Humanised cop drama

Tengoku to Jigoku (Japanese, High and Low, a.k.a. Heaven and Hell; 1963)

Director: Akira Kurosawa

This suspense-filled police procedural film must be well ahead of its time. Because Kurosawa directed it, the suspense and investigations were painstakingly detailed. On top of all that, the director usually highlights the differences in the social classes.

High and low in the title probably denotes the two halves of the offering -the first half in the relaxed ambience of the quiet high-class home of the protagonist, Kingo Gondo, a self-made shoemaker who had climbed the rank and files to an enviable status in the National Shoe Company; the second half among the decadent life forms of the night, drug addicts and drunken revellers of the night scene of town.

Gondo shoots down the idea by fellow company shareowners to cut costs and compromise the quality of their shoes. He passionately says that shoes have to be respected as they support the whole body's weight. Furious, his detractors storm out, vowing vengeance. Secretly, Gondo had mortgaged his entire life savings to take over the company.

Almost immediately after their exit, Gondo receives a phone call that his only preteen son has been kidnapped. Even though the ransom demanded is exorbitant by any standards, he decides to pay it off with the money that was supposed to be used for business, basically making him a pauper all over again - just like it was when he started working years ago!

Just then, his son walks in. Apparently, the kidnappers had taken Gondo's chauffeur's son by mistake. The caller calls in to insist that the ransom money is still the same and has to be paid. Then, the dilemma comes. Is he still going to pay? If before, Gondo refused to call the police on the kidnapper's insistence, he immediately did that. A soul-searching moment happens. Should he give up all his savings to act as a human or give up all that he worked for all his life? His wife cannot understand as she was born with a silver spoon and had it good all her life.

Gondo relented. He chose the path of humanity.

What follows next is an ingenious cat-and-mouse story of rescuing the child, paying the ransom and the speeding electric train done professionally, belying the fact that it was made in 1963. The boy is saved, but the culprit gets the cash.

The second half of the film, a bit draggy, focuses on police investigative procedures comparable to Frittz Lang's 1931 'M'. From the comforts of the highly perched Gondos' air-conditioned villa, the scene shifts to the low level lifeforms of drug addicts, decadent midnight party revelers, back alleys and drug dens. The kidnapper is finally apprehended. He turned out to be a medical student who did it just because he felt that life was not fair as he gazed at Gondo's aesthetically pleasing bungalow from the slum of a house that he called home.

It is a gripping film that only a maestro like Kurosawa can do. It is not the typical cop-robber-rescue scenario. The story builds up gradually to highlight why certain things can be done the way they are. Gondo, who appears like a rash businessman, has a human side. His deeds go beyond the boardroom. His passion for the art of shoemaking, his concern for his subordinates, and his humility in not forgetting the roots at the time of his apprenticeship are told gradually without being preachy or over-glorifying.

I have a funny feeling that the 'low' that is mentioned in the title could also refer to the foreign culture that is creeping into the city, as evidenced by the inclusion of many multi-ethnic extras in the drunken bar and dance club scenes.

Pssst., our GLCs and DaddyKasi's can learn a thing or two about how to build up a business or a career - through hard work, diligence and hard work, not just on paper and with subsidy!

All-or-none law works in science, in life?

The roller coaster of life of survival.

Everybody has some goodness in him. Sometimes, he thinks he is doing the right thing. Well, from where he is standing, that is how it looks to him. He has to protect his own interest or that involves people around him. He says charity begins at home. When a family is taken care well, society and humanity will take care of itself. His servants may agree to his action and those at the receiving end of his actions may abhor. The victims may cry for help and may curse for him to burn in the eternal flame of hell. They would refer to history and scriptures to justify their actions or inactions.
At the end of day, at the end of life, the sums of things done in a man's life can never be either black or white. It can only be in shades of grey. It seem totally unfair to gauge the goodness (or evil) of one's action using a 2D yardstick with pre-set rules which never changes seasons over seasons and generations over.
Surely at the Pearl Gate, the dichotomy cannot be so straight forward. The deeds done in a lifetime cannot be all be easily classified - thumbs-up or thumbs-down. And it seem unreasonable to be given a new slate just because you repent at the last minute after a trail filled with heartaches, misery and disappointments. An all-or-none rule works does not seem the plausible way of doing things.There must be a halfway house between heaven and hell.

  

What is Scotland without whisky?

