Circle of life?

Ran (Uprising, Japanese;1985)

Director: Akira Kurosawa

This, Kurosawa's last movie was the most expensive in the Japanese movie industry at that time. During this film, too, his wife of 39 years passed away. He took one day's leave and continued shooting!

After listening to the folklore about unity and strength with easy breakage of a single stick versus three, the idea came to him about making a movie about the three bad sons.

He later realised that his story had an uncanny resemblance to Shakespeare's King Lear. (he apparently never read Shakespeare!)

The story is set in turmoil filled medieval Japan where the sword and blind loyalty was the order of the day. Against this background, the ageing head of the Ichimonji clan, Hidetora, decide to retire. 

He tells his three sons about unity by demonstrating the strength of 3sticks versus a single stick. The third son, Saburo, incited his wrath by using the might of his knees to break the sticks to disprove his father's wisdom. Saburo was banished by his father. Even though not the wisest, the first son, Taro, was given the throne and the second son, Jiro, was requested to show his legion.

After relinquishing his powers, the father realised that the two sons were just treating him as ruthless as how he was treating his enemies back in his days of youthfulness. His daughters-in-law, whose family he had ravaged, were out for revenge through his sons. 

What follows later is pure carnage and bloodshed, leaving the destruction of the whole Ichimonji clan and their properties. Yet, we are left with philosophical thoughts of life and reason for living.

All the technological progress of these last years has only taught human beings how to kill more of each other faster. It's very difficult for me to retain a sanguine outlook on life under such circumstances.
—Akira Kurosawa

What I was trying to get at in Ran, and this was there from the script stage, was that the gods or God or whoever it is observing human events is feeling sadness about how human beings destroy each other, and powerlessness to affect human beings' behavior.
—Akira Kurosawa

A free slave?

12 years a slave (2013)

They make us believe us that it is a darn good film and the list of nominations and accolades are testimony of that. Unfortunately, a non-artistic person like me failed to see the fantastic nature of the presentation.
They say praises of Steve McQueen, the director, but it is the different McQueen than the one I knew growing up.
We have seen way too many movies like this before, on the evil pasts of what the white settlers of the New World did to their African slaves, the treachery, the unmanly conduct and bullying.
This time around it is the narration of a pre-Civil War free Negro who was kidnapped and sold off as a slave to cotton plantation.
He endured 12 years of torture and loss of freedom to be reunited with his family, essentially losing a great deal of his adulthood. This man, Solomon Northup, later became a writer and helped slaves to escape via the Underground Railroad.
We again see how man uses selected quotes  from Bible to subdue his subjects and justify the torture that he devices on errant slaves.
Anyway, nothing like Alex Hailey's 'Roots' which also turned out to of questionable authenticity!  

Nobody owes nobody nothing?

Just the day I was thinking...

Unlike my dog in childhood, Rexxie, who used to get all excited, jumpy, tongue waggly, drolly kind at the sight of any of the family members as they return home, Felix (the cat) is not the least bothered.
Returning home after a hard days' work, you think that looking at some(one) who is all excited about your return would just make you feel alright. But Felix at the corner has other plans... He saunters casually in a relaxed fashion, strutting his stuff, gyrating his hind legs (guess that is why they call it catwalk) walking haughtily  with his nose held high (like inhaling imported air) looking away from you without a care in the world. At that moment he does not need anything, only his breathing space! Just leave him alone (stop dogging him around!) pun not intended...

catwalk

He does not need you right now. You have bought his chow, his litter bag, his playpen, got his veterinary needs fulfilled. He is big and strong, he does not need you now.
That is the same story about life. Nobody owns anybody. Everybody fans for himself. At the desperate time of helplessness, nobody can help you. You have to help yourself. You have to swim yourself to shore, you have to fight the waves, shark and the wind.
Nobody owns anybody in this modern world except if you are in the human trafficking business. Your merchandise that you own is human flesh, bone and feelings that go with it.
Slavery supposed to have died, has it really?
And then there is something called emotional blackmail where some Indian mothers know just strings to pluck to strike the chord of self pity and helplessness! These strings of control are subtle ways to control the subjects and cow them to submission...

