prisoners during the tail end of the Second World War. Gruesome human experiments using biological weapons with microbes like anthrax  plague and many more were done. The efficacy of various bombs and poisons were conducted on live subjects. The ability to withstand extreme temperatures were tested. The subjects were Chinese, Russian and Korean prisoners.
The centre is led by a scientist named Shiro Ishii and it is unbelievable what men can actually do his fellow kind all in the name of national pride and war. I doubt that we are now wiser than we were before more than three quarter of a century ago. We are still doing the same thing this very moment - killing attendees of family wedding in a remote village some thousands of miles away using joystick of a computer to manoeuvre killer drones to launch cluster bombs; and is not child's game and is not the same as killing fictitious alien space ship in Star Trek!
When Nagasaki and Hiroshima were bombed, effectively putting an end to the 2nd Sino-Japanese War and World War 2, the Army left the laboratory destroying all proof of its existence. The unit was instrumental in the death of 3,000 prisoners in human experiments and 200, 000 Chinese in field tests.
The Japanese have neither admitted to such inhumane behaviour nor has it offered its apology.
This project is said more advanced and gruesome compared to the minuscule project carried out by their Germans allies in Auschwitz.
The Generals and scientists of this unit managed to escape to the motherland, escape War Tribunal trials and in fact is said to have made a pact with the Americans. Their expertise were used by the Americans in the Korean War.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_s 731