The Book Thief

Lately, I have been watching innumerous movies and almost reading no precious book. All the books which I wanted to read, I decided to watch their movie versions. Though I know even a masterpiece-movie can not replace the joy-of-reading-a-good-book. But I had no option. So, I watched specially Gone with the wind and The Great Gatsby and most recently The Book Thief the next desiring one is- Fifty Shades of Grey.

via: google images

Yesterday I watched The Book Thief. It was like - Hypnotizing. The beautiful young girl - Liesel Meminger, the innocent love of -Rudy Steiner and humanity of - Hans Hubermann are spellbound. 
The movie is based on the novel by Australian author  Markus Zusak which was first published in 2005. It is directed by- Brian Percival. It portrays the Germany of 1938 when it was ruled by Hitler and Nazis. The whole story is narrated by Death. 

The most striking thing about the story is - Humanity and the power of Words. Humanity is everywhere among the people of Nazi Germany.  Hans Hubermann takes  Liesel Meminger as a foster daughter whose mother was a communist. Later, he takes in a Jewish boy Max Vandenburg because his father had saved Hans' life in a war. With the humanity, there are Words in the movie like air. Liesel Meminger can not read, it is with the help of her new papa that she begins to learn to read. Books mesmerize her and she can't hold herself back from stealing them. Upon asking by Hans that is the book yours? She says, "It wasn't always mine." The power of words is so surprising that almost dying Max is restored to life by Liesel's reading to him. And further, with the motivation of Max, Liesel even begins to write. 

via:google images

The movie is definitely a work that unfolds multiple layers of meaning and metaphors. It bounds you in a moment. And the girl playing Liesel is so beautiful. Altogether, you can't forget the movie. !!!

The Magic of YJHD lies in ...

So finally I watched YJHD today. This is a universally loved movie, but not for a universal theme. I bet, everyone liked this movie for his own reason. What was my reason then? Why I liked this movie? Or rather, why this movie made me dance for a while, made me buzz my friends n shower kisses n love... what was the magic? 

I dunno about the world - the big world on map. But I know about my friends and the little world we have and each one of them, wants to run away, to visit the exotic places, wants to have different experiences, fulfill their dreams - everyone wants to fly high breaking the chains of responsibilities behind and that's exactly what the movie portraits through the character of Ranbir (Kabir) . Dreaming is not wrong, but then what's wrong with him?  Instability. 

Well, unexpectedly it is not Ranbir or Deepkia I could co-relate to . It was Kalki. Yes. Recently even I took a decision that turned my life Upside-down. That brought me - ME- the banjaara types-  back  to home, back to normal life with friends and family, life full of love and togetherness, life of slow but steady growth, life of Stability and Sincerity. 

There are two favorite quotes of mine from this movie - first ,

 " jitna bhi try karo bunny life me kuch na kuch toh chhutega hi , toh jahan hain wahin ka maza lete hain na..." (Deepika - YJHD) 



and second, 

 " kuch logon ke sath sirf waqt bitaane se sab thik ho jaata hai..." (Kalki - YJHD)

Kalki had loved an old buddy but it was on sided love. When she met an engineer through her parents and spent time with him, she realized ; probably what I realized myself, when someone loves you, cares for you, calls you his own and commits to spend whole life together no matter what - you know where your happiness lies. 

You know what, the chase still goes inside my soul, there is still the times of chaos and struggle, but I am glad - I am out of the confusion , and in spite of Million dream lives I wanted to live, I have chosen one dream for this life - the dream of love n cozy companionship. 

The magic of YJHD lies in its message, which the youngsters getting crazy after their freaky dreams need badly today. And the message is - you can not have everything in just one life. If you will run after having all and fulfilling all dreams of yours, you will end up losing all in the end. Not wanting to miss anything, will make you miss a lot in life. So rather than having-all , just have what you have and live it to the fullest. Choose one frame, Accept the limitation, and Paint the best Possible picture. 

Heroine

The movie - Heroine.

A story of the struggle of a heroine.

Just that?

No... it is about fears, insecurities ... you can't trust anyone around you. It is about making a mistake, going into depression, and trying Gracefully to come over it. You know what this movie is about, it tells you, its okay, its okay to commit a mistake, and its never too late.

