review : Udaan [Flight]

Director - Vikramaditya Motwane
Written by - Vikramaditya Motwane, Anurag Kashyap
Cast - Rajat Barmecha, Ronit Roy, Aayan Boradia, Ram Kapoor

Country - India [2010]

The most engaging of narratives are human in nature. As a teenage boy is expelled from boarding school he looks darkly upon the prospect of going back to a motherless home and a father he hasn't heard from in years. He reaches home only to see his room encroached upon by a much younger step brother he had no knowledge of and consequently vents his frustration on the younger child. Being forced to study engineering and work in his authoritarian father's factory, his only comfort is in his ambition to be a writer and the random nightly escapes. Incidents culminate towards a conclusion when his step sibling has to be hospitalized. The film gets back to realism in Indian cinema which had been lost in the mainstream for a decade, or 2, and is now in the process of recovery. With a stellar performance from the entire cast the film is premium grade soul food.

review : Aftershock

Director - Feng Xiaogang
Written by - Wu Si
Cast - Xu Fan, Jingchu Zhang, Chen Li, Daoming Chen

Country - China [2010]


The 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China is the backdrop for this film. A mother has to choose between her son and daughter both of whom are buried beneath ruble. From here the story evolves as the son grows up with his widowed mother and the daughter is brought up by her foster parents. The mother continues to live with the guilt of having chosen between her children and the daughter having heard her mother make the choice is unable to forgive her. Time goes on until paths collide years later and an emotional confrontation surfaces. The films is based upon a novel by Ling Zhang. Apart from the tragic events of the earthquake which form the heart of the story, the film also notes the changing landscape of the economically closed off China of the past to the present day industrial giant that it has become.

review : The Last Lear

Director - Rituparno Ghosh
Written by - Rituparno Ghosh
Cast - Amitabh Bachchan, Shefali Shetty, Arjun Rampal, Divya Dutta, Preity Zinta

Country - India [2007]

An eccentric theatre actor, Harry, is the gravitational centre of this film. He lives in a Shakespearean cocoon, shunning society and reliving the roles that he had played on stage. The film follows parallel story lines, one in which it is the night of a film premiere and the star actress has not shown up, choosing instead to visit an ailing co-actor. The other is where Harry is approached by a director, who convinces him to act in his film about dying art forms. The directors sense of realism in film brings the tale to a tragedy of sorts.
It is a slow moving piece making me think of the arts of puppetry, circus acts and even the theatre which future generations will only see depicted on the medium that killed them - film.
Based on a play by Uttpal Dutt, the film is notable for performances by Amitabh Bachchan and Shefali Shetty.

review : 2046

Director - Wong Kar Wai
Written by - Wong Kar Wai
Cast - Tony Leung, Gong Li, Faye Wong, Takuya Kimura, Zhang Ziyi, Maggie Cheung

Country - Hong Kong [2004]

From the visionary who gave us 'In the Mood for Love comes the next chapter of the story. A writer (Tony Leung) in the 60's of Hong Kong begins to write a novel set in 2046(a place where nothing changes). As authors will often do Mr. Chow begins inserting incidents of his own life into the novel. At the same time he leads a promiscuous life style full of heavy drinking, gambling and one night night stands.
The story unfolds in both the fiction that he writes and the life he is living. With strong characterization the film becomes great just for the artfully conducted direction and the score alone. A mercurial neighbour and interactions with his landlords daughter creates a plot that appeals to, pleases & satiates the intellect.

review : Swordsmen

Director - Peter Chan
Written by - Aubrey Lam
Cast - Donnie Yen, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tang Wei

Country - China [2011]

It had been some time since I enjoyed a martial arts film out of Hong Kong. Set in a comparatively recent time, 1917, the film begins with a government official investigating two deaths in a village. Suspicion rests on a man with a clouded past and a broken link with the 72 demon clan. The plot unfolds with past misdeeds coming to light.  A thriller apt for kung-fu appetites.   

review : The Taste of Tea

Director - Katsuhito Ishii
Written by - Katsuhito Ishii
Cast - Tadanobu Asano, Tomokazu Miura, Anna Tsuchiya, Rinko Kikuchi

Country - Japan [2004]

A slice of life film. The story revolves around a family living in the countryside around Tokyo. A young girl bored with the futility of life, her older brother falling prey to the pangs of puberty. A slightly neurotic grandfather. A beautifully captured tale about not really anything except the unnoticed moments of life. Each character at a different age and consequently looking for something in their life.
A heart warming piece touching on one's own past that had been stored away in some sunny, smiling corner.

review : Battle Royale

Director - Kinji Fukasaku
Written by - Kenta Fukasaku
Cast - Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama, Kou Shibasaki, Masanobu Ando, Takeshi Kitano

Country - Japan [2000]

A dystopian future where teenagers are forced into a death game. Based on the book by Koushun Takami, it opens to a class of students moved to an uninhabited island. They are all given weapons and 3 days. With explosive collars tied to their necks, there's nothing left but merry killing to begin. The film is infused with a lot of red as the kids use arrows, shotguns, knives, sickles, automatics, grenades and axes. Friendships, loyalties and trust are stretched to a breaking limit. Let the games begin. 

review : Survive Style 5+

Director - Gen Sekiguchi
Written by - Taku Tada
Cast - Tadanobu Asano, Kyoko Koizumi, Jai West, Shihori Kanjiya, Sonny Chiba, Vinnie Jones

Country - Japan [2004]

It has been some time since I saw film that hooked you so completely from the first shot. There are 5 stories that loop in and touch each other at times. The purpose of the segments and actually the theme for the entire film has been given room for interpretation. Some audiences may find the comedy to be dark, but it has been done with clear vision and great aplomb.
A man who's wife beats him despite having been killed several times. A copywriter who gets brainwaves on advertising products. A hit man from Britain. A trio of jabbering miscreants & to tie it all up a man-chicken. The film, like the anime of Japan, continues to blast at the "limits" of creativity.