The unseen non-medical effects of lockdown?

Unpaused (Anthology of 5 episodes, Hindi; 2020)
Unpaused: Naya Safar (5 episodes; 2021)

As the numbers of Omicron variant cases continue to rise, allegedly after a large congregation of unvaccinated pilgrims made it all the way to the Holy Land, now is an opportune time to reminisce the good old days when a virus from Wuhan labs jumped ship and affected humans. It is mind-boggling to fathom how much this pandemic had jolted the core of our existence.

It goes without saying that the pandemic has affected everyone in so many ways. Economically, it affected all, predominantly those on the lower rung of the food chain. Interestingly, the ten of the richest globally has doubled their wealth at the end of the second wave.

Inconspicuously, Covid infection started as a concern only for the affluent and frequent flyers as they picked the bug after globetrotting. The poor were not so concerned then. Soon, the tables turned. Living in a restricted living space and close proximity between family members made the poor more vulnerable and even outcasts when society started combating the disease.

What is often forgotten in the equation is the psychological component of this whole calamity. In years to come, the full extent of the post-traumatic stress of being cooped indoors, studying online for two years, non-attendance of familial functions and spending hours gazing at a blue screen will come to the fore.

These two anthology types of miniseries explore many of the stresses people endured in the past two waves of the pandemic. Many of the stories are so surreal and plucks the strings of the viewers' hearts. We stop complaining about our shoes when we see someone with no legs.

In the first season of Unpaused, the episode that piqued my interest was the one called 'Glitch'. In a futuristic universe, Covid has mutated so many times. The world is divided into two types of people - the 'hypos', short for hypochondriacs who simply live an isolated life with a morbid phobia of coming in contact with humans and the 'warriors', who are scientists and frontliners who fight hard to annihilate the virus. It is no more Covid-19; it is Covid-30 in the year 2030. Years of isolation have drained people of interactive social skills, and they have to depend on computer programmes to hook people up. A glitch in the systems meets two people' virtually' in a chat room. The problem is that one is a hypo and the other a warrior. The warrior in real life is a mute scientist. After an initial stormy hook-up, love transcended all differences. The hypo learns sign language and overcomes his germophobia tendencies.

In the second season, two of its episodes were, I thought they were very well made. In 'War Room', a quiet school teacher was assigned to help out at a hotline centre to arrange ICU beds for Covid patients. She carries the burden of the death of her teenage son on her sleeve. He had apparently committed suicide. Legal proceedings were ongoing as she tried to sue his college principal for negligence as the school did not arrange for medical assistance in time to save him. Despite the overhanging sorrow over her head, the teacher hoped to serve society to pay her dues. Fate plays its twisted humour when she gets into a position to deny a bed for the said principal when his son called in requesting an ICU bed. The rest of the story is about she deals with this moral dilemma.

'Vaikunth' (Heaven) is another exciting episode with a compelling storyline. A crematorium worker has his hands full as the number of Covid deaths increases during the second wave. He is a single parent, and his father is admitted for Covid. He also has a young son whom he is trying desperately to educate. He thinks he is doing excellent service to mankind by diligently handling the extra bodies to cremate. Unfortunately, his landlord and his neighbours believe otherwise. They are not comfortable with his close link to Covid, attending to Covid death and his father being Covid+. Nobody is willing to care for his son temporarily; hence, both stay on the crematorium premises. Meanwhile, there is no avenue available to find out whatever happened to his father. He is a 'frontliner', braving himself against the unseen enemy, but nobody actually gives him a second look. 

There are more things to appreciate than the story itself in these two and other episodes. The subtle inclusion of motifs (like the fire in Vaikunth - fire to cremate at the end of life, fire to light the stove for sustenance, and fire to light a cigarette to enjoy life) and the excellent cinematography. The episode ends with a poetic message about how the ashes from the burnt bodies are used to fertilise the rice fields to germinate new seeds, completing the circle of life from ashes to ashes. 

Hope is the thing with feathers/ That perches in the soul…." Emily Dickinson

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The journey or the destination?