 No one would understand why you like a certain film, they think you have been fooled or you are over emotional. They don't realize, somewhere it brings to your conscious, some "unconscious urge", they don't understand, you relate to a certain character so well, that you forget about the narration, the slow line story or any damn thing. Only thing that matters to you is, you feel what character feels. You learn a thing for
yourself or what you should do, through a Reel life character.

Well, Kareena is really A STAR.

Gulaal – My Perspective

(While the words ringing in my ear - )

ye duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai ...

 An impressive movie with a remarkable beginning and a little experiment with narrative. After a long gap, that of a week almost, suddenly the images from the movie have began to flip in my mind.

The whole mood of the movie is Disillusionment, and it is also one of its prominent themes. The Rajputanas of Rajasthan are disillusioned after Independence. They realize that their sacrifice, their blood, their treasure has all been wasted. They have not been given the Rights, the Reverence, the Privilege that they deserved. The Rajputs are only giving voice to the general disillusionment felt by everyone after Independence. Moreover, their agony has been highlighted by the fact that the Democracy or Government is doing the Same Thing that they have been accused of. And so,  we all agree. 

The political disillusionment is soon shifted to the disillusionment in all spheres of life : friendship, love, filial relations. Dilip Kumar is the one, trapped in all sorts of disillusionment. Beginning with his enrollment as a Law Student, paradoxically he ends up doing Unlawful actions. He is again disillusioned when he gets to know the Real Politics behind much simple looking college elections for college development. And at last, his disillusionment with Love.

One of the achievements of the movie is - it is symbolical - and the symbol is so well woven that only a critical and observant eye can catch it. Kay Kay Menon is outstanding while Ransa deserves much accolades. Piyush Mishra plays the Elizabethan Fool to the Court and King, here represented by  Kay Kay Menon. The songs of the movie are Poetry in its best progressive movement tone (*). 

There is a sort of Mass Mania in the movie. A mass mania, I would say, is, when common sense has been  given up for a foolish purpose by a certain group. The first thing that hit me was, a different side of Politics. Apart from all mania, stupidity, impossible and almost laughable purpose of Politics shown in Gulaal , the striking thing is , it is shown, grossly at the grass root level - College politics. Where the movies like Singham, Gangajal, Rajneeti, show you the Climax and End, from a very common perspective, of the Honest Policeman or Honest Game-playing Rajneta- Gulaal takes you back to the Beginning - the College Elections - the most hideous side of Politics.  

Another fascinating thing about the movie is - its Title. Such a title invites number of interpretations, which is a pleasure to a searching mind like me. What Gulaal represents? Gulaal is the red color powder used in the Hindu festival - Holi. Thus it is symbolizes happiness, fraternity and love. But have you noticed Gulaal has been used since ages by Revolutionaries? Gulaal, in much Indian sense, also symbolizes Revolution. I have noticed one more thing these days, in all Hindu dharmik yatra or Julus , in which people dance in frenzy, Gulaal has been used, then, does it also symbolize Mania, Frenzy?  Of course, the red color is a dynamic color - representing Contradictory emotions - On one hand, Anger, Hatred, Blood and one other hand,  Love, passion, revolution. One color - many faces. That makes it just a perfect Title.

Well, look at the poster carefully.

(*) - Progressive Movement in Poetry of Hindi Literature was affected by Marxist Movement of Europe, Political turbulence at home and as a reaction of Chhayavaadi Kaavya. The most efficient representative of this Poetry is Ramdhari Singh Dinkar , and one of his most famous lines are - ' Sinhasan khali karo ki Janta aati hai...' , which was used by Jay narayan Prakash as a motto for his revolution. 

Gulaal - Thoughts on my Mind

Just watched Gulaal.



Thoughts on my mind -

1.) Gulaal is a good movie.

2.) At least , it Provokes.

3.) Piyush Mishra ; eh ! he is a Man !!!

4.) Songs - Would have to Read the Lyrics, (as one had to do with the lyrics of Rockstar's songs) that's a compliment, isn't it. And well... the beats will remain for long in the heart. They are very conventional and yet afresh, anew aroma lingers about them - a compliment that even Rockstar missed.

