Whose decision is it, anyway?

The Conclave (2024)
Director: Edward Berger

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/conclave/8d6kgwz2d5gg

The selection of a new Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, has always fascinated everyone, both Christians and non-Christians. It is not merely that they wait with bated breath to learn who the next de facto leader of the largest religion will be, but rather the actual process of selecting the next Pope, which has been shrouded in considerable mystery and secrecy. This enigma has been a source of numerous conspiracy theories and the theme of many best-selling novels over the years. 

Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons offer readers a ringside view of the setup and day-to-day operations within the papal residence and workplace, the Vatican Palace, and the Holy See. This renders it even more intriguing that Vatican City remains in contention as the wealthiest nation by area, alongside Jersey (a British Crown Dependency), Monaco, and Luxembourg, depending on how one calculates the figures.  

Most people are familiar with the Conclave, the smoke signal that signifies the election of a new Pope. It is a painstaking process involving a specially selected group of Cardinals confined in a sealed room for days of voting and debate. The candidate who ultimately prevails must achieve a clear majority of more than two-thirds of the votes. 

This film, based on Robert Harris's novel of the same name, portrays a fictional scenario in which a Pope dies, leaving the Secretary of the College of Cardinals to convene the papal Conclave while dealing with numerous secrets that the former Pope had kept close to his heart. 

From the outset, we quickly realise that there is factionalism within the Roman Catholic Church. The Cardinals tend to act collectively and vote based on their shared language and skin colour—Spanish speakers, Anglophiles, Africans, and so forth. 

Some voters express their desire to be elected in private, yet they timidly deny having any such ambitions; the Secretary, the protagonist, is one such individual.

Little secrets emerge one by one regarding the previous Pope's private meetings, which were not recorded. They all remain hearsay, with one clergyman emphatically denying them and another swearing to their truth. Amidst all this, a clergyman appears in the voting hall as the Archbishop of Kabul, a position few knew the Vatican had a representative for. The former Pope appointed him in secret (in pectore) the year before. 

The voting begins. Four serious candidates have been identified: a Nigerian, a US citizen, a Canadian, and an Italian cardinal. Each holds differing views on how the Church should navigate the upcoming times. Some are radical, while others may be more conservative or, at the opposite end of the spectrum, more liberal.

One by one, scandals unfold. The Nigerian Cardinal is revealed to have a love child and is removed from the contest. Even after days of voting, a clear winner cannot be determined. In the midst of all this, the Vatican is struck by a bomb, part of a wave of bombings by Muslim fundamentalists. An emotional outburst from the Cardinals concerning the rise of Islamic terrorism worldwide was not well received by the other clergymen. Unexpectedly, the Archbishop of Kabul emerged victorious, and white smoke was seen billowing from the chimney. 

At that moment, another dark secret emerges, this time concerning the medical history of the newly appointed Pontiff! It's an enjoyable film. I did not anticipate that the tale of elderly men in drab, plain attire, speaking in a cultured manner without any risqué scenes, could capture viewers' attention. 

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The test of life?

Test (Tamil, 2025)
Director, Screenplay: S. Sashikanth

https://www.indiaglitz.com/test-review-tamil-movie-36143

I am not exceptionally knowledgeable about the nuances of how a cricket match is played. This much I do know: the team scores a six when the batter hits the ball out of the field. The hitter is dismissed if the wicket falls, and a Test match is not merely a test but a genuine match, established initially to challenge the English team against its colonies. It is an endurance test running typically over five days. Moreover, Indian cinema rarely produces authentic cricket films, unlike Hollywood, which often features baseball and American football games. I believe this is the first time an Indian film has been made with cricket at the centre of the story. 

Another point: Due to security concerns, the Indian cricket team will not play in Pakistan or vice versa. Therefore, it would be wishful thinking to expect the Pakistan team to face their archrivals, India, at Chepauk Stadium in Chennai, as suggested in this film. 