It's all fake

American Hustle (2013)
Most ordinary people would just watch a movie and move on with life. But I, being out of the ordinary (less ordinary rather than extraordinary) analyse the nitty gritty bits.
I thought this movie was interesting and brought back fond memories of the late 70s. The setting was in 1978 complete with loud colours, hirsute appearance, big collars, bell bottoms and disco music (I feel love).
It is a story of a conman and his accomplice and mistress trying to outwit the police force whilst trapping the corrupt politicians and getting a 'Get out of Jail free' card!
Why is this titled 'all fake'? The main character, Irving, is living a fake life. He loans money without actually giving any money. He deals with forged paintings and the chain of cleaners that he is runs is just a front. He has a mistress (Sydney / Edith) who moves around with a fake British accent. Irving's wife (Rosalyn) is constantly at Irving's rear, nagging and complaining about his under-achievements. The only thing that is holding the marriage is Rosalyn's son from another marriage whom Irving adores.
In midst of all these, the FBI tracks down Irving's activities. The agent in charge, Richie, makes a deal to reduce his charges if he could ensnare a corrupt politician. While planning the con job, Edith also has a fake relationship with the agent. The plan becomes more complicated as the initial plan to get money from a fake Sheikh becomes hotter as the mob boss (De Niro in a small but lasting appearance) starts getting involved.
Fake? Fake because nobody is actually interested in meting out justice. People who are not charged are not necessarily innocent and those punished are not necessarily guilty. It is all a charade of plea bargaining and deal brokering. Truth and righteousness takes a back seat. That is the truth.
The story is supposed to be based on true event but was also spiced up to lure the audience.

Another American (good guys) movie

Captain Phillips 2013

Don't be fooled by the big star. With an uninspiring title like that, it did not strike me as a movie that would stick in my mind for any time. It is the same old good honest true to his words American guy versus the barbaric emotionless hideous looking bad teeth guys from the rest of the world. In this case, it is an American freight ship with the captain who has his own issues with his family and his crew minding their own business doing what they are supposed to do who is rudely disturbed by heartless Somali pirates.
It reminds me of Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the aliens in the Aliens trilogy. Ripley is the responsible human trying to fight against the clueless and aimless Aliens who seem to be more interested in quarrelling amongst themselves rather than completing the tasks at hand. Change the Alien to Somali pirates and you have Captain Phillips, the movie!
It is supposed to be a heart pounding pulse raising thriller but it did non of the above to me as I knew how the outcome would be. Perhaps the story line could have made the villains more human, giving them more justifications to the activities they are doing. Saying that they were fishermen who decided to turn pirates just because their catch dwindled because of infiltration by bigger vessels seem lame.
Keeping with tradition of Hollywood, further prodding on the real happenings around the event that this movie is based on, I discovered that the crew members are totally displeased with the line of story. The truth is alleged stretched a bit too far.
Most of the crew involved in the real attack seem to be keeping mum with the events that took place as there is an ongoing court case with the shipping giants MAERSK. They would be probably taking the whole truth to their graves!

"War crimes are defined by the winners, and I'm a winner."

The Act of Killing (Jagal, 2012, Indonesian, documentary)
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer

