Review of “the Harmonium in my Memory”

     The film is an entertaining, thought provoking, shot in wondrous landscape and an educative film. A Korean movie produced in 1999 which is very refreshing to watch. A movie which has three distinct parts—the beginning, the middle and the climax. The initial part as well as the finale part is the thought provoking part. While, the mid-section of the movie is where you are entertained to the fullest.

     You will remember your childhood when you are watching this movie. the film will brings those days when you love to play although being reprimanded by your parents for neglecting your chores. But still you play. This is the part aced by Hongyeon (played by Jeon Do -yeon). You will like her for her childish act. The part where she kicked her brother from the bed and the portion where she keeps on skipping rope with her baby brother hung in her back that is the most entertaining part. You will just laugh your heart out. Just enjoy the film I can’t list all the entertaining part.

     It also portrays the first crush of adolescent. A student falling in love with the teacher. You will be reminded of your teen years. The sight of your beloved making you run away. This is the thing that you will relive in this film.

     You can see how the Korean peasants live their hard life in an easy way. They made no complain. The families are closely knit very much like ours. The rural landscape portrayed in the movie will bring you very close to nature.

     The director as well as story writer Lee Young Jae has done a tremendous work. The film is clearly a tremendous work of art.  The actors and actresses of the film play their part very realistically. You will be wowed by the film.

     So, my suggestion to you all is that watch the movie and let the movie entertains you. You will regret it if you don’t watch this wonderful Korean movie. 

Review of "ROCKSTAR"

        It is a film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali. Imtiaz Ali has also made the films like JAB WE MET and LOVE  AAJ KAL. Rockstar is an unusual movie with a unconventional story. The way the movie unfolds is also very uncommon. However Imtiaz Ali has done justice to the movie as a whole. The film holds itself despite the unusual nature of the story.

        The film begins with the dialogue “there is someplace beyond the right and wrong of this world.” And this film is not about the right and wrong of this world. The film revolves round the story of Janardhan aka Jordan( played by Ranbir Kapoor). Jordan is a man whose life revolves round music especially rock music. Before Janardhan becomes Jordan he is innocent, simple and docile. His only mission is to entertain the world through his music. For that he was scolded and abused by his family members and even get beaten by policemen. His friends took advantage of his passion for music. He was even ousted from his home.. He falls in love with a girl(played by Nargis Fikri). But he realised that he was in love with her after she was married to another man. Thus, beginning the conversion of Janardhan to Jordan. The docile Janardhan turns into a man filled with angst , who is creative, passionate and very eccentric rockstar. But his mission remains the same, that is to entertain everyone with his music. This is the story in brief.

        The best thing about this movie is it gives a lot of freedom to those audiences who have the ability to think what the story should be. In other words, the film says lot of things without showing it. Another great thing about the movie is that both time and space are treated as flux. That is the film jumps from one place to another in the next shot. Time is also treated in the same way.

        Now about the acting part, what I like about Ranbir Kapoor is that he plays the role of a rockstar very well. I realised after watching this movie why does the rock shows get cancelled at the last moment. You will realise why the albums of rock bands have dangerous names.

        The music in the film is composed by the maestro A.R. RAHMAN.  All the songs have wonderful music but the music of two songs stands out. The songs are SAADA HAQ and JHO BHI MEIN KEHNA CHAHHO.

        All in all the film scores well in its story lines. The music is great. The acting of Ranbir Kapoor is great. The way the movie is shot is innovative atleast in Bollywood. The subject matter is mature. So I will suggest you to go and enjoy this movie. But the only requirement is that you should be a fan of rock music and have an appetite for experimental movie. If you fulfill these two criteria, then this is definitely the movie for you.  