The film did not have a particularly stellar outing. Reviewers complained about its exceedingly slow pace and numerous plot gaps, especially those related to the game's technical aspects. Nevertheless, the message behind the story is less about the storyline and more about the challenges the two main (and perhaps three) characters face to achieve success. 

On one side, there is Sara, a frustrated MIT graduate with an epoch-changing water-fuelled engine but no sponsors to help get it off the ground. He must contend with running a canteen with his friend while being caught in the middle-income trap. Meanwhile, his anxious wife, Kumudha, hears her biological clock ticking away and requires a large sum of money to undergo IVF. Sara has become entangled with some unscrupulous loan sharks. 

In the affluent part of town, there is an over-the-hill national cricketer named Arjun, who risks exclusion from the national team. His son thinks the world of him, but sadly, Arjun feels he is no longer a true hero.

Arjun's son attends the same school where Kumudha teaches, and Kumudha's father was once Arjun's cricket coach. Their paths cross again through the son. In a twisted turn of events, Sara abducts Arjun's son for money. Loan sharks also become involved. They run a betting ring and hope India loses their match. They persuade Sara to pressure Arjun into conceding the match to Pakistan's win.

Thus, the test referenced in the film does not relate to the test match, but rather to the trial that the three characters must endure to do what is right. For Sara, is being the provider for his wife (and soon-to-be family) the only way to prove himself as a good husband? At any cost, even if it is illegal?

Is having a child the only goal for Kumudha as a married woman? She was seen gleefully rejoicing when the money she so desperately needed for her IVF appeared in her account. Is it right to kidnap for cash?

The test for Arjun, the cricketer, is whether he should prioritise his self-interest in regaining his son by sacrificing the game or embrace his patriotic duty and focus on winning the match for India.

As anticipated, once the hornet's nest is disturbed, there is no going back. One must do what one must to prevent any repercussions. When the calm water is disturbed, the ripples will reach a crescendo before settling into a steady state, yet nothing is ever the same again. 

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river, and he is not the same man.

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Joy in helping others?

Irrational Man (2015) 
Screenplay & Direction: Woody Allen 

https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/irrational-man

It is irrefutable that life on Earth unfolds as we desire it to. It commences with the pain of birth, followed by a sinusoidal wave of joy and heartaches, ultimately culminating in death. Death is a sorrow not for the newly departed but for the connections formed throughout existence. One can choose to dwell on the nihilistic end of it all and brood over it throughout a miserable life, or alternatively focus on the good one can achieve while life still ticks away. 

Others make life on Earth an opportune time to sing praises to their Maker. It is unfortunate that their fellow Earthlings require assistance. They are more interested in seeking divine powers for a better afterlife or improved standings in their subsequent births. Those who regard service to their fellow mankind as their raison d'être reap unmentionable rewards by witnessing the joy on the faces of those they endeavour to help. What occurs when a nihilistic individual chooses to assist others in order to infuse meaning into their mundane existence? This sets the stage for the film.

A philosophy professor takes up a position at a small college, carrying considerable emotional baggage, including depression and a drinking problem. He forms a friendship with a fellow teacher and a student. While overhearing a woman lamenting about a judge who is making her court case difficult, the Professor devises what he believes to be the perfect murder to eliminate the judge, thinking he is providing a valuable service to the woman. 

As with all murders, none are without flaws. Before long, one by one, the so-called foolproof alibis begin to disintegrate. As each of his defences crumbles, the Professor realises he is alone. No one condones his actions. Will he confess to everything and serve time for the crime?

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Jobs designated at birth?

Tamil Kudimagan(Tamil, Tamil Citizen; 2023)
Director:Esakki Karvannan

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/t
amil-kudimagan/movie-review/103477872.cms

We are told, 'our profession is our God' (செய்யும் தொழில்லே தெய்வம்). From this adage, we understand that by performing our designated jobs diligently, we respond to a divine call. Along the way, in our long civilisation, our profession has come to define who we are and our status in life. We can blame humanity for messing everything up!