5.) Ground-level Politics - that was the first striking thing.

6.) Violent , abusive, rash, coarse - and yet a poetic feeling wraps them all. Credit goes to the - Symbolism, Dark Characters, Madness, Tragedy ??

7.) Nothing is made up, added for flavor - what is , it is.

Second Thoughts -  


1.) Read about Anurag Kashyap - his life is itself like a movie, interesting ! inspiring !


2.) Madness always adds a poetic touch to the life, literature and movie. Madness mirrors the life within - incoherent, inconsistent and irrational.


3.) The place of Ransa is the Post-Modernism Alive. Bob Marley with Pornographic light effects, sharp red-Green erotic lights, with frames all over the walls. Its not just to create a dark-lusty atmosphere but to emphasize the underlying Plotting and Deceit. 

Between and Beyond : An Impression of two movies - The Piano and The Reader

I deliberately chose a movie. It turned out to be The Piano. I liked something in it at the first glance, I don't know what it was. But I chose a terrible day to watch it. I must confess, I was already lost that day and I couldn't get much out of the movie. The next day early in the morning when the sky was quite blue, blue like the ocean, the movie slowly came upon me. Every scene began to roll in my head and as if I were a Piano myself, knots began to play in me.

No, I am not allowed to be poetic here. For the more prosaic side, I would say, the movie reminded me of another compelling story, The Reader (2008). Why? I guess you would know it only if you watch both movies with a long forgetful gap in between.

To quote IMBD summary of The Reader, " Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial. " Well it is about love. Love which creeps you in a strange way. It creeps you in through a dark passage of desire, passion and anything but Platonic Love.

And the summary of The Piano goes like this , " A mute woman along with her young daughter, and her prized piano, are sent to 1850s New Zealand for an arranged marriage to a wealthy landowner, and she's soon lusted after by a local worker on the plantation. " (IMBD)

Lust? Is it the keyword? But it isn't just Lust - 

George Baines: Ada, I'm unhappy. 'Cause I want you. 'Cause my mind has seized on you and can think of nothing else. This is why I've suffered. I am sick with longing. I don't eat, I don't sleep. So, if you have come with no feeling for me, then go. Go. Go. Get out. Leave!  (The Piano)

I feel am quite powerless to say about both movies. But I do feel about them, I feel about them differently. I read them through my colored senses. And all I read is - Passion. Whether for Piano, a quest to one's own voice or for Letters, uneasiness over one's mortal flaw. Have you ever been ashamed of something? So much so that you put your life in brackets? The Reader is a story of such a character who prefers confinement to reveal a shameful secret - that she can not Read. 

The crux of both movies is love and yet it is not just the love. The movies revolve around strong Female characters who can just not let go of something so Precious, though they can let go of anything else. Ada, in The Piano, let go of her Self, allows Baines to ... do something with her while she plays the Piano. It is a deal. But isn't it more than a deal? One finds the answer when Ada , after he has returned her Piano, being restless, goes to Baines, only to Slap him hard and submit herself again, this time Unconditionally. The Reader is more complex to understand. I watched it perhaps an year or two back. And now I realize I hadn't understood much at that time. 

The human quality and touchiness of both the movies is just enough to make you leave in trance. And when in this trance the words like Lust and Love echo in your mind, you know it, you know there is something between the Lust and Love - something between and beyond...

Howard's End

There can be no perfect season for watching a movie than , when you are ill. It is the most refreshing thing to bring sunshine upon your gloomy day. And especially when you are all by yourself. So today I watched Howard's End, based on the novel by E.M.Forster. Not as promising as A Passage to India , but it was a good one time watch movie. Specially for the sake of nice story and its Wonderful Setting.

Its strange, my love for England even goes back to the days I didn't know what England exactly is. I knew only one name London, which fascinated me a lot. England's landscape has an air of romance but deep gloom, a mysterious combination indeed. Whether you watch Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre or Howard's End - where British landscape comes to its fullest charm, you would find an unflinching gloom hanging over. May be its climate, but may be its much more. May be its the sense of inevitable Tragedy that looms over...?