As we have always seen, we, humans are a bunch of brainless animals. We do so much atrocity in the name of justice without even thinking of its repercussions. At the end of the day, we can only 'Sorry' and think that some how like magic, everything would be wiped clean from our slate and start a fresh count. Alternatively, we justify our acts by invoking rationalization of preserving of a piece of cloth, race, ideology or religion!
The documentary which drew worldwide accolade is also rumoured to be reason behind Obama's cancellation of his visit to Indonesia last year!
In 1965, during the oust of Sukarno, there was a real risk of communism taking a foothold in Indonesia. A group civilian vigilante group, made mostly of jobless gangsters, with the auspices of the ruling government of the day went around nabbing communists and communist sympathizers, torturing and killing them in most heinous ways.
The directors of the documentary went to Medan, North Sumatera, to interview a well known figure there, Anwar Congo and his henchman, Herman Kato. He convinced them to detail the killings that they did in the 1965-66 era when the Communist is said to have assassinated Sukarno. Anwar even called in his fellow gangsters all over the country, some of them are rich politicians now, to reenact the whole scene. Even the local newspaper editor was in cahoots with their activities.
The gruesome details of the killings were detailed. They seem to be unashamedly proud of their actions of what they done for the country and had become part of Indonesia's history.
Anwar brings the crew to the site where he used to kill his subjects with his favourite weapon, the steel wire as it left less blood and less stench!

Anwar and his crew were jobless youths selling black-market movie tickets when they were recruited to eradicate the communists. Having nothing much to do around, they chose that path and now boast to have killed 1000 people.
All the people interviewed seem quite proud of what they have done and even boast about it. By and large, it was a witch-hunt for the communists who predominantly were ethnic Chinese. These preman (gangsters, from the word free man) burnt houses, raped, pilfered, robbed and at yet they all walk free under the protection of the present government. They are hailed as national icons and as founders of the youth Pancasila movement which is still present today and acts like a emergency mobile vigilante for the country.
As some flaunt their new found wealth and luxurious lifestyles, Anwar lives under constant recurrent nightmare of the eyes of his victims staring at him in his sleep. They do, however, admit what they did under the name of democracy was far worse than what the communists were said to have done.
Most ex-vigilantes have contradictory lives, talking dirty jokes at one minute and almost immediately reciting prayers when necessary in the same breath.  Anwar himself is a doting grandfather who teaches his grandchildren to be kind to animals!
In the last scene, though the ingenuity may be questioned, he revisits his 'killing field' (top balcony of a building) to retch and shed a tear or two.

It is forbidden to kill. Therefore, all murderers are punished, unless they kill in large numbers, and to the sound of trumpets. Voltaire.

"War crimes are defined by the winners, and I'm a winner."

Glorious past

ARYABHATT (476 CE)
MASTER ASTRONOMER AND MATHEMATICIAN
Born in 476 CE in Kusumpur (Bihar), Aryabhatt's intellectual brilliance remapped the boundaries of mathematics and astronomy. In 499 CE, at the age of 23, he wrote a text on astronomy and an unparallel treatise on mathematics called "Aryabhatiyam." He formulated the process of calculating the motion of planets and the time of eclipses. Aryabhatt was the first to proclaim that the earth is round, it rotates on its axis, orbits the sun and is suspended in space - 1000 years before Copernicus published his heliocentric theory. He is also acknowledged for calculating p (Pi) to four decimal places: 3.1416 and the sine table in trigonometry. Centuries later, in 825 CE, the Arab mathematician, Mohammed Ibna Musa credited the value of Pi to the Indians, "This value has been given by the Hindus." And above all, his most spectacular contribution was the concept of zero without which modern computer technology would have been non-existent. Aryabhatt was a colossus in the field of mathematics.


BHASKARACHARYA II (1114-1183 CE)

GENIUS IN ALGEBRA
Born in the obscure village of Vijjadit (Jalgaon) in Maharastra, Bhaskaracharya's work in Algebra, Arithmetic and Geometry catapulted him to fame and immortality. His renowned mathematical works called "Lilavati" and "Bijaganita" are considered to be unparalled and a memorial to his profound intelligence. Its translation in several languages of the world bear testimony to its eminence. In his treatise "Siddhant Shiromani" he writes on planetary positions, eclipses, cosmography, mathematical techniques and astronomical equipment. In the "Surya Siddhant" he makes a note on the force of gravity: "Objects fall on earth due to a force of attraction by the earth. Therefore, the earth, planets, constellations, moon, and sun are held in orbit due to this attraction." Bhaskaracharya was the first to discover gravity, 500 years before Sir Isaac Newton. He was the champion among mathematicians of ancient and medieval India. His works fired the imagination of Persian and European scholars, who through research on his works earned fame and popularity.

