പലേരി മാണിക്യം (2009) A Review

ഇത് മലയാളത്തിലുള്ള എന്റെ ഒരു റിവ്യൂ ചെയ്യാനുള്ള ശ്രമം ആണ്. തെറ്റുണ്ടെങ്കില്‍ സ്വയം ക്ഷമിക്കുക. ഇനി ദേഷ്യം കൂടുതല്‍ വരുന്നുണ്ടെങ്കില്‍ വെച്ച് കാച്ചാന്‍ താഴെ ഒരു കമന്റ്‌ എഴുതാം. കമന്റ്‌ ലിങ്കില്‍ ക്ലിക്കിയാല്‍ മാത്രം മതി. പിന്നെ ഇത് ഒരു ആധികാരികമായ റിവ്യൂ ഒന്നും അല്ല. നോവല്‍ വായിച്ചു പോയി എന്നത് കൊണ്ട് ഒരു റിവ്യൂ എഴുതണമെന്നു തോന്നി അത്രമാത്രം. ഇന്നലെ രാത്രി ഞാന്‍ എഴുതിയുണ്ടാക്കിയ ഈ മനോഹരമായ റിവ്യൂ ഇന്ന് കുറച്ചു വെള്ളം കൂടി ചേര്‍ത്താണ് ഈ കോലത്തില്‍ ആക്കിയത്.










പാലേരി മാണിക്യം ഒരു പാതിരാ കൊലപാതകത്തിന്റെ കഥ.
പാലെരിയില്‍ 50 കൊല്ലങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് മുന്‍പ് നടന്ന ഒരു കൊലപാതകം. കൊല്ലപ്പെടുന്നത് മാണിക്യം. കൊലപാതകികളെ നിയമത്തിനു കണ്ടെത്താന്‍ കഴിയുന്നില്ല. 50 വര്‍ഷത്തിനു ഇപ്പുറം ഹരിദാസ്‌ ആ സംഭവം അന്വേഷിച്ചു ഇറങ്ങിത്തിരിക്കുന്നു. അയാള്‍ കണ്ടുമുട്ടുന്ന ആളുകളിലൂടെയും അവര്‍ പറയുന്ന സംഭവങ്ങളും പിന്നെ ഹരിദാസിന്റെ കേട്ട് കേള്വികളും ആ പഴയ കാലഘട്ടത്തിലേക്ക് നയിക്കുന്നു. ആ കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളിലൂടെ വികസിക്കുന്ന കഥ ഇന്നും മാറിയിട്ടില്ലാത്ത മനുഷ്യന്‍റെയും രാഷ്ട്രീയത്തിന്റെയും ഒരു ചിത്രം വരച്ചു തരുന്നു. കേട്ടതിലൂടെയും ചില നിഗമാനങ്ങളിലൂടെയും കൊലപതകികളിലേക്ക് എത്തിച്ചേരുവാന്‍ ഹരിദാസ്‌ ശ്രമിക്കുന്നു. ഇതാണ് കഥയുടെ ത്രെഡ്.

കഥയുടെ ആത്മാവിനോട് വളരെയധികം സത്യസന്ധത പുലര്‍ത്തി രഞ്ജിത്ത് എടുത്ത ഈ ചിത്രം തീര്‍ച്ചയായും 2009 ലെ മികച്ച മലയാളം സിനിമകളുടെ മുന്‍നിരയില്‍ തന്നെ നില്‍കുന്ന ഒന്നാണ്. സിനിമ കണ്ടിറങ്ങുന്ന പ്രേക്ഷന് എപ്പോഴും ഓര്‍മ്മിക്കാന്‍ ഉതകുന്ന തരത്തിലുന്ന ഒരുപാട് മനോഹരമായ സീനുകള്‍ ഇതില്‍ കോര്തിനക്കിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. നോവലിന്റെ പകുതിക്ക് ശേഷം മാത്രം
വരുന്ന കവിതയാണ് 'പലെരും നാടായ പലെരില്' എന്ന് തുടങ്ങുന്ന പാട്ടായി സിനിമയില്‍ രൂപാന്തരപ്പെട്ടത്. അത് സിനിമയ്ക്ക്‌ വളരെയതികം അനുയോജ്യമായി തോന്നി. തീര്‍ച്ചയായും സംഗീത സംവിധായകന്‍ സരത്തിന്റെ സൃഷ്ടി സിനിമയുടെ 'മൂഡ്‌' നോട് ഇണങ്ങി നില്‍കുന്ന തരത്തിലായിരുന്നു.

ചിത്രത്തിന് നല്‍കിയിരിക്കുന്ന കളര്‍ ടോണും കഥപാത്രങ്ങളുടെ വസ്ത്രാലങ്കാരവും കഥ നടക്കുന്ന കാലയളവിലേക്ക് പ്രേക്ഷകനെ കൊണ്ട് പോകുന്ന തരത്തിലാണ്. കഥപാത്രങ്ങളുടെ സംസാര രീതിയും മറ്റും നോവലില്‍ പരാമര്‍ശിച്ചത് പോലെ തന്നെയാണ്. അത് വളരെ നല്ല രീതിയില്‍ തന്നെ ചെയ്യാന്‍ മിക്കവാറും പേര്‍ക്കും കഴിഞ്ഞിട്ടുമുണ്ട് എന്ന് തന്നെ പറയാം. ഒരു രണ്ടേകാല്‍ മണിക്കൂര്‍ നേരം കൊണ്ട് പറഞ്ഞു പ്രതിഫലിപ്പിക്കുവാന്‍ വളരെ ബുദ്ധിമുട്ടുള്ള കഥയാണ് ഇത്.അതുകൊണ്ട് തന്നെ സ്ക്രിപ്റ്റില്‍ മാറ്റങ്ങള്‍ വരുത്തിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. വന്നിട്ടുള്ള ഭൂരിഭാഗം മാറ്റങ്ങളും ദ്രിശ്യ
ഭംഗിക്കും സിനിമ കാണുന്നവരുടെ സംവേദനക്ഷമതയ്ക്കും വേണ്ടിയാണെന്ന്
കരുതുന്നു.