The Angels' Share (2012)
Whisky must be the single most important contribution of Scotland to the world. Forget short bread, haggis, shepherd pie, tartan and Sean Connery. But don't forget that the distillation technology was introduced by the Arabs to produce aromatic perfumes. Then of course, there is this debate whether it is 'whisky' or 'whiskey'. Generally the word 'whisky' is used by Scotland, Canada and Japan whilst 'whiskey' is used by US and Ireland.
They wanted to make a movie with Scotland in the background. What better way to showcase the country than to use whisky as the main theme? Put in a few tartans, show some picturesque view of the Highlands with a distillery to make you believe that God's land must be like this, sprinkle in some thick Glaswegian and Scottish accents, some youths with problems and viola, there you have it. A successful award nominated film! This formula works all the time. Remember '4 weddings and a funeral'?
This film brought in nostalgia of the time in autumn and winter of '94 when I spent some time in Edinburgh.
For the records, 'angel's share' is the name given to part of water and alcohol that evaporates during the ageing process of whisky in oak barrels.
Robbie, the hero of the film is a delinquent who frequently gets into the wrong side of the law. In spite of beating a guy almost blind, because of his partner who is due to deliver soon, he is given another chance. He is required to do community service. The officer in charge of the team, Harry, takes a liking to Robbie and encourages him. Soon Robbie's son is born and his wife, Leoni, makes it clear that their son should not a life as his father.
Harry invites Robbie to join him at a whisky tasting meeting in Edinburgh. Robbie's fellow members of the community service, Albert, Mo and Rhino, also invited themselves in. At the meeting, Robbie discovers that he had the nose to appreciate the intricacies of a vintage whisky.
One thing leads to another and we finally see the team of four heading to the Highlands to somehow lay their hands on a  newly discovered age old one-of-a-kind vintage whisky which is to be auctioned off. The rest of the story tells how Robbie and his crew hoodwink the distillery and the auctioneers to get a piece of the merchandise without anybody realising, just like the angel's share which goes missing and is unaccounted for.
With the money he acquired from the sale of the rare whisky, Robbie start life anew with his partner and son. The remaining of the gang decide to get stoned!

A law tutorial

Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

The mainstream movies have come a long way. This courtroom drama had problems getting clearance from the necessary authorities because of the graphic description of the trial. We are talking about a time when words like panties and rape made one red in the face. Guess we have come a long way to what we have now - Criminal Minds and Law & Order SVU!

Imagine the Mayor of Chicago took the filmmakers to court for the language used in the trial. By today's standards, it can be described as 'Sesame Street' stuff. I would describe the dialogue as well-mannered and using delicate words for embarrassing situations.

For the record, the movie is praised as one of the greatest law movies ever made and is sometimes used as teaching material for law students.
It is a story of a down-and-out 'country' lawyer (James Stewart) who gets a call from a desperate housewife (Lee Remick) to defend her Lt Col husband (Ben Gazzara), who is charged with murdering her rapist.

The story is straightforward, with the husband claiming temporary insanity to the crime after hearing his beautiful and promiscuous wife was raped. If you are looking for an unexpected twist at the end of the trial, you will be disappointed. Perhaps at the end of the film, the viewers are left to wonder that maybe the offender and his wife just put on a smokescreen. They appeared to be a doting couple, but behind it all, it is all jealousy, anger and unabated emotions. A good viewing that gives you the feel that you are watching an episode of 'Perry Mason' - the secretary, an investigator, everyone dressed decently and are courteous to each other!

Thought I had heard it all

Heard this sad podcast recently...

Dr Benjamin Gilmer took over a family practice in a small town in North Carolina. Interestingly, the previous doctor had the same surname as his (unrelated) and was serving time for ruthlessly strangling his father to death!

As he went on with his job, he soon realised that his patients had only lovely things to say about the previous Dr Gilmer' about his caring nature, compassion, dedication and his magical touch. Soon, Benjamin developed a keen interest to explore the real Dr Vince Gilmer, his predecessor.

Dr Benjamin Gilmer

Vince's father was a Vietnam war veteran who had been diagnosed as schizophrenic and was in a medical facility. A few hours before the murder, Vince had taken his wheelchair-bound father for a boating outing. To cut the story short, he was strangled, had all his thumbs and fingers amputated and had the body dumped by the woods to rot.
Vince Gilmore himself had been on anti-depressive medications and allegedly had had a history of purposely crashing on to a pillar intentionally to avoid sitting for a career advancement examination. Anyway, a few days before the said incident, he had stopped his medication on his own accord.