Though Howard's End does not end tragically, you don't feel very happy in the end. However ends the story - there is always a sense of tragedy deep beneath. Be it Howard's End, Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre. Although all three of them ends on a happy note - that end was built up on such a sharp edge of tragedy that only you remember is, something remarkable happened - beyond Happiness or Tragic.

a still from "Howard's End"

a still from "Howard's End"

The Notebook

My Notebook - I have got this freelancing job, so called. I don't like it. Not a speck of it. Why not to read blogs, stories, about authors or write myself than to write about ***damn cars n mobile which are never going to be mine.

Alright but this blog was supposed to be about the movie, The Notebook, not about my Notebook ... anyway :)
I watched The Notebook yesterday, a movie based on the novel written by Nicholas Sparks. Apart from all that was beautiful in the movie, there was something striking. Or at least it struck me. In the beginning the hero says to the girl , there is something curious about you... you are Free. "Yes I am Free", replies the girl.

Oh the girl wouldn't be confused between Noah and Lon if she were free. No one is free in this world. Everyone is chained by his/her convictions, principles, fears and so on...


But there will be no beauty in life if one is clear in his/her mind. The struggle, the conflicts between heart and mind, society and individual makes most stories wonderful and lives too... :)

when Love happens - MOD

When something really troubles me... something that can't be shaken off easily...something that doesn't have a name or shape... I either begin a new novel or watch a movie. I misplaced the novel I had been reading these days so I decided to watch this movie. Mod. I watched it simply because I knew it would be dead slow and thus I would be able to do my work simultaneously.
A movie can please me - 1.) If it has a sensible story. 2.) A good actor 3.) Witty or thought provoking dialogues 4.) Good cinematography or Setting. 5.) Non-linear, creative, innovative narrative.
First let me give an example of each among the movies I have seen - 1.) The Reader
2.) Rockstar 3.) Lajja  4.) Guzarish 5.) Amilie

I didn't think for ages to give examples because I suppose those which I have stated can make my point clear. Mod had a lovely setting of a hill station. The natural background adds charm n beauty to the natural acting of Ayesha. Ayesha Takia had really come out as wonderful in Mod as she had in Dor. I just love her. She has a romantic air about her, something that makes her apart from others.
Unlike Dor, Mod may not bring tear to your eyes. It may not touch you deep but it nevertheless evoke the sense of wonder and beauty. All natural things do. :) and yeah Dont forget to take a look at the caption of the movie title... :)

A Walk to Remember...

Finally ! Yesterday I watched A Walk to Remember... what was it like?? ...umm its an Airy Movie... only a vague feeling lingers over...

A friend who had recommended the movie asked me which 'walk' is actually mentioned in the title? I thought about it. The title says : a walk which was worth remembering. In the movie , I feel, it was , when she walks to the aisle as a bride. The moment was dream fulfilling for her.

But there is more to my interpretation : A Walk which is worth remembering is when you walk into someone's life. You plan Nothing and as she says, God has bigger plans for us. He knew that she is sick and she needs someone and so He sent an Angel, who also needed someone who could show faith in him and make him confident. God has really better plans. It is the biggest miracle when we walk into each other's lives and touch their hearts. Nicholas Sparks knows simple and beautiful ways to teach about love, faith, hope and miracles. I loved one dialogue specially when girl who is suffering from Leukemia says, I didn't want any reasons to be angry with god. 

Rockstar : Not a Guide to become One

The window of the movie opened to a green meadow but the scene soon shifts to the cacophony of erratic old mohalla of an old Indian city. I think I had expected a lot. While watching the movie, the thing I missed most was the two  novels, Wuthering Heights and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Though I haven't read or watched the later one but all I mean by referring to such works is the movie is superficial. It couldn't reach to the core of its themes.

The thing that marred the originality and sincerity of the movie was that Ranbir Kapoor was sounding like Ranveer Singh of Band Baja Barat. Due to this factor, the movie at time seems seemed to overlap with Band Baja Barat. The western thought and serious themes which it strives to present is overshadowed by the foisted Indianness.


The conflict of the movie shifts from "making of an artist" to "falling in love". And here's the whole problem lies. If you think the movie is about how to be a Rockstar, you are wrong. As juvenile Indian youth might take the message that to be a great artist you need to have a broken heart, which is not a fact and of course can't be imposed on life. 