പശ്ചാത്തല സംഗീതം എടുത്തു പറയേണ്ട ഒന്നാണ്. കഥയുടെ ഗതിക്കനുയോജ്യമായി ചിട്ടപ്പെടുത്തിയിട്ടുണ്ട്.മറ്റൊന്ന് എടുത്തു പറയേണ്ടത് സംവിധാനം തന്നെയാണ്. സിനിമയില്‍ രഞ്ജിത്തിനെ അസ്സിസ്റ്റ്‌ ചെയ്തിരിക്കുന്നത് ശങ്കര്‍ രാമകൃഷ്ണന്‍ ആണ്. കേരള കാഫെയിലെ 'Island Express' ആണ് ഇദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ ഇതിനു മുന്‍പത്തെ പടം. തിരക്കഥ എന്ന ചിത്രത്തില്‍ നിന്നും ഇവിടേയ്ക്ക് വന്നപ്പോള്‍ സംവിധായകന്‍ എന്ന നിലയില്‍ രഞ്ജിത്ത് വളരെ മുന്നേറിയതായി തോന്നുന്നു.

അഭിനയത്തിന്റെ കാര്യമായാല്‍ മമ്മൂട്ടി ചെയ്ത അഹമ്മദ് ഹാജി എന്ന കഥാപാത്രം മിഴിവുറ്റതായി. പ്രത്യേകിച്ചുംസ്ത്രീകളെ കാണുമ്പോള്‍ അഹമ്മദ് ഹാജിക്ക് തോന്നിയിരുന്ന ഒരു പ്രത്യേക അഭിനിവേശം തന്റെ 'expression ' കളിലൂടെ മമ്മൂട്ടി ഗംഭീരമാക്കി. ശരിക്കും പറഞ്ഞാല്‍ നോവലിലെ കഥാപാത്രം എന്‍റെ മുന്നില്‍ ജീവിക്കുന്നത് പോലെ തോന്നി. അങ്ങനെ തോന്നിയ മറ്റൊരു കഥാപാത്രം ആയിരുന്നു പോക്കന്റെത്. നോവല്‍ വായിച്ചു കഥാപാത്രത്തെ വളരെ സീരിയസ് ആയി സമീപിച്ച ഒരു നടന്‍ എന്ന് നിസ്സംസയം പറയാം. വയസ്സായ സ്ത്രീയോട് (ക്ഷമിക്കണം പേരോര്‍മയില്ല)
ചെന്ന് ങ്ങക്കെന്റെ ഓളെ കാണാന്‍ പറ്റോ?ന്നിട്ട് ഓളെ കൊന്നതരന്നു ചോയിക്കണം? എന്ന് പറയുന്ന സീന്‍ നടന്റെ അഭിനയ ശേഷിപൂര്‍ണമായും പ്രകടമാക്കുന്ന സീനുകളില്‍ ഒന്നായിരുന്നു.

ഇങ്ങനെയൊക്കെ ആണെങ്കിലും കല്ലുകടി പോലെ തോന്നിയ ചില സന്ദര്‍ഭങ്ങള്‍ തീര്‍ച്ചയായും സിനിമയിലുണ്ട്.ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ ക്ലൈമാക്സ്‌ എന്നെ വളരെയധികം മുഷിപ്പിച്ചു. നോവലില്‍ മനോഹരം എന്ന് പറയാന്‍ കഴിയില്ലെങ്കിലും വളരെ നന്നായി എഴുതിയുണ്ടാക്കിയ ക്ലൈമാക്സ്‌ ആയിരുന്നു അത്. കഥയില്‍ മുന്നമാതൊരു മമ്മൂട്ടി കൂടെ വേണമെന്ന തോന്നലാണോ അത്? അതോ പ്രേക്ഷകന് അത്തരമൊരു ക്ലൈമാക്സ്‌ ദഹിക്കില്ല എന്ന് തോന്നിയിട്ടാണോ? എന്തായാലും എനിക്ക ക്ലൈമാക്സ്‌ ദഹിച്ചില്ല. തിരക്കഥയെഴുതിയ രണ്ജിതിനോപ്പം സംവിധായകനായ രഞ്ജിത്തും ആ സീനുകളില്‍
പരാജയം ആയിരുന്നു. പെട്ടെന്നൊരു വ്യക്തിയുടെ സ്വഭാവത്തില്‍ വ്യതിചലനം ഉണ്ടാകാം എന്ന് ഞാന്‍ കരുതുന്നില്ല. അങ്ങനെ കരുതാന്‍ മാത്രം കരുത്തുറ്റ ഒന്ന് സ്ക്രിപ്റ്റില്‍ ഇല്ല താനും.