Then came the ugly court case, the vilification, the opening of dirty linen, the frolicking of profound hindsight knowledge enhanced learned officers of the court around their road kill that finally decided that Dr Vince Gilmore had indeed willfully murdered his father in cold blood.

Along the way, Vince, sacked his attorney to represent himself with disastrous outcomes. He proclaimed the lack of serotonin made him do the things that he did, but the jury did buy the story.

Dr Vince Gilmer

As Dr Benjamin dwells into his namesake's case, he could not fathom why Vince had bouts of abnormal behaviour and unusual facial movements. He thought of Huntington's disease for the possible explanation for all his misdeeds.
The case was reopened, and genetic testing confirmed positive for Huntington's disease. He was placed in a psychiatric hospital instead and was doing better while his case goes on.

No matter how much we think we know, there are heaps of mountains of things that beg to be unravelled. And we think we know everything.

Reference: This American Life
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/492/dr-gilmer-and-mr-hyde

FALSE RELIGION

 By Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

Those who in the name of Faith embrace illusion,
Kill and are killed.
Even the atheist gets God’s blessings –
Does not boast of his religion;
With reverence he lights the lamp of Reason
And pays his homage not to scriptures,
But to the good in man.

The bigot insults his own religion
When he slays a man of another faith.
Conduct he judges not in the light of Reason;
In the temple he raises the blood-stained banner
And worships the devil in the name of God.

All that is shameful and barbarous through the Ages,
Has found a shelter in their temples –
Those they turn into prisons;
O, I hear the trumpet call of Destruction!
Time comes with her great broom
Sweeping all refuse away.

That which should make man free,
They turn into fetters;
That which should unite,
They turn into a sword;
That which should bring love
From the fountain of the Eternal,
They turn into poison
And with its waves they flood the world.
They try to cross the river
In a bark riddled with holes;
And yet, in their anguish, whom do they blame?

O Lord, breaking false religion,
Save the blind!
Break! O break
The altar that is drowned in blood.
Let your thunder strike
Into the prison of false religion,
And bring to this unhappy land
The light of Knowledge.



[Borrowed with thanks from Jonson Chong's blog, Malaysian X]

http://www.magickriver.org/2008/08/false-religion-by-rabindranath-tagore.html

Lawfully yours?

Law: Freedom trap?
Heard over the weekend, a public forum, in the ambience of a multi-storey departmental, the epitome of the success of capitalism, of a topic highlighting things that mattered to the lowly common folks of the country- the law and whether it was the best thing available for the common man on the street. The forum forms part of the series of BFM Night School's outdoor activity, bringing intellectual and philosophical discussions to the masses.
With the advent and selective use of law by leaders, of late, to subdue their political opponents and even curb the supposed freedom of his subjects, this topic appears more relevant than ever, today. Whenever common sense fail to rule, the long arm of the law is conveniently invoked to scare the living daylights of its victim (lay people). The law sometimes seem not accessible to the common man as compared to people in power. Law seem to take more time than the process of governing the country. Even though avenues are available for fair representation and trial, the process appears to be going at snail's pace. At the end of the day, it looks like there is no justice in courts.
In the beginning of time, citizens agreed that things need to be done in a certain manner. He sacrificed a part of his freedom and traded it in for peace on earth. That was acceptable as law. Human beings, being left to his instincts would do whatever he feels, sometimes at a primal level. So, people have bargained with the state to let go a bit of their 'freedom' to be ruled (trapped). All in the name of peace and order so that all beings can like happily, each getting their place in the sun.
Looking at things now, rather than law helping to set order, it seems that the law is used to cause disorder.
Human rights denotes what a human being can rightfully do. It does not make sense that a law has to be meted to say what a human can do or rather teaching a human how to live. As if human beings never lived before 1948. Maybe there is something wrong in the mindset of human being himself if he does not know how a human should live.

Take for example, a primitive society in the fringe of modern city may be quite contented with their local law which may appear so-stone aged to an average modern man. Capital punishment and amputations may have been accepted as a just punishment to be meted. Can we say that that society in their own laws?
At the end of the day, man makes law to put things in order but some how feels trapped when the law he creates is used to trap into submission to satisfy certain higher orders.