Rush (2013)

In the past 5 weeks, I have spent some time admiring two extremely good looking men. The second is Hrithik Roshan in Bang Bang, and the first is Chris Hemsworth in Rush. I have watched Chris in The Avengers, and he made for a perfect Thor.

Last month, I watched Rush again on television, and then thought about my incomplete post. I had watched Rush last year itself, soon after its release in India. That particular weekend was a great weekend – I had watched two biopics based on sports - I had watched The Fighter on television. As for Rush, since it is based on F1, I had wanted to watch it as soon as I could.

The sibling and I had spotted VJ Yudhishthir (Yudi) when we had gone to watch Rush. The minute James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) appeared on screen, I realized why Kimi Raikkonen considers him as an idol, and why his legend lives on - he is supposed to have slept with 5,000 women. In today's times, he would be considered a sex addict, and asked to go through de-addiction.

The movie paints the F1 circuit in a realistic and gripping manner, and credit goes to the director Ron Howard who has previously directed A Beautiful Mind. There are a few scenes that struck me as unreal, and the wikipedia entry shows that some scenes had been created specifically for the movie. For instance, the scene where James Hunt beats up the journalist who asks insensitive questions on the impact of Niki Lauda’s looks on his marriage.

This year, I realized the casting is perfect and the lead actors and actresses resemble the real-life characters. This link has more information, and I am going to post two pictures.

This is the real Niki Lauda and James Hunt.

This is a still from the movie.

I found it painful to watch the scenes post Lauda’s crash at Nurburgring, Germany. I shed some tears watching the scenes at the hospital, and when Lauda tells Hunt that while he was responsible for the crash in some way, he was equally responsible for getting him back to racing.

There is this exchange between James Hunt and his wife Suzy.

Suzy: Why have you come here, James?

James: To get you back.

Suzy: You don’t want me back...you never wanted to be married in the first place. You did it because you hoped it might change you...settle you down... help with the racing. Not because you loved me. And who knows, if it had been just the drinking, or the dope, or the infidelity, or the moods...it might even have worked...but when it’s all of them?

James: I know. I’m terrible.

Suzy: No, you’re not terrible. You’re just...who you are...at this point in your life. And God help anyone that wants more.

James: Will he be able to give you more? He has quite the bad boy reputation himself.

Suzy: What’s important is how it feels to me. And it feels like he adores me.

The real-life incidents are slightly different from what has been depicted. What would I have done if I were in Suzy's place - the movie character's place? If this question had been asked last year, my response would have been that I would not have gone skiing 'that weekend' with another bad boy. I would have just let some dreams die and reconciled for second best. Today, my response is that I would have first left Hunt and then gone skiing at a later date.

The references to rats are delightful, even though I am no fan of rats in real life. Lauda says, “Behind my back I know some of you guys call me ‘The Rat.’ Because I look like one. It’s meant as an insult. But I don’t mind it. Rats are ugly, sure. And no one likes them. But they’re intelligent. With a strong survival instinct.”

This remains one of the best movies I have watched.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

When I first watched a scene from this movie, I thought it would be on the lines of Slumdog Millionaire and switched channels soon enough. The name of the movie continued to intrigue me, and I checked the ratings. I was shocked to see the high ratings, and when I landed on the movie again (on a different day), I decided to watch it from then on.

I enjoyed the movie, and while I found the way Jean and Douglas end their marriage unrealistic, there were several positives. I am now drawn to movies with older characters, and this one had plenty of them. The gay characters weren’t caricatures or stereotypes, the British accents were nicely done and the humour was welcome, the Indians looked Indian and behaved like Indians (even if they spoke better English than usual), and the settings looked realistic. The characters were gripping – their idiosyncrasies and fears were well explored.



This line mouthed by Sonny (Dev Patel) – “Everything will be all right in the end... if it's not all right then it's not yet the end.” reminded me of 'Om Shanti Om'.

My favourite line is this – “All we know about the future is that it will be different. But, perhaps what we fear is that it will be the same. So, we must celebrate the changes.”