മറ്റൊന്ന് സരയു എന്ന കഥാപാത്രമാണ്. നോവലില്‍ തന്റെതായ ഒരു അസ്ഥിത്വം ഉള്ള കഥാപാത്രമായാണ് സരയുവിനെ എനിക്ക് തോന്നിയത്. മാത്രവുമല്ല വെറുമൊരു സ്നേഹിതയും സഹയാത്രികയും എന്നതിലുപരി അന്വേഷകന്റെ മുന്നോട്ടുള്ള യാത്രയില്‍ ചെറുതെങ്കിലും നല്ലൊരു പങ്കു നോവലില്‍ സരയു വഹിക്കുന്നുണ്ടായിരുന്നു. സിനിമയില്‍ കുറച്ചു പ്രസക്തി പോലുമുള്ള കഥാപാത്രമായി തോന്നിയില്ല അത്.

അല്ല ഇത് മാണിക്യം എന്നാ പെണ്ണിനെ കുറിച്ചുള്ള കഥയല്ലേ.. പിന്നെ ഞാനെന്താ ഇത് വരെ പറയാഞ്ഞത്? പറയാനയിട്ടോന്നുല്യ അതോണ്ടാ. ഇനി വല്ലതും ഉണ്ടെങ്കില്‍ തന്നെ തിയേറ്ററില്‍ വളരെ ഭംഗിയായിട്ട് കട്ട്‌ ചെയ്തിട്ടുണ്ടായിരുന്നു.ഉ.ദാ. മാണിക്യത്തെ ഹാജി ആദ്യമായി കാണുന്ന ഭാഗം പകുതി വച്ചാണ് തിയേറ്ററില്‍ കാണാന്‍ കഴിഞ്ഞത്. കട്ട്‌ ചെയ്തു എന്ന് മനസ്സിലാവുന്ന രീതിയില്‍ തന്നെ അത് ചെയ്യുകയും ചെയ്തു. കട്ടിംഗ് ശരിയായില്ല!!!.

നോവലിന്റെ ഒരു 50 ശതമാനം സംഗ്രഹം ആണ് സിനിമ എന്ന് പറയാം. അത് കൈകാര്യം ചെയ്യുന്നതില്‍ വളരെയധികം വിജയിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നു. തീര്‍ച്ചയായും കാണേണ്ട പടം തന്നെയാണ് ഇത്. എന്നിരുന്നാല്‍ തന്നെയും നോവല്‍ വായിക്കത്തവര്‍ക്ക് കഥ മനസ്സിലാക്കുന്നതില്‍ ചെറിയ ബുദ്ധിമുട്ടുണ്ടെന്നാണ് തോന്നുന്നത്.നല്ല സിനിമകള്‍ വിജയിക്കുമെങ്കില്‍ ഇതും വിജയിക്കുമെന്ന് കരുതാം. അങ്ങനെ വന്നാല്‍ നല്ല മലയാളം സിനിമകള്‍ ഇനിയും വരും എന്ന് പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കാം. തീര്‍ച്ചയായും മലയാള സിനിമയുടെ നല്ല ഒരു വര്‍ഷമായിരുന്നു 2009 എന്ന് പറയാം.

8.5/10

El Topo(1970)...The surrealistic bizarre film

To see a movie like El Topo needs a strong mind. Why? Simply because the film is one amongst the most bizarre i have ever seen. Except this the reason to see the movie was my full faith in the director Alexandro Jodorowsky's ability of creating such surreal film as i have seen Holy mountain(another bizarre surrealistic movie!) before(is one of my favorite as well) and of course my growing interest towards seeing surrealistic movies(i've only seen 4 till).

El Topo in Spanish means "THE MOLE". According to the movie "THE MOLE IS AN ANIMAL THAT DIGS TUNNELS UNDERGROUND SEARCHING FOR THE SUN.SOMETIMES HIS JOURNEY LEADS HIM TO THE SURFACE.WHEN HE LOOKS AT THE SUN, HE IS BLINDED." Alejandro Jodorowsky himself plays the role of a gunfighter named "El Topo" and the film is about his quest for eternity. Now you know how does it compare the mole symbolically. A man starts his journey on a horse carrying his naked little child on his backside. He goes through the sand and reaches a spot where he can tie the horse. He carries the photo of his wife and his child's first toys along with him in a bag. He asks his son to get rid of both by burying them and become a man. He plays a flute while his son is burying them. Some astonishing and sometimes weird background score is audible throughout the film. While they move along the desert and reaches a door, they hear the cries of vultures. There we could see brutally murdered people and animals throughout. Some are even hang to death or hanged themselves. The blood is spread all over the place creating a bizarre and at the sametime a visually extravagant imagery. It seemed like the animals are killed in real for the film stuff(Is it?).
He asks a man who is the only one left on there undead about the one who did all this. But he didn't get any answer. Upon his request, he hands the gun to his son and he shots him to death. The journey continues.