What began as a description of human aptitude and traits was categorised into academic types, those with athletic and combative inclinations, the entrepreneurial type, or the diligent and conscientious workers. People excelled in their respective skills in accordance with their innate talents. Over time, families became pigeon-holed into specific professions. Domineering behaviour is an inherent trait within us. In this way, elitists among us established hierarchical orders within society based on profession, with the scholarly and martial groups at the pinnacle. Those reliant on manual labour to perform their tasks or to handle dead animals, carcasses, hides, dirty linens, and noxious environments found themselves at the lower end of the spectrum.

Over time, this arrangement became increasingly toxic, creating divides among people regarding shared facilities, marriage, and even day-to-day social interactions. They attribute this to the British, who capitalised on the situation to further their 'divide-and-rule' strategy while ruling their Empire. Now, 75 years after independence, India remains mired in its internal divisions and caste politics. Despite all of this, it still manages to bounce back to better days, with the icing on the cake being its economy recently surpassing that of its former colonial master in size.

According to this film, pockets of discrimination persist despite significant advancements. Chinnasamy, a young man with great ambitions, is called upon to perform the last rites for deceased individuals in his village, a duty carried out by his father and ancestors. He finds the task demeaning, as no one wishes to undertake it, and people look down upon the job. The villagers' insistence on conducting one such ritual causes him to miss an important government examination, the Village Administration Officer's exam.

Things take a further turn when his medical student sister falls in love with the son of a chieftain from a higher caste. She and her entire family are humiliated. Those around them seem intent on maintaining the status quo, wishing to keep Chinnasamy's family subservient. Every attempt to improve their social standing is thwarted. Chinnasamy retaliates. When the chieftain's father passes away, Chinnasamy refuses to perform the death ritual. Everyone in his caste follows this lead. Unable to bury the old man, the police intervene. Eventually, the case is brought before the courts.

Although the whole set-up is quite melodramatic, the film carries a very relevant social message. 

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Felix, the philosophical cat!

Just the other day, a visitor to my home made a remark. She observed that my cat, Felix, was staring into the horizon while sitting by the glass window. Felix seemed unfazed by the activities within the house, instead focusing his gaze on the neighbour's gate. In front of the neighbour's compound stood a few stray cats, returning his stare. It resembled a kind of staring competition.

https://borderlessjournal.com/2025/04/14/felix-the-philosophical-cat/

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All in bad taste!

The Apprentice (2024)
Director: Ali Abbasi

youtube clip

There used to be something called decorum, a set of behaviours that everyone agreed upon, accepted as social mores and considered good manners. For example, one does not speak loudly in a library or crack a joke at a funeral. 

Now, it seems that all of this is a relic of a distant past. Nothing is taboo anymore.  

That was what went through my mind as I sat down to watch this film about the early rise of the current two-time President of the USA, Donald Trump. Narrating anyone's biopic inevitably includes some unsavoury details. With so much information available, much of it questionable in authenticity, how are we truly going to tell someone's story, warts and all, without hurting the sentiments of the person occupying the august seat, or at the very least, without tainting the highest office in the land?  

Here we have a film released about the early life of the very person who eventually won the elections to become President. In fact, he had previously served as President, a term before the current one. In America, there is a tradition. The past President is still addressed as ‘Mr President', not 'Mr Ex-President', implying the honour attached to the position. Similarly, a retired Ambassador is still referred to as Mr/Madam Ambassador. Somehow, all that goes out of the window when it comes to Trump. Rules do not apply.  

It recounts the early years of Donald Trump as a novice property dealer grappling with legal challenges stemming from accusations of racial discrimination against his black tenants. Trump endures a difficult existence, overshadowed by a domineering father, a mother who consistently hovers over him, and an alcoholic brother. He seeks assistance from a ruthless, high-powered lawyer, Roy Cohn. The name Roy Cohn emerged during the McCarthy era, when he served as the prosecutor who played a key role in sending the Rosenberg couple to the electric chair for espionage.