The Worst Person in World (Verdens verste menneske, Norweigian; 2021)

Director: Joachim Trier

Maybe it is the pressure to experience all the sensations in one lifetime. Perhaps one lifespan is not long enough to complete Man's laundry list of wants and needs. There is a desire to do the right thing at the first attempt and not lose out to fellow world inhabitants. Are we so hedonistic, only caring for ourselves and not batting an eyelid for others? We have become so self-centred that nobody else matters. It is just me, myself and I.

We look at life as a reward. We exist to experience, only to die and disappear into oblivion. There are neither before nor forever after stories after this birth. We get one chance, after which it is GAME OVER. 

Like headless chickens, we seem to be running around, collecting experiences. 

We cannot wait. We see the line on the other side is moving faster. We jump queue only to find that the last line moves much quicker. We get frustrated. Getting back to the previous line is not possible. The bird has flown. We grow increasingly disheartened as your present queue crawls slowly. So slowly that by the time our turn arrives, the window is shut right on our faces as tickets have sold out. We leave, no tickets, so much time wasted but nothing to do but twiddle thumbs.

It would probably be wiser to lead a life more straightforwardly with preset guidelines of dos and don'ts. To follow the weather-beaten road would likely ensure a designated destination. The path seldom trailed may provide an exciting journey with spills, thrills and near-miss escapades, but is the journey more important than the destination or otherwise? Do we really have a preset zenith to conquer in this lifetime or are we just passing through, doing what we can, whilst reaping the maximum out of it?

This 2021 film is Joachim Trier's 'Oslo Trilogy' final instalment. It narrates the story of a fickle-minded young lady who sails through life, forever trying to find a footing in life. Julie is an exemplary student who made it to medical school. Soon she realised that it was not her calling and switched to psychology. Then psychology is also not to her liking, and Julie takes up photography. Life drifts on whilst she goes into relationship after relationship with much despair. 

It is a tale about personal development, heartaches and perhaps an analysis of what the present generation expects from a union. 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The problems of growing up!

Reprise (2006)

Director: Joachim Trier

That is the problem dealing with mental illness, the unpredictability. This is worse when the affected party is young. If dealing with changing hormones and altered body image is hard enough, imagine how much more it would be to pave a life and steer himself away from all negativities of youth!

This must be more challenging when society defines a person as an adult at 18 and pressures the person to chase his future, paving the path for self-development, finding his own identity and fulfilling the desires of youth. It is no easy feat.

This 2006 film is part of the Oslo trilogy by director Joachim Trier. It primarily deals with two childhood friends who develop a passion for writing. They take a shot at writing and both handle their paths differently. With them are their three other friends who play an important role in their life.

An interesting movie that would strike a chord with those who had grown up with a younger person with pressures of the mind.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Follow

Follow

Like bees drawn to nectar!

Jatt vs IELTS (Punjabi; 2018)
Director: Devi Dutt

It is a problem in most developing countries. The generation around the country's independence bent over backwards to provide for the family. They felt contented to be self-sufficient and to ensure their offspring were not deprived of the things they missed. With the advent of widespread dissemination of information and systemic glorification of modern living, the youngsters just turned out pompous and sluggards.

This is a universal problem experienced by societies in upcoming post-independent Asian nations. The younger generation cannot wait to buzz off from their birth country. They feel they can only find their true potential away from the toxic environments enveloping their nations. The West, it seems, gave them the validation and liberation they needed. 

Modern education provides equal opportunities for all. The end result of this is women performing way better in all academic indices. 

About twenty years ago, it seems the state of Punjab was the most prominent food supplier to the rest of the country. It also used to be the biggest revenue earner in terms of taxes. All over the years, its position has undergone a significant slide. Social problems have grown. Alcoholism and drug addiction amongst the young has skyrocketed. Punjab blames Pakistan for the maleficent dropping of dope over the border via air balloons and drones.