Along the way the movie shows 3 bandits with 3 peculiar characters.Am not mentioning the first one's character. The second one is seen near a cactus, where he peels a banana over the cactus and takes his sword and flashes it vigorously cutting the banana into pieces and eats each piece one by one using a stick. The third one creates an image of woman using beans. He assumes it like a living one and acts as if he is possessing her. The bandits reach him as they see the diamond ring(which he got from the man his son shot earlier). This was another beautiful shot in the movie. One bandit inflates a balloon and ties its end loosely.The second one checks this and gives to the third. The three men were facing El topo all this time. All of them were on horse. The balloon is placed in between the group of three and 'El Topo' . As the balloon is loosely tied(i assume so) it slowly deflates with a whistle. The 4 of them puts a hand on top of their gun placed in their pockets. Here the viewer can make the guess that the three gunfighters would shot El Topo as the balloon inflates fully. And it happens, but before any of them could shot he shots the two men on horse on the left and right side and catches the middle one and asks...Who? He replies "the Colonel". El Topo continues his search for Colonel, meets him and kills him. Before shooting him he makes the colonel stand on his innerware and suddenly he felt like he lost all the power and his slaves starts making him funny symbolising the fact that everyone is powerless under their aura. Shooting Colonel means freeing the nun and other 4 monks they were using for their never ending lust. The nun starts falls in love with 'El Topo' and he moves with her leaving his son with the monks.

Now the real journey of extreme form of life starts as he needs to find the 4 masters of the sand and kill them to marry her . She is no longer a nun, who starts to enjoy every bit of life. The audience are seen her enjoying things around her as she gets freed from her slavery. The scenes are accompanied by 'El Topo' playing his flute. Again another set scenes that are really beautiful(not bizarre at this time!). The search for the masters becomes really interesting as each masters are weird human beings. Its about how he finds them and how they teach him the different aspects of life seen from a different view point. His journey for eternity continues. Am not going to spoil the experience giving anything too much.

Some things that could be seen most common throughout his films were the use of dwarfs, deficient people, lot of blood, lot of creatures, animals,dust etc... In this movie you could see two assistants(or one?) of the first master. These are dwarfs with one having no hands and other with no legs. They walk as a single man with the man without leg clutching on the hip of the man without hands and together they behave as a single man. Strange yet was good imagery.

Some facts about 'El Topo'. I have gone through the commentary Jorodowsky given and some videos and found that until 2007 it wasn't released on DVD!. Up to then it was playing on midnight movies for sometime after its release due to the provocative content. Later demands are raised and film gradually become a cult surrealistic film and began showing in theatres.Correct me if am wrong. Caution: the film is strictly for mature audience due to the provocative content.

OneLine:Extreme surrealistic with bizarre and beautiful scenes.

8/10

Kerala Cafe(2009)

It sets the high standard among all those released in the recent past.It was an experimental venture and it wins.All credits goes to director Renjith for coming with the idea and coordinating the project.Its an astonishing journey of life depicted through 10 films . Am quite happy to hear that the experimental film become a success and that too many loved the experiment, i mean the causal users of the film. The following is about those 10 films with no particular order.

The film 'Nostalgia' shows the life of a man residing in Dubai who feels nostalgic about their time they lived in their homeland. Padmakumar did a good job in conveying the theme and the humorous way of conveying the thread was nice. His previous films included the critically acclaimed 'Ammakkilikkodu' and 'Vastavam'(Not to mention the commercial crap 'Parunthu').

The film 'Aviram' was a nice portrayal of recession hitting largely into the lives of ITians. And surprise surprise surprise, the director is none other than B.unnikrishnan who i never thought would come with such a good film. I think he is all set to do good films, just needs some good stories to work with. The main problem was he used to write for the films he directed. Well acted by Siddique and Sweta. Ten minute time frame was taken perfectly.

The film 'Mrityunjayam' gone below the expectation. In fact thought it deviated from the common theme journey. Horror didnt worked out well. But acting were still above average. The surprise was Fazil's son who seemed to have improved his acting.

The film 'Lalitham Hiranmayam' was the one got a lot of curse from the audience due to the subject the movie concentrated. The acting of the second heroine Dhanya was below par compared to other two. The subject was a bitter one for viewers of the cinema. But for me he has done the best job to carry out the subject. Excellent editing and cinematography. The colours of the film was so brilliant that i thought if the script was a little good, then it would have been a real treat to watch. The parts showing the romance(if it can be called so) between suresh gopi and dhanya was portrayed with soothing camera angles and did a perfect editing as well. The initial scene was verysoothing to the eyes with rain pouring in the background. Lots of styles to watchout for.

Lal Jose's 'Puram Kazhchakal' was adapted from the story written years back by C V Sreeraman. It starts as smooth pleasant story and gives some humorous moments and ultimately gives you pain. Simply good film with good acting department.

'Makal' by revathy was a disappointing tour. It wasnt a boring film. The problem was it was the same old story. The directors talent should be to choose a new subject and present that in 10 min frame or in how to present this story in a different way that could have just washed out the cliche. Disappointing effort, but not bad at all. It has its own moments that makes it a good one.

'Happy Journey' by Anjali menon positions among the top films in this saga which entertained most of the audience. There is something refreshing in the subject. The real hero of the subject for me was not the director, but were the duo actors, Jagathy Sreekumar and Nithya. Nithya promises to be a very good heroin to look out for. Nothing else to mention about the story. A good Journey that is really interesting.

'Off season' by Syamaprasad was again a disappointing one for me. I got something far below from what i expected. It was a light approach on a very serious theme. It worked well but was average. Its about recession hitting in foreign countries and people coming in India in search for the job.

'Island Express' is one of my favorite films of this saga. It has got cinematography, graphics and crisp editing blend with a good script and sharp dialogues. The direction was completely new from what i normally see in Indian films.The starting of the film wasnt very convincing and a bit tougher to follow along the lines to understand what it is telling. Slowly the story conveyed and when it reached the climax, it winded up beautifully. The heroine of the film was new and really good as well. Except Rahman and Jayasuriya acting from every other were excellent. The cinematography along with colors was top notching. Now Shankar Ramakrishnan is a director to watch-out for.