Review of ‘Bashu (The Little Stranger)’

Hi everybody,

        Well today I have another outstanding movie just for you. It is an Iranian movie named “Bashu (The Little Stranger) released in 1989. The film is shot in two dialects. It is one of the few movies where Gilaki dialect is used. The film is about a war orphaned young boy. He reaches another part of the country hidden in the back of a cargo truck. There, in a small village he is adopted by a kind, tough, strong willed women by the name of ‘Naii’. Initially everyone in the village advised Naii not to adopt him but she goes against everybody’s will. However Bashu proves very useful to Naii. In the end Bashu become a son of Naii. That is the story in brief.

        It beautifully portrays the character of Naii as well as Bashu. Naii plays such an important part in the movie. I,initially, feel that the movie should have been named as Naii. But Bashu( the sweet, helpful, dark skinned boy, clever and troubled boy) is the central to the development of the movie. Ultimately, I am happy with the Name, Bashu( The Little Stranger). In the end it doesn’t matter what the name of the movie is. It is such a wonderful movie that you all will enjoy.

        An outstanding movie. The cinematography is simply superb. The movie begins amid violence. Just like the life of Bashu. It gets calmer as the movie progress just as the life of Bashu got pacified. Most of the scenes is shot among the green field, rural location, trees, little rivulet, etc. I can feel a poetic beauty in it.

        Now, the characters of the film are simply stupendous. Naii, the mother of two young child, has been played perfectly well by Susan Taslimi. She has a young boy and a cute little girl. Her son and daughter seem very natural with their childish or childlike act. Bashu acted beyond expectation. Other characters in the film also performed their parts well.

        The film shows a glimpse of the culture of Iran. We could relate to the culture of Iran in this movie. In the movie when Naii felt ill, we see a glimpse of voodoo magic. The traditional harvesting dance performed by the kids. The local council when all the villagers gather at Naii’s place to discuss whether Bashu should be adopted or not. It resembles the functioning of grassroot democracy.

It also shows the universal value like the importance of family in this movie. The power of love has been eulogised. When Naii felt ill, Bashu out of love for her ran for the doctor. Bashu accompanying Naii in her night watch over the field. These are some of the scene which I am stating.

Well, I almost forgot to mention a scene which is very poignant as well as point out the resourcefulness of Naii. When Bashu avoids Naii which has instructed him to take a bath. Naii hid herself among the hay, and caught Bashu, drag him near the river and throw him inside the river. She then washed him. That scene is really one of the most remarkable scenes of the movie.

        The movie is steeped in paranormal event. We see a glimpse of voodoo magic when Naii was ill. The dead mother, father and brother of Bashu appears every now and then.

        There is a poetic beauty in the movie. Like in the beginning there is violence and it end in the eventual adoption of Bashu by everybody in the village. Moreover the apparition of the Bashu’s mother stops appearing in the movie when Naii openly announces that Bashu is her son. These are the things that I find very imaginatic.

        The way the story is shown it is remarkable how the director, Behram Beizai, web his magic. You will feel the professionalism of Behram in the movie.

        I should say it is one of those movies that you should watch even if you are not a regular cinema goer.

Review of ‘’NOT ONE LESS”

        I don’t know how to say it differently as I am using this line a lot lately. It is another wonderful Asian movie (Chinese movie to be precise). Very recently, I have been introduced to the outstanding universe of the dramatic movies of Asia. This one is no different. In fact, it is really a very remarkable movie.

        Kudos to the director, Zhang Yimou,  for directing such a wonderful and heart warming movie. It amazes me how the director has managed to direct such a movie. The script writer has done his homework very well. The theme of the movie is really a great one.

        Moreover, I can’t help myself then to appreciate the actors of the movie. The lead role is played by Zhang Wei, a 13 year old girl. She as the assistant teacher is so impressive.  The little kids in the movie are really natural. They are far from clean but very adorable. The naughtiness of Zhang Huike (the one responsible for making this story a great one) can easily be related to our childhood. How we used to disturb someone whom we can disturb.  And then there is this little kid in the front row she is naughty as well as very adorable. You will just love her for her cuteness.