ACHARYA KANAD (600 BCE)

FOUNDER OF ATOMIC THEORY
As the founder of "Vaisheshik Darshan"- one of six principal philosophies of India - Acharya Kanad was a genius in philosophy. He is believed to have been born in Prabhas Kshetra near Dwarika in Gujarat. He was the pioneer expounder of realism, law of causation and the atomic theory. He has classified all the objects of creation into nine elements, namely: earth, water, light, wind, ether, time, space, mind and soul. He says, "Every object of creation is made of atoms which in turn connect with each other to form molecules." His statement ushered in the Atomic Theory for the first time ever in the world, nearly 2500 years before John Dalton. Kanad has also described the dimension and motion of atoms and their chemical reactions with each other. The eminent historian, T.N. Colebrook, has said, "Compared to the scientists of Europe, Kanad and other Indian scientists were the global masters of this field."

NAGARJUNA (100 CE)
WIZARD OF CHEMICAL SCIENCE
He was an extraordinary wizard of science born in the nondescript village of Baluka in Madhya Pradesh. His dedicated research for twelve years produced maiden discoveries and inventions in the faculties of chemistry and metallurgy. Textual masterpieces like "Ras Ratnakar," "Rashrudaya" and "Rasendramangal" are his renowned contributions to the science of chemistry. Where the medieval alchemists of England failed, Nagarjuna had discovered the alchemy of transmuting base metals into gold. As the author of medical books like "Arogyamanjari" and "Yogasar," he also made significant contributions to the field of curative medicine. Because of his profound scholarliness and versatile knowledge, he was appointed as Chancellor of the famous University of Nalanda. Nagarjuna's milestone discoveries impress and astonish the scientists of today.

ACHARYA CHARAK (600 BCE)
FATHER OF MEDICINE

Acharya Charak has been crowned as the Father of Medicine. His renowned work, the "Charak Samhita", is considered as an encyclopedia of Ayurveda. His principles, diagoneses, and cures retain their potency and truth even after a couple of millennia. When the science of anatomy was confused with different theories in Europe, Acharya Charak revealed through his innate genius and enquiries the facts on human anatomy, embryology, pharmacology, blood circulation and diseases like diabetes, tuberculosis, heart disease, etc. In the "Charak Samhita" he has described the medicinal qualities and functions of 100,000 herbal plants. He has emphasized the influence of diet and activity on mind and body. He has proved the correlation of spirituality and physical health contributed greatly to diagnostic and curative sciences. He has also prescribed and ethical charter for medical practitioners two centuries prior to the Hippocratic oath. Through his genius and intuition, Acharya Charak made landmark contributions to Ayurvedal. He forever remains etched in the annals of history as one of the greatest and noblest of rishi-scientists.

ACHARYA SUSHRUT (600 BCE)

FATHER OF PLASTIC SURGERY
A genius who has been glowingly recognized in the annals of medical science. Born to sage Vishwamitra, Acharya Sudhrut details the first ever surgery procedures in "Sushrut Samhita," a unique encyclopedia of surgery. He is venerated as the father of plastic surgery and the science of anesthesia. When surgery was in its infancy in Europe, Sushrut was performing Rhinoplasty (restoration of a damaged nose) and other challenging operations. In the "Sushrut Samhita," he prescribes treatment for twelve types of fractures and six types of dislocations. His details on human embryology are simply amazing. Sushrut used 125 types of surgical instruments including scalpels, lancets, needles, Cathers and rectal speculums; mostly designed from the jaws of animals and birds. He has also described a number of stitching methods; the use of horse's hair as thread and fibers of bark. In the "Sushrut Samhita," and fibers of bark. In the "Sushrut Samhita," he details 300 types of operations. The ancient Indians were the pioneers in amputation, caesarian and cranial surgeries. Acharya Sushrut was a giant in the arena of medical science.

