PADRE NUESTRO

This Spanish film is the directorial debut of Mr. Christopher Zalla, a Kenyan-born, Spanish speaking New Yorker. It is based upon an incomplete story of betrayal & identity theft that connects with very different characters.

PADRE NUESTRO

A 17 year-old Pedro (Jorge Adrian Espindola) who doesn't speak english, is starving & roaming around the deserted street of Brooklyn, where the lights of Manhattan's skyscrapers behind him blinks silently. He is searching for his father whom he had never met before. He was robbed on his way to New York when he was smuggled from his native land of Mexico. He was carrying a letter of his deceased mother along with his father's address and his photo.

While searching for his father, he strikes up an uncertain relationship with Magda (Paola Mendoza) a homeless prostitute and a drug addict, who agrees to help him locate his father in exchange of money.

The film starts with Juan (Armando Hernandez), a thug, fleeing from a local gang of Mexico before boarding a truck to be smuggled to New York city where he befriends with Pedro & robbed his personal belongings of his mother's letter along with his father's photo and address on the way while he was asleep. 

Juan, the impostor

The movie cuts back and forth between the two illegal Mexican immigrants-- One who is in search of his father Diego (Jesus Ochoa) an angry dishwasher and the other who manages to reach him with the stolen identity of Pedro.

At first Diego resists himself to believe Juan's lies but slowly it comes as a challenge for Juan to convince him with his charming & cunning behavior. The slow bonding between Juan & Diego creates an emotional mood like what a father & his son could experience where as Juan is after something else.

Pedro on his battle to earn daily wages with other illegal immigrants 

On one hand, Pedro who is the real son, is experiencing harsh reality on the shabbier street of New York city depending on a prostitute where as on the other hand, Juan is after something while discovering what a father could be like.

At any moment, the truth can destroy the house of cards, that are built upon numerous lies. One can find anything on this planet if he/she searches for it.

So what the final denouement would be like?? ... can't be guessed so easily     

  

I am 20

Director S.N.S.Sastry traveled all over the country India in the year 1967 & interviewed young nation's youth to make a short non-fiction documentary "I am 20".

I am 20
S.N.S.Sastry, India 1967, 18 mins

The progress of any country can be shown in different ways & here the director speaks to those who were born in the same year when independent India was born. Some interesting questions were asked about themselves, their ambition, what they feel about the progress of the country and what is to be done for the future. Their response was the mixture of irony, sarcasm, idealism, optimism & hope.

While watching this short film, I found an interesting connection with the generation gap. Nowadays we (our generation of 20s) hesitate to bond with the thinking of our previous generation because of the huge technological progress that we have made in this tech-savy era & other current issues. 

But after watching the film, I noticed a compelling fact that our past generation in the 60's era used to think exactly the same way we use to think now. After 47 years, we encounter changes in our outer appearances with different work culture (basic things remaining the same), that makes the film as relevant today as it was then.

So the question to the Indian youth of 20s (those who have seen the film & if not, I suggest you to see it first)--

If you ask yourself the same questions that were asked in the film, what comes on your mind? 

CASHBACK

"Parting is such a sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow"

                                                        --- William Shakespeare

This film is about one of the most touching & romantic breakup story, where we can relate the trauma of a broken relationship. People who have never experienced breakup till now, I will suggest them to do it in order to enjoy the freezing state of mind.... ;)

Anyway, the above suggestion is not mandatory and those who have broken their heart recently, they can adore the appealing graphic nudity of the film through the artist's point of view played by an art student named Ben Willis (Sean Biggerstaff of the "Harry Potter" series).

After having breakup with his girlfriend Suzy (Michelle Ryan), Ben starts suffering from insomnia, which is a common symptom of depression among the people. It's a feeling of being left out alone in this world without being given any chance. So the word "Move on" is the best solution you can get but the emotional attachment of the past relation keeps on breathing for an uncertain period of time.

Ben is morose at the loss of Suzy & goes on the midnight shift at a supermarket to distract himself from the trauma. While working there, he starts fantasizing that he can freeze time to explore every little details of the beauty of women without being noticed so that he can capture it through his painting. 