Another fact that mars the beauty of movie is the artificiality of Nargis. But I would really commend her at times when she is really able to present the conflict between heart and mind. I just wish the dialogues were more polished.


From another point of view, the movie is an excellent critique of the myth of getting fame after broken heart. Towards the end, after experiencing life, Jordan says, "Nahi ban.na mujhey bada insaan. Mera dil nahi tutna chahiye." But the only dialogue that is a jewel of the movie is, "pata hai....yahan se bahut door galat aur sahi ke pare ek maidan hai , wahan milunga main tujhe". This takes me back to the cardinal theme of  Wuthering Heights - Few things are beyond morality and immorality, they are Amoral.
 
... ... The song "Sadda Haq" has touched many souls just because everyone feels the same thing "auron ka mujh per mujhse bhi jyada haq hai"... And this takes me back to the Rousseau, "Man was born free but he is everywhere in chains." So a new come back of Angry Young Man in Bollywood?  


But go a little off the track and you can create the Happiness. That's what they try to do, Jordan and  Nargis. "Ye hamari duniya hai, yahan na journalists hain na camera, na doctors na hospital, na court cases..." Happiness can be created, and you really don't need to be a Rockstar for that, just a star of someone's eyes. 

A look at ATONEMENT

A movie or a text has boundless possibilities of interpretation. That's why perhaps literary theories gained so popularity in last decades. Yesterday I watched Atonement. A stupendous movie. It abounds in loops or aporia.  But a careful viewer can deconstruct the psychological loops in the movie. The movie will also remind you of Barthes "typology of codes". According to Barthes there are five codes through which one can interpret a text. These are respectively: Hermeneutic Code, Proairetic Code, Semantic Code, Symbolic Code and Cultural Code. I will not go on explaining all the codes here because the subject of my emphasis is symbols and psychological loops in the movie Atonement.  

According to Hermeneutic Code , a critic deciphers the inherent meaning which is not overt on the surface of a text. The mysterious meaning in Atonement is Briony's psycho-sexual desires for Robby and her Id, Ego and repressed self. The movie has infinite possibilities for psycho analysis. 

 

Here is the summary of Atonement (movie) - When Briony Tallis, 13 years old and an aspiring writer, sees her older sister Cecilia and Robbie Turner at the fountain in front of the family estate she misinterprets what is happening thus setting into motion a series of misunderstandings and a childish pique that will have lasting repercussions for all of them. Robbie is the son of a family servant toward whom the family has always been kind. They paid for his time at Cambridge and now he plans on going to medical school. After the fountain incident, Briony reads a letter intended for Cecilia and concludes that Robbie is a deviant. When her cousin Lola is raped, she tells the police that it was Robbie she saw committing the deed when in fact it was a visitor to the estate. (source: review) 

 

Symbolic Code - Its so paradoxical that Robby Turner dies out of thirst while Cecilia dies by drowning. And it does relate to the fatal incidents in the beginning of the story that affected the unconscious of Briony. One incident occurs at the pond where Briony plunges into the water so that Robby will save her life. Plunging into the water to get her love is a powerful symbol that communicates with another such incident in which Cecilia plunges into the fountain water to get a broken piece of vase. She does this act in anger but it also represents her thirst like other characters. Here Briony sees both at the fountain and misinterprets the whole incident. This misinterpretation rises from her unconscious desire for Robby. And in her anger and envy she unconsciously takes revenge upon Robby and Cecilia. The last scene of the movie is shoot at the ideal beach house where Cecilia and Robby plays with water on the beach. Thus in the whole story Thirst and Water becomes prominent symbols. 

The movie poses a very interesting question in my mind - the writer of the novel Atonement in the movie is Briony who says that the novel is autobiographical but she has changed the ending by making it possible for Cecilia and Robby to live together forever. Now she says that ‘as a final act of kindness I gave them their happiness…which they deserved… .’ To give a sense of hope to readers she ends it happily. Now I wonder whether it is fine to change the reality, to cater the naked truth or it is better to slant the truth and sustain the hope ? I wonder if someday I write my own story , will I change my true emotions and tragedies and if I do so will I do in order to fill the readers with a hope or in order to pacify my own guilty heart and to eradicate my criminal feelings ?