'Bridge' was directed by commercially acclaimed director Anwar Rasheed. He proved his caliber already with these average films. In one word the film was 'Awesome'. There isn't a single element to consider as weak in the film. Brilliant direction,excellent cinematography, excellent choice of story, neat script, dialogues and excellent acting department. Everything worked fine for the movie. Certain scenes in the films made me remember the films by the famous Korean director Kim ki Duk(this is not a comparison but just comparing the excellency). The first shot with the camera itself was brilliant. The raining that sustained in some parts of the movie is beautifully captured.The location was fantastic as well. I think this one was the film with larger time consumption more than 20 minutes. And this one has got more claps from the audience. Everyone felt like they have seen something big.True. Even some days after watching the film, the images that the film shown will be imprinted on you. Thats how powerful the medium Cinema is capable of. A director to watch-out for the future.

If you havent seen this yet, you would be missing one of the greatest films in malayalam. A real treat to watch for. An answer to all those who asked what can be done in 10 min frame. After watching this we feel like where the hell where these directors have been?

OneLine: An experimental venture that stands out to show the brilliance of direction.

9/10

District 9(2009)

Its aliens. Its Sci-Fi. Its terrific. And its low budget. But you wont feel it. Its the story first Script Second, the direction 3rd and the CGI comes last. But considering that on a low budget they created a quality CGI, that after the film is finished i felt like they were near me. A very strong story that makes you adhere to your seats from the beginning itself. The story is unique which makes the film interesting for each and every audience from the very beginning. Can you believe the slums of aliens? Can you believe aliens waiting in queue to get their food? Thats it. The craziness exists in the thread. The direction is excellent, that makes us feel all the pain, humour and the provocation. Into the thread; Once an alien mothership comes and halts above africa. The military unit evades into the spaceship and searches for dangerous extra terrestrial beings. Rather they witness very weak and frightened thousands of aliens. They then brings each of them from their mothership and takes into earth and gives treatments. As years pass by the area becomes completely populated by Aliens and becomes a ghetto and named as District 9 where man meets alien. The Nigerians exploits the aliens and makes money. The government studies their powerful biological weapons but no use. Some dead aliens are used for experiment as well. As years passes a riot begins where people demands evacuation of aliens and fights for freedom. Now the real story begins. A journalist appointed by govt, is send to the slums to gather the signature of the aliens in order to move them to a different place and from their matter becomes worse. If you are thinking this would be a usual E.T film, then you are wrong. In fact i witnessed a great film in recent times. Excellent debut by the director Neill Blomkamp. Hope he had more in his pocket. Well dont miss this film.

OneLine: What if there are so many lines to write....

8/10

Christmas in August(1998)

A beautiful film that just sustained the smile on my face. The film is very real. And thats the best thing why i loved it the most. The direction in classy that i felt a breeze going around me while watching the film. Its a bit pain towards the end, but that seemed to be usual with most of the korean melodrama. A sincere film with a very nice story. You will easily get attach to the leading characters. Into the thread; The hero Jung-won has his own studio where he takes phtotos of people coming to him. They range from children to youngsters to middle aged to oldest. He is so comfirtable with his life and takes it as easy and as a very pleasant one. He meets another girl who comes to visit his studio and soon she becomes a bit attracted to him, however i dont think it seemed like him attracted to her except that he seemed to be enjoying her company.There is not much to talk about the story,else that become a spoiler. Scenes like; when school going children are asking Jung-Won to enlarge their favorite girl in the group photo, and he soon involves with them in a little chit chat asking about their girls; are pretty funny and extremely beautiful. The editing seems to be choppy at times, but still the film is really good and worth a shot. My opinion is don't miss this one. Even if you are not a Korean movie fan you are gonna like this.

OneLine: Simply beautiful and suddenly become my favorite.

9.0/10

Classic aka Keulraesik(2003)

A beautiful romantic movie. The excellent part which i felt of the movie were the music and the background score. So much melody is worked into it. If you have got a romantic mind, then you would forget everything else and appreciate the film from your heart. The movie consists of two extreme love stories coupled with scenic views. Into the thread; Ji-Hyae finds the old letters belonging to h er mother Jo Hee from her bag detailing the romance between her and her first love, Joon-Hee.But fate decides her to move apart from him. The story then moves to present time were Ji-Hyae gets into a love triangle which goes on between her and her best friend and her friend Sang Min. This is mixed with the love trianlge in the past which she understands through her mother's letters. Unlike most of the korean melodram a, it has a happy ending. And the climax is a twist, something you wont expect. If you havent watched this movie yet, watch it, and watch a high qaulity one too, because the background locations chosen are so breathtaking and the music too.

OneLine: It's not a great film, but its very enjoyable and well done.

6.5/10

28 Days later(2002)

What will you do when one day you awake from bed and find out that nobody is around you? Then find that some are here, but not like what you thought. They are scary, they are behind you, run... Its about survival. What will you do for survival? Can you kill your friend, your sister, your brother or even your parents? And what if its like having suicide once you find that there is nothing after survival, and may be you gonna die soon or become like all other zombies? The film captures all these emotions. The loneliness, the anger, the lust, the parental care, the love towards your lover, parent and everything. The story is quite good, in fact excellent to glue you onto your seat until you finished seeing. The climax is excellent. The best thing that i felt about the film is the direction. There were scary movies even before this and after this. Most of them entertained you but only some of them made you feel like you watched a great quality film. I would say Stanley Kubrick's The Shining was one such kind of movie even though both are miles apart in their treatment. I always felt slumdog was an overrated movie. Watch this. Then you know that this one is way better than slumdog(i know both are of different genre). The treatment is excellent.

