Only in Japan?

Old enough! (Japanese, since 1991)
Reality Show

For a long time, people in Japan have been in stitches periodically, seeing toddlers who are barely able to walk going off on a journey to perform their first chore. Children between two (yes, as early as two) to five are assigned by their parents, as planned by the documentary makers, to go out of their houses, out in the street to run a list of errands. 

It is thunderous to see these easily distractable cuties wobbling around with bags strapped over their shoulders, out in the streets, looking at buildings around them, reminding themselves how to get to their destinations. The camera crew who accompany them are not allowed to help them out. They act out as mere passers-by. Invariably, the children will end up completing their tasks. Besides seeing the kid's antics, viewers will also have a picturesque panoramic view of the landscape of different small towns in Japan.

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,

Home again, Home again, jiggety-jig.

The first thing that crosses a non-Japanese watching this show is that these things can only happen in Japan. Allowing a young child out in the street all alone to do stuff in the name of making them independent will only be done by the Japanese. Firstly, as I know, young kids do not learn academic things in the first years of their early education. Instead, they are taught skills. They learn about body hygiene, cleanliness, performing house chores, cleaning toilets, cutting vegetable etcetera.

Japan is a safe country. Children do not get kidnapped or harvested for body parts. The Japanese are world famous for their social courtesy, and their road manners are world envy. Their streets are well maintained, devoid of open manholes or potholes. There is ample space and clear demarcation for pedestrians to walk safely. Furthermore, their culture encourages independence. Elsewhere in the world, the police will zoom in, or their parents will be charged with child abandonment. 

(P.S. I had to go out to do shopping at the wet market when I was nine. I learnt the hard way, after an avalanche of earfuls, how to pick fresh fish at a bargain. I, however, never perfected the skill of getting a bargain. I found it too combative and was self-conscious to be mocked at my 'ridiculous' offers.)

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It is all about how we make it!

Last Film Show (Chhello Show, Gujerati; 2021)
Director: Pan Nalin

Growing up in a lower-middle-class Asian family, the last thing we were allowed to do as children was to indulge in too much time watching movies. Movies were considered evil, deterrents that would derail us from our purpose in life. In their eyes, the purpose of life hovers around getting into the fields of law, medicine, engineering or teaching (if you are a female). Anything else would not just cut it.

As we grew up in our own time, we realised that life is neither black nor white. Straying away from the top four noble professions did not make one a failure, and following religiously along the pre-planned path would assure success.

This Gujerati film is a surprise nomination for the 2022 Academy Award Best International Feature Film Category, instead of 'R.R.R.' or 'The Kashmir Files'. This movie, by all means, is not an original one. It is inspired (or plagiarised, depending on which camp one is) by the Italian 1988 masterpiece 'Cinema Paradiso'. Many undeniably familiar scenes give viewers the feeling of deja vu. Suddenly the small railway town in Gujerat feels like the heartland of interior Italy.

A 10-year-old boy, Samay, is thrilled when he is taken by his father to watch a movie at the local cinema. Usually, he does not allow his children to watch movies, but since this is a devotional movie, he makes an exception. He thought perhaps by viewing such a movie, some good values may seep in. He also warned Samay and his sister that this would probably be their first and last film show.

Little Samay is, however, totally captivated by the projection of light and panoramic range of colours that seem to emanate from that tiny hole up in the wall. Besides his school time, when he hardly concentrates anyway, and the help he gives at his father's tea stall at the railway, he spends most of his time in the projection room after befriending and trading his lunch with the projectionist.

In this coming-of-age film, young Samay and his inquisitive friends sneak around, steal rolls of film, get into trouble with the men in blue, and, finally, a big lesson in life. The film's highlight must surely be their effort in screening a movie from an improvised projector made from discarded household items and their voice-over for sound effects. Whatever is said and done, this movie is highly commendable for its creativity.

The other lesson the storytellers seem to impart is the impermanence of everything around us. At once, these projection films were such valued merchandise; they were protected under lock and key with police protection. The next moment, we see that they are worthless. They are discarded with other trash. Even as discards, the film rolls are still helpful. They give joy to many young girls in the form of coloured bangles. The projector and film covers are recycled as cutlery.

An exciting viewing, 8/10.

(P.S. The School of Hard Knocks have taught me that nothing is wasteful. Immersing oneself in the make-believe world of Tinseltown or the mirage of the cyber world will not turn that person into someone he does not want to be. Everyone has the mental capacity and free will to decide the path that he wants to follow. Knowledge has no boundaries and can never be wasteful. The same media that spews porn also teach coding. Films put reality on screen. It mimics life for us to appreciate that life is precious and is malleable to the path we want to follow!)

(P.P.S. Interestingly, the protagonist's name is Samay, meaning time. We can see how Samay @ time evolves with everchanging exposures and challenges that hit upon it. And it is ever ready to change!)

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Just when we think it was safe to be amongst our kind!