"A woman's secret fantasy was to have an affair with an artist. She thought that he would really see her. He would see every curve, every line, every indentation & love them because they were part of the beauty that made her unique"-- explains Ben in his voice over.

After watching the film, I feel like reinventing the true hidden artist inside me to become the next Pablo Picasso of 21st Century.... :)

So, what is LOVE? 

There are many ways to express it or may be not, but in this film audience must discover the moments of love or else you might miss it.

Y?

.........    

"A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end... but not necesarily in that order"

"All's well that ends well"

We are all familiar with this phrase/play of William Shakespeare. A story may have a beginning, a middle but the most important thing is the ending that holds the base of any story line, whether it is predictable or not.

But what happens when the story doesn't end the way it should be?

Christopher Nolan, introduced a wonderful way of storytelling in his movie "MEMENTO". Here the story is about an insurance company investigator Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), whose wife gets raped and murdered & he was left alive and injured by the culprit with a brain damage. He suffers from a short term memory loss but not to be confused with amnesia. Leonard seeks for the revenge of his wife's murderer.

The story is narrated out of sequence, with some scenes in monochrome, and at a hectic rate. This gets us involved into the film to use our own memories to reconstruct the chronological narrative. Director Nolan has used the technique of showing every sequence of the movie like the game of jumble words. The scratches on Leonard's cheek- where did they come from? Having essential information tattooed on his body- who did this and when? Meeting the attractive barmaid Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss)-- why he wants to meet her suddenly or is she using him on the other way round? 

Thus while watching the movie, we question our own perception of the world.

"But even if you get revenge you're not gonna remember it. You're not even going to know that it happened" Natalie tells Leonard somewhere in between the movie. 

So where does the story end? It's hard to reconstruct our own memories but with a line "Where was I?"

If we go back little earlier, Quentin Tarantino brought a new technique of story telling in his movie "PULP FICTION (1994)" which is considered as one of the Hollywood classic. Apart from classy style, the ending of the movie makes us wonder when John Travolta moves out of a restaurant with Samuel L.Jackson, when we see him killed inside an apartment sometimes back into the movie. 

So where does the story end? ... 

Jolly LLB

"Tarikh par tarikh, Tarikh par tarikh, Tarikh par tarikh.... 

par insaaf nahi mila milod, 

bas mili hai to sirf Tarikh"

                                                             

                                                                      -DAMINI (1993)

We all Indians agree with this dramatic and true dialogue of the Bollywood film "DAMINI", delivered by the actor Sunny Deol (not to be confused with Sunny Leone), who criticized the corrupted judicial system of India. The majority of the cases in India are pending, awaiting the dates of next hearing. It repeats on & on like a circle.

Before scrolling down, watch this creative output of the "GREEN PLYWOOD" ad below, that is entertaining for the Indians as well as audience abroad, an overview of the slowest & funny system of Indian court. One can commit crime in India & can survive by delaying trials for a lifetime.

"The first thing we do, let's all kill the lawyers." When Justice Rajendra Mal lodha quoted from Shakespeare's Measure for Measure on March 15 last year, a wave of mirth ran through courtroom 5 of the "Supreme Court". It was in response to a case seeking to stop a film, Jolly LLB, from being released.

Now coming to the national award winning feature film Jolly LLB, it's about a young lawyer Jagdish Tiyagi aka Jolly (actor Arshad Warsi) from Meerut, who wants to go to Delhi, the ultimate place of  Sab-Court-Ka-Baap "Supreme Court", to gain media popularity & make it big.

Jolly LLB

Here actor Boman Irani plays the role of Tejinder Rajpal (a highly influential & corrupted lawyer) who is defending a businessman, guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol & killing people sleeping on the street of Delhi (inspired by 1999 hit and run case of Sanjeev Nanda). Rajpal can win this case very easily and is capable of playing tricky games to change the truth into a different story. During the ongoing trial inside the court, Jolly becomes Rajpal's fan instantly and without thinking much files a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) against Rajpal's client and comes under the media attention.

Now starts the real game of politics, where lawyers use their intelligent skills to keep the corrupted system of India follow the same path without any diversion. The real battle begins between experienced Rajpal & newcomer Jolly. 

Boman Irani's performance  as a professional & corrupted lawyer will make the audience seated until the end of the movie.