Oneline: Simply brilliant

9.0/10

Ditto aka Donggam(2000)

A blend of melodrama with fiction(or fantasy). So-eun gets a ham radio and one night she gets some signals from In. In teaches her how to use the equipment and they began chatting. This leads into a relationship between each other. They finds that both are studying in the same college. One night they both agree to meet at a marked point. However they wont find each other. Then In finds that they are separated by time. In fact 21 years. In is living in the year 2000 and So eun in the year 1979. At first she was very uncomfortable with the fact that they are 21 years apart and felt In was doing some pranks on her. When days went by she finds that they are in fact 21 years apart. And when he finds more about In she becomes shocked and she becomes in a state between her faith and love. She finds that her love towards her boyfriend in the present time may change the fate of In in 2000. Like most of the film the film is bittersweet and ends in the year 2000. A slow film but very much enjoyable.

Oneline: Something different in the thread.

7/10

Rear Window (1954)

"Through his rear window and the eye of his powerful camera he watched a great city tell on itself, expose its cheating ways...and Murder!". A classic from the director Sir Alfred Hitchcock. His movies always center around crime and mystery but aren't necessarily racy thriller, but would guide you to a different location makes you become part of the story. Don't be reluctant to see this movie just because it is born in 1954. It is unique in its style. The story would be a difficult one to remake as most of the material for the story couldn't be accomplished. For eg: due to heat people in neighborhood are used to open their windows when they are inside the house. Which wont work for today as most of the apartment in New York have centralized ac system. However a strikingly similar film is made in 2007 called 'Disturbia'. The film is a bit slow but yet very beautiful that i almost forgot that am watching a film. I felt like i was sitting and walking beside the characters. i wont say all characters were excellent in their acting, but were enough to accomplish the job. The story is about a wheelchair bound photographer, Jeff using his binocular watches his neighborhood. While he was on his job he got accident and broke his leg. As he is in wheelchair all day, his only entertainment becomes watching the characters in neighborhood through their open rear windows. He watches their daily activities and becomes acquainted with all of them. A dancer who enjoys practicing her steps, aged couples with a dog, a lonely women who seem to be living in a fantasy world,a newlywed couple,a salesman and his complaining wife, a frustrated composer were in his neighborhood. One day Jeff feels like the salesman's wife is missing and he thinks he may have murdered her. He had no proof and he found it difficult to make his friend, the detective to believe him. But at least he become successful in making his lover and his nurse to believe him and together they are digging for proof. The story becomes intense and climax was very good as well. Even though its a mystery, thriller film the romance also depicted very well. In short one of the best films i have ever seen.

OneLine: A must see film.

10 /10

Jacob's Ladder(1990)

This belong to the group of films that wanna play around with your mind.It wont do things as you expect. With films like unfaithful, Lolita, fatal attraction etc.. in hand, i would say this film is the odd entry(if am correct) in the director's carrier. Its psycho horror thriller.You can approach this film in two way. One; the film has a simple story line, but the director made it complex by tossing around the subject here and there and totally making you a fool at the end. Two; this is one form of brilliance story telling that makes you to the edge of your seat and at the end the director winks at you and you start scratching your head. In what way you gonna project this film, you must agree the thread and content are really good and i would add its really good. Into the story; Jacob was once in army and nowadays he is having some images flashing through his mind. The flashes reminds him of his past life in army and the image is making him feel panic. But he dont know what is happened to make him leave army. He fears army did something to him. May be some experiment. Now he finds some of his friends at a party and comes to know that they also having these weird feelings recently.Now he wants to know, what exactly is happening. The story progresses. A very good story that has the ability to shake your mind.

OneLine: Its surrealism and not everyone's cup of tea.

7/10

You've got a mail(1998)

" I turn on my computer. I wait patiently as it connects. I go online. My breath catches in my chest until I hear 3 little words, "You've got mail." I hear nothing, not a sound on the streets of New York. Just the beat of my own heart. I have mail...from you.'". Tom hanks and meg ryan gives some fantastic performances as joe fox and kathleen kelly. A very romantic film with lot of dialogues that would register into your memory. Into the story;Its about two persons contacting each other and developing friendship throught emails. Each day of their life starts by waiting to read the mail of the other person. The film also had some funny elements like tom hanks calling a 10 or less aged girl as his aunt, in fact she is his aunt, true but strange. If you are searching for a nice romantic film, this one will do the job for you. The film is really nice, you wont be disappointed.

OneLine: A heart warm romantic comedy film, but nothing special.

7/10

Shaun of the dead(2004)

A simple but elegant film.It is one of the most hilarious film i watched ever and for that reason i could put this along with my other favorites like eurotrip and sex is zero and in quality way ahead of both. Excellent humor worked throughout the film and at times i cant help stop laughing myself. The story is about some virus causing dead people to walk above the surface of earth. Each person in the town and nearest towns after death becomes zombie and starts attacking other living humans. If one gets bitten by a zombie they will soon die and become another zombie. Even though this is the basic thread other matters exposed in the film are also subtle. Like the break up of relationship between shaun and his lover,his friendship between his dearest friend(which causes other matters worse) and the affection shown by his parents(which he didn't realize). In short the story doesnt even matter to you once you are into the film, and you start laughing and laughing as zombies start walk on the surface. highly recommended humorous film.

