review : Love in India

Director - Q (Qaushiq Mukherjee)

Narration - Q 

Country - India [2009]

A documentary from a controversial (as dubbed by Indian sensibilities) director named Q. People from various walks of life talk about love and sex, and the perception of it in today's Indian society. Of how it has transformed from the time period when the Kama Sutra was written and has become the taboo it is now. Midway the film evolves into more than just love and sex. It also explores human nature and the forces driving it. There is a form of research embedded amid the stories of Indian mythology which are briefly touched upon. Unfortunately the rare people aware and well versed about such matters, both in the east and west, are social rejects or outcasts. They are made so by mainstream "scholars". But with thought provoking ideas about the ever dwindling mystery of the self the film is entertaining, informative and revealing.
P.S. - Charming cinematography. 

review : Last Life in the Universe

Director - Pen Ek Ratanaruang

Screenplay - Pen Ek Ratanaruang, Prabda Yoon
Cast - Tadanobu Asano, Sinitta Boonyasak, Laila Boonyasak

Country - Thailand [2003]

A Japanese man living in Thailand wishes to commit suicide, but is continuously blockaded in his aim to achieve death.
His reasons to commit suicide, by his admission, are different from the usual . A girl gets run over by a car on a bridge, which leads him to make a friend and delay his plans for death.
A slow, strange piece worth a viewing.

review : Map of the Sounds of Tokyo

Director - Isabel Coixet
Screenplay - Isabel Coixet
Cast - Rinko Kikuchi, Sergi Lopez, Min Tanaka

Country - Spain [2009]

Although technically a Spanish production, the film deserves a mention here. 

Ryu is a killer for hire, who works the night shift at the Tokyo fish market. Her only friend is elderly man with an interest in recording his silent conversations with Ryu. This man is also narrator to the story. 

When, Midori, the daughter of a business man commits suicide, the man recedes into depression and blames David, his daughter's boyfriend, for the loss of his daughter. His confidante gives Ryu the contract for killing David. A sexual confusion arises between Ryu and David that dislodges something within Ryu and renders her incapable of killing David, who finds comfort in Ryu. 

But as per Chekov , when a gun is introduced in the plot it must be fired. 

review : The Last Tycoon

Director - Wong Jing
Screenplay - Wong Jing, Phillip Lui, Manfred Wong
Cast - Chow Yun-fat, Sammo Hung, Francis Ng, Huang Xiaoming

Country - Hong Kong [2012]

The last tycoon starts in 1913 China where two people choose to resume their budding love once ambition has been satiated. Daqi becomes embroiled in the underworld of Shanghai. Meanwhile Zhiqiu rises as an opera star in Beijing. The film follows a parallel narrative for the first half, chronicling the rise of Daqi through pivotal events & the present 1937 where Japan, Daqi's Shanghai and the Chinese army are at play. Here Zhiqiu is reintroduced into the capturing plot. Henceforth begins the Japanese invasion and occupation. With strong characters, an engaging narrative and a vengeful climax 'The Last Tycoon' is immensely entertaining.