Komatagaru Maru

Reports of young Punjabis smuggled across the European borders are no secret. News of them being made to work in slave-like conditions in Italian vineyards and Portugal is nothing new. Canada has been a hotbed for Punjabi immigration since the late 1800s, amidst much hostility. Canadian hostile stance against Asian migration of the 20th century and The Komagata Maru incident in 1914 when Punjabis were refused disembarkation and were turned away still stays fresh in everyone's mind. 

These days, with the friendly attitude shown by Trudeau and his government, it seems that every Punjabi harbours a secret dream to be a Canadian citizen. For that, applicants need to score well on an English proficiency test named International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

This movie combines all of the above to depict the sad state of affairs in a light comedy. The main character, Jassi, is a wealthy farmer's 'good for nothing' son who spends all his time gallivanting here and there on his motorbike. He abhors the idea of continuing his father's occupation. Much to the chagrin of his father, Jaggi wants to complete his IELTS exams and migrate to Canada. The problem is that he is not the sharpest tool in the box. He learns of the idea of marrying a girl who had got a visa to Canada and joining her later with a spousal visa. The plan backfires when the wife remarries in Canada.

One would expect the film to end with the protagonist having a realisation to stay back in Punjab, develop some kind of patriotism and resolve to be a farmer. But, no. He still manages to go to Canada, albeit by other means! 

(P.S. On a side note, Trudeau's government tried to win the Punjabi hearts by apologising for the Komatgaru Maru debacle, having many Sikh ministers in key cabinet positions and expressing their undivided support in the recent farmers protest. Now the tables are turned around. Truck drivers, many of whom were of Punjabi descent, have started protesting against the country's Covid mandate and brought Ottawa to a standstill. Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, is said to have been taken away for protective custody!)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Follow

Ain’t no mountain high enough?

Louder than Bombs (2015)
Director: Joachim Trier

It seems that everyone is moving around their own burden of baggage. Just because they do not carry their heart on their sleeves and they appear composed, do not for once think that they had it all sorted out. In the same vein, like how Jesus is said to have said, "He who had not sinned shall cast the first stone!" no one is immune from failure or wrongdoing. Unfortunately, life is not two-dimensional but multilayered with sparks of goodness, evil, hopelessness, and injustices. It is within our duty to separate the wheat from the chaff. 

This story is a story of a widowed father with two sons. The mother, a high-flying photojournalist, had died three years previously. An exhibition is planned to fete her work, and a newspaper is planning an intimate exposé of her life and times. The article will not be pretty as many unanswered questions are surrounding her nasty car accident. The question of suicide is thrown in. 

The elder of the two sons is an academic whose wife had just delivered a baby. A chance meeting with his ex-girlfriend took him astray, reminiscing the alternative life he would have had if he had not married his current wife. He goes back to his father's house for soul searching. 

The young son, a 15-year-old, is apparently embroiled in his own growing pains without his mother, his go-to whenever she used to return from her long overseas trip. The imminent newspaper run down of his mother's life and times may suggest his mother's accident was a suicide. His father does not want his son to learn about his mother's double life in this manner. Hence, he tries desperately to pre-warn him. Their relationship is hardly cordial. 

The relationship takes a turn for the worse when he discovers that his class teacher is his father's new lover. 

The rest of the story is about how the three characters reconcile their differences and let sanity prevail. 

Sometimes we feel that our problems are so enormous, cataclysmic, even louder than bombs. The truth is that what we perceive as huge can sometimes be a fraction of what others may endure. No problem is insolvable. Always look at the sunny side of life.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

 

The post-apocalyptic pillbox?

 

T junction - Semenyih, Hulu Langat Batu 18, Genting Peres.

This junction had seen better days. Weekends and holidays used to be marked with a hive of activities, loud banters and laughs. Streams of cyclists enjoyed the mild temperatures, the greenery and the challenge of steep hills leading to Genting Peres. This is the once busy T-junction of Batu 18 Hulu Langat leading to Peres and beyond. Now it stands a sorry sight of the testimony of all the putrifying underhand dealings that had been happening right under our noses.