With Cohn's ruthless methods and Trump's foresight, the Trump brand fills the skyline of 1980s New York. The film proceeds to illustrate how Trump woos his first wife, Ivana, his infidelities, his use of amphetamines, hair transplants, liposuction, spousal abuse, betrayal of his old friend Cohn, and everything else to depict what type of self-serving man he is. I find it all in poor taste.

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A daring investigative journalism

Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover-Up (2016)

Author: Rana Ayyub

On one hand, she is celebrated as an exceptional journalist at the Washington Post and has received numerous awards for her courageous reporting of breaking news. On the other hand, she is labelled public enemy number one. The Indian courts accuse her of insulting Hindu deities and inciting racial discord, and there is even an ongoing trial concerning the misappropriation of public funds.

For background information, the cover-up in Gujarat referenced in the book pertains to the events that followed the Godhra train burning incident in 2002. In February 2002, 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya lost their lives in a train blaze. Multiple commissions failed to ascertain the true cause of the disaster. The Mehta-Nanavati report was employed to convict 31 Muslims for the train burning.

Communal riots erupted shortly after the fire. For years, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, and his party members faced allegations of orchestrating the riots. Repeated election victories seemed to strengthen public confidence in Modi's non-involvement. Nevertheless, the Western media continued their efforts to undermine Modi and the BJP's reputation, often disparaging them before major general elections through publications such as the BBC and its affiliates.

Following the riot, the police initiated a wave of arrests, and several high-profile police staged encounters occurred in Gujarat between 2003 and 2006. Rumours spread that these deaths were orchestrated by right-wing politicians, specifically Modi and Amit Shah. At one point, Amit Shah was also apprehended for his involvement in the staged encounters.

For approximately eight months, from 2010 to 2011, Rana Ayyub, who was then employed by Tehelka, went undercover as an American documentary maker. She adopted a fictitious Hindu name, Mthali Tyagi, complete with Sanskrit credentials. Accompanied by her purported cameraman, a 19-year-old French student named Mike, she conducted a sinister mission to interview various figures directly involved in the notorious fake encounters, employing her camera and, later, a concealed recording device when they wished to speak off the record.

With her charisma and the Indian public's susceptibility to foreigners, NRIs, and "goras", Ayyub successfully obtained recommendations by conducting counter-references to interview high-ranking police officers, intelligence officers, anti-terrorist squad personnel, former MPs, and even former Commissioners of Police in succession. Many of the interviewees have since retired, and while some were initially somewhat hesitant to open up, they eventually relented.

Rana Ayyub
https://tcij.org/person/rana-ayyub/

Through her research, she uncovers a significant amount of misconduct within the police force. Some individuals were conscientious and performed their duties diligently, without fear or favour. Nevertheless, a culture of subservience to both superiors and politicians prevailed. Rana suggested that police officers exhibited discrimination against their peers from lower castes. The extra-judicial killings carried out under the guise of police encounters were executed with indifference, according to her. Rana Ayyub, in so many words, implies that Modi is the mastermind behind the unrest in Gujarat, with Amit Shah as his trusted aide who carries out all his orders.

As her sting operation draws to a close, Rana Ayyub manages to secure an interview with Narendra Modi himself. However, the book concludes abruptly afterwards, leaving the outcome of the interview unexplored.

Ayyub's audacious attempt to uncover the root of the unrest in Gujarat raises ethical questions about such an operation. Betraying people's trust, exploiting their vulnerability, and inserting oneself into their lives under a false persona may not be moral. However, individuals are unlikely to volunteer information without prompting. This encapsulates the essence of investigative journalism; one cannot solely rely on official statements.

Whatever Ayyub attempted to unleash has evidently yielded no results. As time has shown, Modi must be doing something right. The BJP's successive victories in elections, its popularity, the current state of the economy, and the general mood of its citizens suggest that India is on the right trajectory. One must consider the broader context. However, checks and balances remain essential. 

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