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madshy
Reviews
Amu (2005)
A strong film from a first time director.
Let me start by saying I lived in New Delhi during the time of the riots, and had close Sikh friends whom we had to care for at the time of the mayhem.
That said, I went to watch the film with no preconceived notions. I was pleasantly surprised. It had its share of low spots, but that is the beauty of watching a first time director's work, you see them grow. Shonali is going to be a writer director to be reckoned with.
Like all good 'Films' that are based on true events this film walks the fine line of not getting too caught up in the heat of actual events. Instead it tries to dramatize or fictionalize the effects of the events on people lives. A fact that some audience don't seem to grasp. Especially, a substantial number of Indian audience (amply demonstrated on this site by the stupid review by ajaysaxena1960)! I sat through a Q&A session with the director where people wanted to know why the director did not name names of all the MLA's involved in the massacre. Or if the director could through her film, get the International tribunal to try Indian government for crimes against humanity.
SHE IS A FILM MAKER. NOT A HISTORIAN OR A CRUSADER.
The film took 8 years to fund and make (a crusade in itself), for that alone I admire the director. But of all the films done by writers and directors based in America, Shonali's film most certainly stands head and shoulders above the rest. She has a strong voice and a crisp sense of film-making.
A director most certainly worth watching!
Diarios de motocicleta (2004)
Every now and then comes a film.
Every now and then comes a film that changes the way you think about film and it's relation to the people who watch it. Very few manage to get under your skin and stay there and slowly affect you as a person. Yes, The Motorcycle Diaries is most certainly one of them.
I'm not here to write what I though was great and what was not. I will leave it that to the pundits on this site to do that. But I'm here to tell you what a sincere and truly heartfelt film Mr. Salles has made. He could have easily got caught up in the whole political undertones of Che, but instead it was restrained and truly masterful in it's handling of a young man who would one day become the greatest leaders of our times. It made Che human again.
The DP did a brilliant job. His references to Spanish photographers through the p eople shots were stunning.
Che today is an urban and misunderstood pop icon. But the film truly gives us a glimpse, back in time and history and makes us learn what prompted men like him to think like the way the did.
We might not like or agree with many things the Cuban revolutionaries did but the greatest lesson the film gives is behind all great men lies a moment of realization what they are destined for, and perhaps we all have those moments and it all depends on which road you choose to travel further.
An ironic message given the times we are living in.
Thank you João Moreira Salles for reminding us that.
Solas (1999)
A brilliant gem!
If you where run over by the Miramax foreign film juggernaut, then you missed this brilliant gem tucked away in one those twenty seats cinema theater.
A film is very much like a painting, meant to be seen not discussed or explained. So let us just leave it at 'see it'.
Benito Zambrano's talent on the other hand merits more than a discussion. A sensitive director and a poignant writer. In many ways 'Solas' reminded me of another gem in the dust 'Heavy'.
Benito managed to keep the movie so simple, that it hurts. His flare for observing and then relaying in his film the raw human angst, is inspiring.
The actors for there part, rose to the greatness of the moment.
BZ makes us cling to hope by our finger nails while steadily adding to our feet the weight of reality. But then, isn't that life!
To look for hope in 'Solas' is to look for simplicity in 'Guernica'. It's there, you just need to see it.
And like all good things in life this one is elusive too. No video or a DVD release yet.
Once again, it lives up to it's name.