Used to be a family heirloom, now a staircase
to nowhere.

To me, this reminds me of my own imaginary vision of how the world would be after the apocalyptical World War 3 - a pillbox amidst the man-made ruin, standing proud as the last man standing, a symbol of victory after a zero-sum game.

To the outside world, it was a front for prosperity. Unbeknownst, behind the row of lush greenery that paved the web of highways lay hidden hectares over hectares of government-sanctioned logging to line the pockets of political ballcarriers. As if a signed document can cement the ecosystem that Nature took generations to reach a steady state. 

As a near sexagenarian, looking back at the repeated faux pas that put our nation in the international media for all the wrong reasons, I realise my generation and the generation before me have blood in their hands.

Nowhere in the world would Forces of Nature
systematically slice timber! Yet the authorities
denied issuing any logging licences. Of course,
the issuances were legitimised at whim.

First, they told us the majority of the country held only 5% of its wealth. Let us all prosper together, they said. What was kept away from us was an accurate breakdown of the distribution of wealth. Somehow, statistics from Government-linked companies did not make it to the public pool. Then they said affirmative action would only last 20 years. But then, a cat fed milk daily would shy away from catching mice! Then race supremacy, and religious hegemony ensued. Rubber barons ruled the roost under the cloak of official secret and siege mentality. A halo of grandiosity was painted on its citizens. Like an Emperor with his new clothes, only we were proud of our perceived achievements even when meritocracy took a backseat and the floodgates to brain-drain laid bare open.

The leaders who we thought would take care of various interests either slept on the job or were bought over. Yet they keep painting a rosy picture despite the parched desert terrain that we see. We sensed a feeling of unease when two strange bedfellows, politicians and businessmen, were screaming 'win-win'. Little did we know that 'win-win' never referred to the nation and its citizens but upon themselves!

Meanwhile, as the economic pie got smaller, accentuated by a worldwide pandemic by years of sweeping under the carpet, the stench from years of decay is finally seeped out. It took a global jolt to expose the shortcomings. Do we need another cataclysmic catastrophe to change this crony capitalism, nepotism and unashamed corruption?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

It's a hard life...

Oslo, August 31st (Norwegian; 2001)
Directed by Joachim Trier

Day to day living is complicated enough as we straddle through it aimlessly, wondering, "What is my mission ?". A certain semblance of certainty is pushed on upon us when we are told to follow the dotted lines left by those who traversed the road before us. There is a particular time to do this and that. Do what is expected of you at a specific time but do not jump the gun, they say.

Like a fleet of migrating birds, the current of the path is paved by the synchronicity of the flutter of the leader of the flock. Get into the stream and go with the flow. A recalcitrant starling who misses the spring schedule cannot possibly dream of finding greener pastures all by himself.

This must surely be a cruel way of Nature to punish those not in line. One small falter, and the individual gets decimated. There must surely be an alternative for outliers on either extreme of the Gaussian curve. But, Nature has been known to be extremely cruel. It does not give a damn.

Growing up into adulthood and fitting into adult roles are incredibly enduring endeavours. Everyone is assessed with a single yardstick and fitted into pre-designed cages. Latecomers will soon realise that they had missed the bus. If missing the bus was not bad enough, they were left with no transportation. Sometimes the latecomers feel so helpless that they wish that they would rather be under the bus. Life seems so hopeless.

This critically acclaimed movie is loosely based on a 1931 French novel by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, 'Will O' the Wisp'. It tells the tale of a recently institutionalised 

drug addict, Anders, trying to fit back into society. After losing five years of his formative years in rehab, he sees that the world has passed him by. His friends have found their footing in life. His former girlfriends have no time for him. His guy friends are talking about family life and children. Nevertheless, they do not seem too happy about it either. Even when Anders tries to get a job, his drug-filled past haunts him.

Anders tries very hard to fit in and start it all over again, but it is just so tricky. He yearns to end it all or maybe spiral back into the rabbit hole of cocaine ... It is tough.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.