October 13, 2009

Global Film Festival at Indore - III

13 Oct

1. Woman Next Door (Dir: Francois Truffuat, France) - Truffuat is credited with kick-starting the New Wave in French cinema. 'Woman Next Door' is a fairly regarded film of his. It is, I think, only as complex as one wishes to view it as. A lot is left to the extrapolation of the viewer. Truffuat, it is apparent, is not much bothered about the form (i.e. the camera angles or lighting, etc) but is more interested in content. As a result, obviously, there is not much visual appeal. I'm not the right audience for Truffuat, I guess.

2. Sivaji (Dir: Shankar, India/Tamil) - Well, what can I say. I still remember the hysteria this film generated during its release. I finally got to see it in full. I have always felt that Rajnikant is very entertaining in comic sequences. Same here but rest of the film is strictly for his fans.

October 12, 2009

Global Film Festival at Indore - II

12 Oct


Camera Buff (Dir: Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland) - An important work from the Polish director. Very different style and treatment. He works hard to make everthing look ordinary, even amatuer. So are his actors; it is like we peep at them going through their lives. The last 15-20 minutes, however, attempt to arrive at something formally conclusive, which seemed in contrast to simplistic flow of the rest of the film. A good film.

Global Film Festival at Indore - I

Indore is hosting a Global Film Festival which started 2 days back on 9 Oct and will continue till 14 Oct. Following are the films I got to see so far and a few lines about what I thought of them.

9 Oct


1. Chaudvi ka Chand (Dir: Guru Dutt, India) - A Guru Dutt classic. Very beliveable coincidences in the story and fine performances from the complete cast. But was a bit too musical from me (too many songs that is) and add to it the fact that the music score by Ravi is ordinary, exception being the superb title track (which incidentally is the only portion of the film shot in color).

10 Oct


1. Tess (Dir: Roman Polaski, UK) - The camera captures brilliant landscapes of the English country side. Ace photography. The lead actress looks stunning in every frame. It is easy to see why men fall for her in the story. It chronicles the struggles of a woman. Though this is the only Polaski film I have seen, going by his reputation, I guess this is not amongst his best.

2. Murder (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock, UK) - Not the best works of Hitchcock. Mildly entertaining.

3. Wild Strawberries (Dir: Ingmar Bergman, Sweden) - The strange ways in which Bergman films grip his audience can only be felt. So many devices are in play in Wild Strawberries - flashbacks, dreams, locations, sets and the characters. Totally engrossing and a definite masterpiece.

4. Madadayo (Dir: Akira Kurosawa, Japan) - The influence of Kurosawa on world cinema is immense and need not be pointed out. Madadayo is his last film. I don't know if it was intentional of him to tell the story of an amiable old man. The film is a bit too long but otherwise is very entertaining, funny and simple. Fantastic performance by the lead actor. He bring alive the character so well that you believe it completely.

PICK OF THE DAY: Wild Strawberries.

I plan to catch some more films during the festival.