VARAHAMIHIR (499-587 CE)

EMINENT ASTROLOGER AND ASTRONOMERA
renowned astrologer and astronomer who was honored with a special decoration and status as one of the nine gems in the court of King Vikramaditya in Avanti (Ujjain). Varahamihir's book "panchsiddhant" holds a prominent place in the realm of astronomy. He notes that the moon and planets are lustrous not because of their own light but due to sunlight. In the "Bruhad Samhita" and "Bruhad Jatak," he has revealed his discoveries in the domains of geography, constellation, science, botany and animal science. In his treatise on botanical science, Varamihir presents cures for various diseases afflicting plants and trees. The rishi-scientist survives through his unique contributions to the science of astrology and astronomy.

ACHARYA PATANJALI (200 BCE)

FATHER OF YOGA
The Science of Yoga is one of several unique contributions of India to the world. It seeks to discover and realize the ultimate Reality through yogic practices. Acharya Patanjali, the founder, hailed from the district of Gonda (Ganara) in Uttar Pradesh. He prescribed the control of prana (life breath) as the means to control the body, mind and soul. This subsequently rewards one with good health and inner happiness. Acharya Patanjali's 84 yogic postures effectively enhance the efficiency of the respiratory, circulatory, nervous, digestive and endocrine systems and many other organs of the body. Yoga has eight limbs where Acharya Patanjali shows the attainment of the ultimate bliss of God in samadhi through the disciplines of: yam, niyam, asan, pranayam, pratyahar, dhyan and dharna. The Science of Yoga has gained popularity because of its scientific approach and benefits. Yoga also holds the honored place as one of six philosophies in the Indian philosophical system. Acharya Patanjali will forever be remembered and revered as a pioneer in the science of self-discipline, happiness and self-realization.

ACHARYA BHARADWAJ (800 BCE)

PIONEER OF AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
Acharya Bharadwaj had a hermitage in the holy city of Prayag and was an ordent apostle of Ayurveda and mechanical sciences. He authored the "Yantra Sarvasva" which includes astonishing and outstanding discoveries in aviation science, space science and flying machines. He has described three categories of flying machines: 1.) One that flies on earth from one place to another. 2.) One that travels from one planet to another. 3.) And One that travels from one universe to another. His designs and descriptions have impressed and amazed aviation engineers of today. His brilliance in aviation technology is further reflected through techniques described by him:
1.) Profound Secret: The technique to make a flying machine invisible through the application of sunlight and wind force.
2.) Living Secret: The technique to make an invisible space machine visible through the application of electrical force.
3.) Secret of Eavesdropping: The technique to listen to a conversation in another plane.
4.) Visual Secrets: The technique to see what's happening inside another plane.
Through his innovative and brilliant discoveries, Acharya Bharadwaj has been recognized as the pioneer of aviation technology.

ACHARYA KAPIL (3000 BCE)

FATHER OF COSMOLOGY
Celebrated as the founder of Sankhya philosophy, Acharya Kapil is believed to have been born in 3000 BCE to the illustrious sage Kardam and Devhuti. He gifted the world with the Sankhya School of Thought. His pioneering work threw light on the nature and principles of the ultimate Soul (Purusha), primal matter (Prakruti) and creation. His concept of transformation of energy and profound commentaries on atma, non-atma and the subtle elements of the cosmos places him in an elite class of master achievers - incomparable to the discoveries of other cosmologists. On his assertion that Prakruti, with the inspiration of Purusha, is the mother of cosmic creation and all energies, he contributed a new chapter in the science of cosmology. Because of his extrasensory observations and revelations on the secrets of creation, he is recognized and saluted as the Father of Cosmology.