The Handmaiden (Korean, 2016)
Director: Park Chan-wook

There was a time that it was a given that a lady would feel comfortable in the presence of another lady when she is facing a potentially embarrassing situation. A. male medical practitioner would be required by law when he is examining a female patient. Lady doctors are assumed not to assert their powers over their male patients. 

The ladies washroom was considered a safe space, and they thought they would be protected. When faced with untoward incidents, especially with a member of the opposite sex, ladies would find solace there. After watching numerous Hollywood high school movies, we know how mean girls can be. If they thought that powdering her nose in the company of those of their kind would ensure non-passage of judging looks on her anatomy, I have news for them. Females are their greatest critics.

The members of the fairer sex think they find security in the company of their kind by travelling in ladies-only coaches and parking their vehicles in pink car parks designated for ladies. It is a defeatist idea of women's empowerment. On one end, feminists scream for recognition and respect. On the other, they plead for protection and padding of their falls. In my books, respect is gained through actions, not legislation or helicoptering.

We forget that Korean movies had a healthy life long before the Academy Awards introduced 'Parasite' to the world. And Koreans make more than lovey-dovey soap operas about lost love. Many of their stories are pretty different, and they dare to venture into territories considered taboo by most Asians.

'Handmaiden' is based on the 2002 novel 'Fingersmith' by Welsh writer Sarah Waters. It was set during the Victorian era. This movie's setting is altered to a time when Japan occupied Korea following the Russo-Japanese War. A pair of fraudsters,  Koreans from the lowest rung of war-stricken Korea. They make an elaborate plan to swindle a Japanese heiress. A con man hires a lady pickpocket as a maid to the heiress. The idea is to marry the heiress, get her committed to a mental asylum and abscond with her money.

Things take a turn. The story of the three characters is told from three points of view and ends with a twist at the end. 

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Now you know!

Heard that the word 'hunky' does not only refer to a buff guy with muscles. It could be a derogatory word for a white guy, specifically one from the East European block. 

At the turn of the 19th century US, many Slavic and Hungarian economic and religious refugees from the ailing Austro-Hungarian Empire turned up at Pennsylvania and West Virginia coal mines. As per the norm, many immigrants were hardworking people who were there to earn and go back and lead a better life. A group of young blokes expressed their newly found freedom in the saloons and sin dens. Over time, their alcohol-filled emotions would spiral into street fights and general public nuisance. Many were Hungarians and Pollacks (Polish), collectively called Hunyaks or Honyaks. 

Maybe because these manual labourers were defined with well-endowed physiques and using slur terms against any group became politically incorrect, the word hunky is now exclusively for a buffed person. 

Curiously, the words' hongkies' and 'honkytonk' are not precisely accepted kindly. People originating from Hong Kong rather be referred to as Hongkongers. 'Hongkie' is officially a slur word. Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones penned 'Honkytonk Women' after his trip to Portugal. He watched some cowboys at work and imagined probably sexual escapades in hongky-tonk bars. Incidentally, the music played in honky-tonk bars is called hillbilly music, referring to the loud music and bawdy comedy that accompanies it. It is a low-brow establishment with drunken patrons having a jolly good time. Jagger's lyrics do not precisely elevate its status. The music is catchy, nevertheless. 

Incidentally, in urban lingo, hongky-tonk refers to the gluteal region of a female, particularly a cute one. Now you know.

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Between doing evil and setting it straight!

Muran (2011)
Director: Rajan Madhav

Accidents happen suddenly and at random. We are made to believe that things occur for no rhyme or reason. In the churning of cosmic soup, the flapping of the butterfly wings may create a hurricane. Is it really? A perfect crime is committed when no trace of external interference with an act of nature results in a negative outcome. Nobody will blame anybody when a typhoon sweeps over a nation, as proving secret weather-changing experimentation via covert governmental projects is not easy!

This is a fascinating typical Tamil movie with a different storyline. Sadly, it is not an original offering, but its storyline is based on Alfred Hitchcock's 'Stranger on the Train.' (1951). The story has been modified to suit the local scenery and the turn of the tide of time. The strangers are not on a train but are hitchhiker-driver combo; the train is a car speeding on a highway from Bangalore to Chennai. 

Nanda is a musician. Upon his return from Bangalore, after a movie deal, his car breaks down. He manages to hitch a ride from Arjun, a weird character that he had seen the previous night drunk and about to jump off a balcony! Nanda takes the ride anyway.

Along the journey, Nanda and Arjun find commonalities. Nanda is in a loveless marriage, and Arjun is a wealthy tycoon's son wronged by his mean father. After a few friendship-bonding moments, Arjun proposes a mutually beneficial plan - each was to murder the other's misery... 

Nanda baulks at such a proposition and scoots off. He thinks it is all forgotten. Nanda's wife is increasingly irritating him and is overtly flirting with her working colleagues. Nanda himself feels like putting an end to her life when he feels the opportunity is ripe, but his inner consciousness stops him. Then Nanda receives a call from the police that his wife had been killed in a hit-and-run accident. Arjun had started his end of the bargain even without Nanda's consent. Then Arjun's cat and mouse game begins, trying to force Nanda to reciprocate.