        The whole movie revolves around Zhang Wie. She is an assistant teacher who was told not to lose any student of the school while she was in charge if she wanted the pay plus bonus. As luck would have it two of her students were gone. The first one taken by the sport instructor and the other one, Zhang Huike, went away to the city in search of the work. The assistant teacher went to look for Zhang Huike. The trial and tribulation of the teacher in searching for her missing student is beautifully portrait in the movie. In the end she found much more than Zhang Huike. The film ends in the happy note.

        Another great thing about the movie is that it is an inspirational movie where it is shown that if you have the will then you could do it whatever the circumstances maybe. At first, the assistant teacher finds it very difficult to control her students. But due to her stubbornness as well as her kind effort she won the hearts of her students. She also walks to the city when she was push down from the bus when she continues to go after her student. In this scene we are shown the will of the assistant teacher just to find her student.

        The cinema also scores in other front also besides the story. It is shoot in the rural setting. The lofty hill, the highway, the sand, etc. add to the beauty of the film.  The school really look the part. It is a depilated building.

        The students in the movie are really cute though they are not that clean. They really look the part. There is the small girl you will surely adore her. I think I am repeating here but what to do I can’t help myself.

        All in all a wonderful film from a great country from the largest continent of the world. It should be watched and enjoyed by one and all.  

Review of THE GAMEPLAN

A family movie from Walt Disney production. Dwayne the rock Johnson plays the lead role. The story line is very simple. It is about a daughter and a father who doesn’t realise that he has a daughter. The father played by The Rock is a professional football quarter back who is a self centered and a selfish fellow. His world revolves around himself. He was surprised when his daughter suddenly dropped in front of his house one fine morning. Then, the relationship grew for the better. The rest of the story is predictable at best.

The film also suffers from the fact that the daughter who must be ten year or so was too smart for her age. But the film scores on other point. There is a great chemistry between the father and daughter. The length that a father will go for his daughter/son is shown very clearly and crisply. There are also beautiful lines like the power of the father and your daughter needs you. These phrases may seem ordinary but in the context of the movie they are very important. We expect a fairy tale like movie from the Walt Disney and we invariably get it. This one is also one of the fairy tales from Walt Disney. However, this movie is also emotional, funny, hilarious, entertaining and moreover, a wholesome family entertainer. It is for the parents who love their kid. On the whole a watchable movie. You will feel good emotionally after seeing this movie.  It is a highly entertaining movie for kid. If you don’t have anything to do then this is the right movie to enjoy and relax.

reviews of DELHI BELLY

I am a big fan of Amir khan. I don’t know how he managed to deliver only quality materials. The film “Delhi Belly” is no exception. It is a dark, hilarious, bold as well as vulgar. It is one and half hours of nonstop laughter. The actors are superbly chosen. I like Vir Das  since the day of The news on the Loose. He is exceptional here with his comic timing. Kunal Roy Kapoor, the creator of all the trouble, who was trouble by loose motion throughout the movie. Tashi, played by Imran Khan kudos to him, another feather in his career.

The film is different in the sense that the laughter we get is due to the situation the actor are in. Unlike other Bollywood movies, where we laugh either due to the foolishness of the protagonists or the actors, funny face made by the actors. The laughter that we have from this film is due to the situation as well as the dialogues. Like there was a scene in which the gang leader was threatening Mr. Vladimir while his side kick are busy having lunch. That scene is really hilarious. The scene is serious but at the same time it is funny. That is USP of this film.

Take the song “I hate you (like I love you)”. This song doesn’t make any sense to those person who hadn’t watched this film. Once you enjoy the movie you will simply love it like you hate it before due to the circumstance of the film.

The film is bold in the scene where the vendor scratching his scrotum while preparing food.  Not only that the language that are used in the film are really vulgar but at the same time comic.

These are some of the bold and funny things that we can enjoy in this movie.

So I would suggest you to watch this film.

It is a must watch for the movie goer who are looking for fun, vulgarity, boldness and lots and lots of laughter. Enjoy  the movie.

Bye for now.