At last, why experienced professionals like Rajpal in the movie are corrupted and newcomers like Jolly are confused to support corruption or fight for Justice? 

Whatever it may be, enjoy the movie where CORRUPTION here is one of the main ingredient of ENTERTAINMENT.  

অযান্ত্রিক (The Pathetic fallacy)

"Humari filmo ki tarah, humari zindagi mein bhi 

end tak sab kuch thik hi ho jaata hai... happy's ending"--

                                                                                                          -- OM SHANTI OM (2007)

This is one of the popular dialogue of the Bollywood blockbuster movie "OM SHANTI OM". Apart from happy endings, what else we can expect from the Bollywood movies?

Let's go back to the 50's era, when Bollywood was not so popular but romantic stories were always there with more drama. 

AJANTRIK(1958)

This Bengali film "AJANTRIK" is also about a love story. The protagonist character Bimal (actor Kali Banerjee) falls in love with Jagaddal. Yes, that's the name Bimal has given.

"Jagaddal" is a 1920's Chevrolet jalopy taxi, that Bimal drives everyday to earn his bread. He is driving this car for 15 years and he takes good care of it as any other living being. 

Director Ritwik Ghatak tried to portray a relationship between human being and machine, by creating a communication between them. There is one scene in the movie where Bimal feeds the car with a bottle of water as if it is thirsty after traveling some kilometers. The background sound of a human being drinking water, gives birth to a new life inside "Jagaddal". In fact, it is now a living character of the movie  with a name.

This film reminds us that we are all surrounded by objects. It can be a pen, paper, books, some gifts, etc. Every object tries to establish some kind of communication with us. As if they are alive & at the same time no. We are going through a period where we are in love with the machines without even realizing it. 

"AJANTRIK" is a classical example of modern society. The visuals of this movies are important to watch without closing one's eyes for a moment. Those who don't understand Bengali language, they can even connect with the film that it wants to portray, without looking at the subtitles. This is because of the beautiful way of story telling with less dialogues and a stunning performance by actor Kali Banerjee.

Love can be expressed in many ways but not necessarily with human invented words. It's a feeling to connect like the way things around us do.      

El próximo oriente

El amor no tiene idioma. Se puede sentir en cualquier lugar y en cualquier momento. El amor no tiene límites a no ser que intervengan el pasado o la cultura de la persona.

El próximo oriente

En este película, una imigrante de Bangladesh llamada Aisha (Nur Al Levi) que vive en Madrid, se queda embarazada de su vecino (Asier Etxeandia), quien no quiere hacerse responsable y la abandona. El padre de la chica tiene un restaurante donde no sirve alcohol por cuestiones religiosas, ya que es musulmán.

El director Fernando Colomo continúa la trama donde el hermano del chico, Caín (Javier Cifrián) empieza a ayudar a la chica de Bangladesh después de que ella intenta a suicidarse. Suena serio pero la historia se transforma en una comedia cuando Caín empeza a impresionar a la padre de la chica y terminar casándose con la chica, convirtiéndose a su religión por casualidad. Aunque él aclara a la chica que su matrimonio es solo para ayudarla a salir de su depresión y de su conflicto familiar, poco a poco la relación cómica y complicada que tienen se convierte en una relación romantica.

Siendo Bengali, me parece extraño ver a actores británicos haciendo los personajes de Bangladesh. No puedo identificarme con su manera de hablar Bengali y ni con su manera actuar, aunque imiten nuestro movimientos y nuestra lengua materna. Falta algo.

Esta película me ha recordado a una película americana, llamada "OUTSOURCED" donde la historia es diferente pero la intervención cultural de los países India y América se ve claramente en la película. Por otro lado, en "El próximo oriente" no se ha aprovechado la intervención cultural de España y Bangladesh, que es importante para el contexto de la historia. Más allá de la diferencia religiosa, la película no muestra mucho sobre la cultura de España y por lo tanto crea algunas preguntas entre los espectadores. 

La historia es entretenida. Los actores españoles han actuado de forma impresionante en la pantalla, lo que ha mejorado la historia. Pero para los espectadores asiáticos, a la película le falta el sabor porque la historia no incluye suficientemente  las culturas, los idiomas y la relación entre España y Bangladesh.