I am waiting for the sequel that’s due for release in 2015. Richard Gere is expected to join the cast.

Born Free (1966)

Soon after we came back from Srinagar last year, the then-Yokefellow and I went to a shop in South Mumbai that sold pirated CDs of movies and sitcoms. The sibling had also accompanied us – I was scheduled to buy her birthday gift that day. “Born Free” was one among the CDs – I can’t recollect now whether it was my choice.

The movie is based on a real incident and starred a much-in-love real life couple (Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers) as the Adamsons who raise an orphaned lion cub Elsa to adulthood.  Joy (played by Virginia) wants to release Elsa back into the wild, where she truly belongs. This is not an easy task, as Joy and George go on to discover. Post the movie, the actors became committed animal rights activists and they established the Born Free Foundation. As for the real George and Joy Adamson, they separated - George was apparently interested in lions and Joy was interested in cheetahs.

I’d highly recommend this movie – the scenes with the lions are shot very well, and the music is very good.

After watching the movie, in the course of some conversation, I got this text – “Poor Elsa. I will train you.” I said something related to Simba from The Lion King, and left it at that.

Midnight’s Children (2012)

I am a fan of Salman Rushdie’s writing and I am fond of Tinkerbells. Hence, when she asked me to do a review of the movie ‘Midnight’s Children’, I thought that I could use a diversion.

I remember finishing the book while on a train journey from Mumbai to Chennai - in 2002 and not 1999 as I originally told Tinkerbells. After three false starts, I read the book just before I joined b-school, and have vague recollections of the writing. I was travelling on my own, and my fellow passengers commented as to how I spent more time reading and less time talking.

Things haven't changed.

In February 2013, I watched the movie on my own and in a largely empty theatre. The few occupants were mostly foreigners or Indians who had lived / were living abroad. I got an aisle seat and was happy with the positive discrimination. I later noticed that there were atleast 3 more ladies who had come to watch the movie on their own.

The movie is faithful to the main story. What helps while watching this movie? For starters, reading the book will help. An understanding of India’s history is helpful. An appreciation for what happens when a person is forced to move sides because the country that once belonged to him doesn’t belong to him anymore, and what happens when you are not your parents’ child is useful. A liking for depictions of irony will help. If you dislike the idea of magic (and stories like Harry Potter), watching all the Midnight’s Children talking to each other might be bit much.

I remembered the description of Saleem Sinai’s grandfather, and found the casting of Rajat Kapoor as Aadam Aziz good. When his character ages, Shabhana Azmi plays his wife Naseem and I didn’t like her performance as much. Dal Lake looks real - I can't find any ready links as to whether film shooting was done on site.

Ronit Roy who plays Ahmed Sinai and Shahana Goswami (of ‘Rock On!!’ fame) who plays Amina Sinai were both well-cast. The break-up of Amina's first marriage is shown well. Amina’s sister Emerald (played by Anita Majumdar) was good, and her husband Zulfikar (played by Rahul Bose) was reduced to a caricature. I don’t know if this was deliberate – my memory of his character from the book eludes me.

Satya Bhabha who plays the protagonist Saleem Sinai has been panned by critics. His casting and acting worked for me because of the way he brought to life Saleem’s unsure body language, his Anglo-Indian parentage, his bewilderment at what happens to him and his love affair with Parvati. Also, his lack of height seemed to elevate his performance.

Parvati played by Shriya Saran was easily the best of the lot. The way she moved about in the dirty bylanes of Delhi with ease, and her comfort with her body was nice to watch. She played a magician, and she did well.

Soha Ali Khan plays Jamila Sinai, Saleem’s sister. She was aptly cast, and so was Seema Biswas as Mary the nurse who swaps the lives of two children – Saleem and Shiva. I remembered the descriptions of green chutney from the book, and was glad to find the chutney find its way into the movie.

This brings me to Shiva, played by Siddharth of ‘Rang De Basanti’ fame. He surprised me with his depiction of violence just via his body language, and was immensely watchable.