It balances ending evil, doing the right thing and satisfying the sane conscious mind. Man, we have developed two contradictory assets over generations of mitosis and natural selection. We have gained the curse of a good memory and the often feuding of the reptilian mind and the policeman of our superego.

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Burning, burning...

©FG

You tell yourself the citizens of the country sponsored your medical studies. With a fragment of the cost of what you really need to pay, for peanuts, you got a degree. Of course, it was no easy walk in the park on your part, either. All that midnight vigil, the missed outings with buddies and the humiliations at work by seniors later on in life were your sacrifices. You were convinced that your job description would read as crucial as a bomb disposal unit. Your vocation would turn the direction of the country, it seemed. Not to forget the stresses and guilty feelings that haunted you as your patients died in your tour of duty. You can but not complain about your predicament as it was entirely your decision to plunge head in. Some reverence comes with the job, nevertheless.

Those, however, were too few and far between. The same hands that express gratitude to you would be the same ones that point accusatory charges against you. You thought they were placing you on a dais like they do to their Gods, right? When they deified you, they meant you are supposed to be infallible, and when things go south through no fault of yours, they cannot blame God, so they blame you.

If you feel it is unfair to bear the brunt of such responsibility on your tiny shoulders, by all means, move on. They are others who would gladly take over until they, too, burned out.

You are expected to do what you say and say what you do. You are just a spoke in the wheel of life. Others can use you and abuse you. But you cannot. They can be dishonest or lie through their teeth to your face. They can connive to get a big profit out of you. They can make fraudulent claims. No, siree, you cannot do any of that. You are supposed to be the paradigm of virtue. It does not matter if businessmen abuse your good office to enrich themselves. After all, they have their eyes on the money, and you have yours on the soul. So you like to believe...

(P.S. The whole equation gets distorted when the medical studies are self-financed. It is no more of paying back to society but back to the coffers. Sometimes it is an investment. Altruism rarely is in the picture.)

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Blood is thicker than water?

Gargi (கார்கி, Tamil; 2022)

Direction: Gautham Ramachandran

SonyLiv

This Tamil movie, which was simultaneously dubbed in many Indian languages at its release, is creating waves and boasts of being one of recent most interesting legal dramas. It has a gripping story, a believable storyline with down-to-earth court scenes, excellent acting and veiled social messages to match.

When someone close to us gets entangled with the wrong end of the law, we tend to side with our loved ones. At no time would we waver from our stance but to stand behind them and assert that they have been wronged. Our blinkers refuse to make us see beyond what we want to see. We know what we want to believe. We refuse to see the bigger picture. Just how far would we go with that? A case in point that comes to mind is repeated negative messages from a particular convicted ex-PM's daughter's social media handles.

A love-smitten primary school teacher, Gargi, is full of smiles. Her life is set. Her beau is so much in love with her, and wedding bells are in the air. Everything came crashing down when a 10-year-old girl was raped. Besides four other ruffians, Gargi's aged father, who works as a security officer in the apartment complex, is the fifth suspect. Very soon, she realises that she is out alone in a world that is not only so cold but violently hostile. 

The vulture-like attitude of the press becomes clear. In their ferocious appetite to tease the news, nothing seems sacrosanct. The neighbours and the rest of the general public are quick to cast their judgmental eyes and are not so civil with their caustic comments. The full trial by the media determines that the suspect is guilty even before the charge is filed. Gargi is advised to flee town with her mother and pre-teen sister. Even her fiancé is suggesting she run away from all these kerfuffles. 

Gargi Vachaknavi in the Veda. She is one of the

epitomai of the high stature of women in ancient 

India. She was Brahma Rishi, a celibate debater 

in the court of King Janaka, circa 700BCE. She 

remains the world's oldest feminine icon in 

ancient Hinduism. 

Gargi's mother's dosa flour home business comes to a grinding halt. The sister cannot go to school, and Gargi is soon sacked. No lawyer wants to defend her father due to public pressure; san a mature shy newbie lawyer with a stuttering problem and no experience defending anyone before.

Now Gargi has to take charge. She knows that her father cannot be guilty of the crime. After all, he saved her from near molestation by a teacher. It was also he who told her to stand tall to fight for herself.

The rest of the story is about Gargi and her not-so-experienced lawyer trying to get the father out on bail and doing their own investigations to unravel some ugly truths. 

Inserted with the storyline are many social easter eggs waiting for film geeks to pick up. Kudos to the many powerful inserted every now and then. Women empowerment is given prominence here. Again and again, the female characters are reminded to assert themselves. Victory seems to be seen when the pre-teen sister attains menarche, and Gargi need not tell her the dos and don'ts as a girl. 

The judge presiding over this rape case is a transgender. When the Public Prosecutor heckles the judge on the side of her gender when her ruling is not in his favour, she retorted, "I know the arrogance of men and the pain of a woman!"

The story is not lopsided, painting characters neither black nor white. Everybody has his flawed side and his weak moments. Overall, highly recommended. 4.5/5.

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