Oneline: Laugh out loud.

8.5/10

Entre les murs aka The Class(2008)

It had won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The story is completely concentrated inside a french school class room. The original title of the film is "Between the walls".The film depicts the attitude of different students and teachers, how different parents are concerned about their children going to school, how the culture differentiates a student's character from another etc. The standout thing about the film is the observation, and how it contributes to make a genuine film about a class that truly escape from being a documentary and becomes a thoroughly entertaining film. Most of the film is the discussion between the teacher Francois and his students where topic change from study to normal day to day things to social concerned matters. At one time the teacher bursts out and we see the students unite in protest.In one scene we can the Japanese student telling his teacher that he is ashamed of telling the private things here as his culture doesn't teach him to be shameless. The restless nature of the junior high school students make the film more of an entertainer. The one tiresome thing for me was to read through the subtitles. During discussions voices came from different subjects and were speedy so that subtitles changed fast from scene to scene. In short I thoroughly enjoyed the film.

Oneline: It is a real class room.

7/10

Let the right one in(2008)

Oskar: I don't kill people.Eli: Oskar, I do it because I have to.Eli: Be me, for a while.Please Oskar... Be me, for a little while. A story of friendship and affection between a vampire child girl Ele and a boy Oskar. The 12 year old boy always becomes a prey of some schoolchildren who always hit him and he never hits back. It was Eli who gave him the courage to fight back.She lives off blood and her reason for killing is that. And she tells him be me for a while.In today's world, one never think of another person. He thinks why one would do that, he shouldnt have done that, its disgusting...Hey be him/her. Think from his/her part. Now you know some things can only be explained from by becoming him/her. More than a basic thread, the movie relies on the art of story telling. The direction is excellent . The girl child artist perfectly fit into the shoes of vampire. The film wont disappoint you. It is silent at times,but the scenes will speak. Its slow at times, but wont let you notice that. Its one of the best films released in 2008, ah yes and you will recognise that.

OneLine: Dont miss this one.

8.5/10

Siworae aka Il Mare (2000)

A film from korea. The lake house(2006) starring keanu reaves is the english version of the film. English version is far too below the korean version. So see the original version. The film is slow. So please be patient for sometime, and you wont be disappointed. One of such films from korea that you must watch. Now about the story thread: In the year 1999 a girl ( acted by Gianna Jun, My sassy girl heroine) leaves a house and puts a letter in the mail box asking the new owner of the house to forward any letters coming to the house on her name to the new address she written.In 1997 a man named Sung-hyun moves to the same house and collects her letter. This was the house built for him by his uncle. So he naturally surprised by the letter and calls his aunty to confirm that the house and the plot are new. And assumes the letter would be a prank. Later on he realises that the letter is genuine and infact both of them realises that they are comminicating with a time difference of 2years.Il Mare is the house name which means the sea and the house is in fact located near the sea. Well now you know the thread. Its a beautiful nice movie and is highly romantic. Recommended.
>>Score 8.5/10<<

Das Experiment(2001)

The movie is based on the "Stanford Prison Experiment" conducted in 1971. Starts like a hollywood thriller with a decent background score and some humours to add with. Later on we get to see the character exposed by each and every person as they are forced to face different circumstances in a prison. A prison is set up in a research lab with minimum facilities to be given inside a real prison and surveilance cameras around study the behaviour of the subjects. People are hired by the scientists of which some will act as guards and others as prisoners. Each group are selected carefully based on the mental strength, the behaviour and using other procedures. Guards will set rules and prisoners will follow it strictly. Guards shouldnt use any violence to keep discipline among them. If everything goes as planned, each one will benefit with money offered to them and scientists will have the result. The experiment was for 14 days. First everything starts friendly then a bit of teasing, then not so harmful humiliation, and eventually violence. The situation seemed to be controllable and then one day everything collapse. The movie captures how one person's reaction or action cause change in strategies in another person and eventually making a shift of behaviour towards everyone he accompanies or involved with. Watch it. It is beautiful,funny and provocative. An excellent thriller that has got values
>>Score A<<

Hable con ella(2002)

A beautiful film from the acclaimed spanish director Pedro almodover, who always taken films where heroines have got substance . He always employs melodrama in his films and his films always depicted desire passion family matters etc. This film is no exception.The film tells a powerful love story which is purely unconventional. The story moves very slowly but i didnt feel boredom throughout the movie.Both leading characters's lovers are in deep comma. One male character is a journalist and other is a nurse. Thw two men first meets at a theatre and later they meet at this hospital where one work as the nurse and treats his lover. However her parents or anyone else other than the journalist knows that he is in love with the one he treats. When benigno,the nurse saw the grief in his companion's(the journalist) face, he tells him 'talk to her'. The subject is not so complex however the matter is folded and it unfolds only when the film is reaching its final scenes. And the climax can make you drop a bit of tear from your eyes and the pictures of each character will leave in your mind for sometime, and if it does then it is the success of the story telling medium,Cinema.