I didn’t like the portrayal of the Lady, played by Sarita Choudhury. There seemed too much effort with the movement of her jaw, and it came across as unnatural. What I liked was that there were no cuts introduced regarding this character. It serves as a reminder for me to read up a little more on Indira Gandhi.

Pianos that played differently

I grew up with the notion that genius and madness perennially go hand in hand, and reading Rand helped me romanticize the idea a lot more than I should have. Today, I admire the genius who can hold to his/her sanity.

It is not easy to do so.

This is going to be about two movies. I watched 'Shine' recently, and have to depend on my memory to state what I think of 'The Pianist'. Both of them have pianists from Poland as protagonists. Both are based on true accounts. Both performances won the lead actors Oscars. In the first case, the pianist’s father is a survivor of the holocaust. In the other, the pianist himself is a survivor of the holocaust.

After Shine was released, there was controversy surrounding it with claims that the father had been unfairly portrayed as an extremely authoritarian parent. Geoffrey Rush plays David Helfgott (a child prodigy) whose father survives extermination. The father rebuilds his life in Australia, after the death of his parents. After a point, the movie failed to move me for the father kept asking his son, “Do you want to destroy this family? Is that what you want?” when the lad wants to pursue music in the US on a scholarship. There was never any hint that he would not return to Australia, so it became difficult to digest as to why the father went on and on about him not being there for the family. The pianist rebels eventually and moves to London – the father disowns him for disobeying him. The pianist’s new professor encourages him (much like his old teacher and the author with whom he develops a friendship back in Australia), and he decides to play Rachmaninoff's work – his father was proud to have watched him learn this as a child. He has a mental breakdown post the concert, and is forbidden to play the piano anymore. Watch the movie to see the ‘happy’ ending when he meets an astrologer, marries her, and receives public acclaim again.

In the meantime, here’s something for you.



Roman Polanski’s The Pianist is about the life of Władysław Szpilman who survived the Nazi rule. This man gets separated from his family, is the only man to live in abandoned Warsaw, and is about to be killed by the Polish Army when he is dressed in a German coat – but he survives. I remember being impressed with the authenticity lent to the look, and how moved I was at the end of the movie. Adrien Brody became the youngest actor to win the Oscar for his performance.



Highly recommended.

The weather does it

Mirages and susceptibility to dehydration ensure that I stay put when summer strikes in full glory. Time and cynicism miraculously materialize from nowhere, and I am left longing for temperate climates when I can be my optimistic self.

Yes, I am unable to see the virtues of dry heat.

The confines of home result in my sitting in front of the idiot box for longer than usual; movie-watching touches a crescendo, and I now want to record it all.

Children of Heaven

An Iranian film, whose original title is Bacheha-Ye Aseman, is about a set of siblings (Ali and Zahra), and is a simple tale of a pair of lost shoes. The kids go to different schools, and arrive at a pact of sharing Ali’s shoes when he loses Zahra’s pair even as he goes to get them repaired. They carry on with their routine without their parents noticing their predicament.

Watch out for the scenes when Zahra notices her lost pair of shoes on the feet on a girl in her school, when Ali speaks for his gardener father and gets him a job, the painstaking detailing of the living conditions of the family, the ladies in colourful, non-black headgear, the earnestness on Ali’s face even as he convinces his teacher to allow him to take part in the selection round for the long-distance race after he misses the deadline, and the race itself.

No, I will not be a spoilsport and say how the movie ends.

Chocolat

Chocolates and Depp (even in small dosages) make for a heady concoction. But the real winner here is the story (set in a village in France), and the best performer is Dench.

Sample this.

“I think we can't go around...
measuring our goodness by what we don't do.
By what we deny ourselves...
what we resist and who we exclude.
I think we've got to measure goodness...
by what we embrace...
what we create...
and who we include.”

Acceptance doesn’t come easy, eh? Well, neither does drifting.

The interesting thing about “World Movies” is that subtitles kept swear words away, perhaps to ensure that gentle members of the audience are not alienated. Dench’s irritation read different as a result.

Yes, I will be a spoilsport here. Vianne and Roux kiss each other. All ends well.