>>Score A-<<

Chinatown(1974)

Directed by Roman Polanski. The film is classified into neo noir type. 'Noir' corresponds to distinctive visual elements, plot devices and some common themes in the film. use of light and shadow, unusual camera placements etc can be scene. The film's characters were often conflicted antiheroes trapped in a difficult situation. The film qualifies with such lot of mechanisms used and is considered to be one of such kind. The film stars Jack Nicholson as a private investigator highered by a lady to spy his husband and eventually it turns out that the lady was a fake to the original character played by Faye Dunaway and the man was his husband. Later on the man he spied on dies and Dunaway appoints Jack as the private detective to find the cause of the death and eventually we came to notice a shocking truth, something we wont be expecting throughout the film. A genuine film that focuses on incidents happened in the year 1937. Some minute points shown in the film on the beginning comes into limelight as the film progresses. Overall the film excels in every department and each and every scenes and every scenes are perfect.
>>Score A-<<

2046(2004)

Directed by Wong-Kar Wai. This was the third movie i have seen from wong kar wai after ChungKing Express and In the mood for Love. It had shown me the magic the cinema has to offer. The colors. The shots. The selection of scenes. The story showcases a womanizer writer, who does writing for making money and lives an extravagant life. His life is very lonely where he finds his pleasure in company of women. In hong kong he lives in a room 2047 in a motel and looks to 2046 and imagines a story which later on he realises that it became his story, his story of loneliness, urge for love and passion. Through his story he tries to find the woman once he loved and tried to make his part of live. The movie mixes both his present and past through the story '2046' that he writes. In his story every once in a while a mysterious train leaves to the year 2046. People traveling in the train had only one ambition, to recapture their lost memories .Through the fictional world in his story he creates and projects the emotions of the women he noticed. This is essentially what the story of the film 2046. The film is unique in its features. And very nostalgic as well. Ah! i forgot one more thing, it is the background score. The background score is excellent and undoubtedly one of the best. Recommended if you are hardcore movie lover. And skip if you are a causal one.
>>Score A+<<

Drag me to Hell(2008)

The film starts by telling a story happened 39 years ago, where a boy is brought in front of a witch named San Dena by his parents after they found some unusual things happening to the boy. He was affected by the spirit Lamia. Before san dena could do anything Lamia kills the boy and goes away. She takes a pledge and says to Lamia, the demon, that they will meet again. Now, 39 years later, an older women curses a younger ambitious girl for not giving her a relaxation for payment of loan. And Lamia comes to scene again. And what happens is a nicely told story from the director, which he had written 10 years back. Decent performance from the leading lady and an excellent performance from the Old lady as well. An above average film.
>>Score B+<<

Absurdistan(2008)

Absurdistan is a term used to describe a country in which absurdity is the norm.This is a very funny film that leaves its imprints on you even after you completed watching the film. Its a fable that tells you the romance between childhood friends Temelko and Aya and about what happening in the Land absurdistan.The story of the two are deeply connected with the history the present and future of the land they living, Absurdistan. The village was a secluded one which once was a dried land after water disappeared from the wells due to quarrelling between men and women in absurdistan. Later men in absurdistan went into caves and put up pipes to bring water to the land which stops quarrelling between them and affection starts. Later on in the current age of the story the water leaks out and disappears due to holes in the pipe and further reasons. The men were reluctant to repair the pipe due to laziness and women starts war against them by telling them no water no sex.The story deals with the Laziness of men which wins over the lust inside them.Women gradually finds the power inside them and fighting continues. Meanwhile Temelko alone tries to get water into the village with no support from other men. The story is beyond the scope of the review and would become a spoiler. One of the interesting thing about the story is that it is mostly told via voice over.Another interesting fact is that most of the acting is done by using facial expressions and were excellently carried out by the actors. Watch the film. As told by some critic this is a "hard not to like" kind of film. Genuine in thoughts and unique in the way of story telling. Don't miss this film.
>>Score A<<

Identity(2003)

Directed by James Mangold who later on directed the film 3:10 to Yuma. I was expecting the film to be an average one as most of the films in horror genre came up at those times were either purely average or disgusting. The exceptions were films made in foreign languages like [REC]. To my surprise the film went exceptionally well and i must say I was thrilled throughout the film. You can say the film is a closed one as most of the story takes place around a motel. One thing to be noted that there are only a few blood gore scenes throughout the film and that too wont make causal audience of the horror genre offensive. Everything is there but added lightly and was enough to show that the killing was brutal. About the story: It starts with a psychiatrist going through and analyzing the proofs and the observations he gathered by consulting a victim. He was confident that the observations he gathered by reading his diary and experience he had by meeting the victim of murders, are enough to make him non guilty even though he may have done the murders. So a last minute trial has been requested and granted which is going to take place. The doctor had requested the presence of the victim for the trial as his presence is a required factor. This sequence is paralleled with another story that revolves around a motel on a stormy night. People are gathered at a motel nearest to a highway due to circumstances like accident, road blocks caused by flood etc... . Some of those people are connected indirectly to an accident happened less than an hour ago. As they start staying in their room the story unfolds and people gets killed one by one . And those people gathered at motel were unable to find the victim. However the story takes a sharp turn as the victim in the other story is being questioned by the doctor. And there the story unfolds completely giving us a dramatic en-thrilling experience . Now the climax. Most of the thrillers need an eventful climax. And for me the film was successful in creating that. Absolutely clueless.

The editing and direction were fantastic. The story was excellently told. Agreed that there are some flaws as well, but who cares when film is such an entertaining one. Go and Watch if you haven't seen it yet.

>>Score A<<